AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was an extraordinary person. She did and felt everything with such passion. Her inherent vitality had drawn him to her from the start, and beneath her sparkling personality he’d been aware of the depths of love and devotion she felt for Danny. She had given up a lot to look after him, and even though it was a challenge, both financially and practically, she had thrown herself into it with the energy that characterised everything she did.
The more he thought about it, the more he realised that every decision he’d made, every action he’d taken, had been about Carrie, about how to make sure she became part of his life.
And now he had won her. She was his wife. She was having his baby.
Why did her unhappiness cut him so cruelly?
Because he loved her!
His heart hammered in his chest and he felt the prickle of sweat break out on his brow. He had fallen in love with Carrie.
He stared at her beautiful face in shock, hardly able to comprehend what he’d just realised—then suddenly he saw a teardrop trickle out from under her dark glasses.
‘Oh, my love,’ he cried, lifting her sunglasses gently away and cupping her face so that he could make eye contact. ‘Please don’t cry.’
Carrie stared at him in bewilderment. Tears blurred her vision, but Nik’s expression seemed to reflect the agony she felt.
‘I’m sorry,’ she gulped. ‘I didn’t mean to…I can’t…’
‘I’m the one who’s sorry,’ Nik said. ‘I’ve done this to you. I’ve made you so unhappy.’
Suddenly he leant forward and started showering her face with gentle kisses. His hands slid down to her shoulders and he knelt before her, supporting her tenderly with his strong arms.
Carrie closed her eyes and gave herself over to the feelings his kisses evoked. One last time she would allow herself to believe it meant something to him. One last time she would blot out the world and just be there with Nik, her lover.
‘I can’t bear that I’ve caused you so much pain,’ he burst out. ‘I love you!’
‘What?’ Carrie gasped. Surely she couldn’t have heard correctly.
‘Please forgive me for putting you through so much.’ He held her away from him so that he could fix her in his intense gaze.
‘What did you say?’ Carrie asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper.
‘I’m sorry for hurting you,’ he said. ‘And I’m sorry you’re having a baby before you’re ready for it.’
‘Before that,’ she said. Her heart was racing, but she couldn’t let herself believe she’d heard correctly.
‘I love you,’ Nik said.
Carrie stared at him in bewilderment. A glimmer of hope was growing in her heart, but she wouldn’t give free rein to it—not yet. Nik had said he loved her—which was unimaginably wonderful—but for some reason he seemed upset about it.
‘I have fallen in love with you,’ Nik said simply. ‘And I can’t bear that I’ve caused you so much misery.’
Carrie finally let the happiness swell inside her.
She smiled with wonder as things fell into place at last, and she lifted her hands to cup his face tenderly.
‘You were so sad.’ Nik’s expression was still troubled. ‘It was marrying me and getting pregnant that made you miserable.’
‘I was sad because I love you so much and I thought you’d never love me,’ Carrie said tentatively. ‘I was always happy to be having your baby. I just wished our marriage was real.’
‘You love me?’ Nik asked, a look of almost incredulous joy slowly lighting his face.
She nodded and smiled up at him tremulously, her happiness overflowing as at last they understood each other.
Nik gave a shout of pure joy and seized her in a rough embrace, bounding to his feet with an exuberance that lifted her clean out of the car. Once again her eyes were misty, but this time they were tears of happiness, and she didn’t try to hide them. He kissed her fiercely, then swung her round and round before setting her down, still encircled by his arms.
She laughed, thinking she had never seen him look more handsome. He was incredible. The love he felt was written all over his face, animating his features and lighting him from within. At that instant she knew it was real. He loved her as much as she loved him.
