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Lucy turned to Joel, suddenly hesitant. ‘Are you in tonight? It doesn’t matter if you’re not,’ she said quickly, ‘it’s just that—’
‘I’m staying here tonight,’ he said immediately, giving her a smile that indicated he was aware of her fears. ‘But he’s going to be OK, Lucy. You’re not going to need me.’
Oh, she needed him! And not just because of Sam…
She settled Sam in bed, and once he was asleep she went to find Joel, who was cooking supper.
‘I wanted to thank you,’ she said softly, her eyes slightly shy as she watched him from the doorway. ‘You said that you’d never been anyone’s friend before, and I just wanted to say that for someone with no experience you’ve done a great job. I think you’ve been the best friend that anybody could ever have or want to have.’
He was suddenly very still and his expression was guarded.
‘Right. I wanted to talk to you about that.’
‘About being friends?’ She looked at him guiltily. ‘I’ve imposed, haven’t I? Y-you don’t want to be friends any more.’
Joel abandoned his cooking and walked towards her, his expression serious. ‘No. I don’t want to be friends, but you haven’t imposed. Far from it.’
‘Then why can’t we be friends?’
‘Because that isn’t the way I feel about you.’ He put two fingers under her chin and lifted it, his blue eyes searching. ‘You once asked me if I’d ever been in love.’
She swallowed. ‘And you said no.’
‘That’s right. I did say no.’ He nodded slowly, his thumbs gently stroking the smooth skin of her cheeks. ‘But now I want you to ask me that question again.’
She stared at him, suddenly unable to speak, and he gave a slight smile.
‘Ask me, Lucy.’
‘Have you ever been in love?’ She stumbled over the words as she always did when she was embarrassed about something, and he tilted her face so that she had no alternative but to look at him.
‘Yes, I have,’ he said softly. ‘I was afraid that if it ever came my way I wouldn’t recognise it. But I did, Lucy. I did recognise it. It took me a while, but I got there in the end.’
Her lips were parted but her breathing was shallow. ‘What are you saying?’
His eyes darkened. ‘I’m saying three words that I’ve never said before,’ he said slowly, bending his head and kissing her gently on the mouth. ‘I’m saying that I love you. And I’m taking a chance here because I have no idea how you feel about me. You keep saying that you want us to be friends, but is that really what you want? People keep telling me that you love me too. Is it true, Lucy?’
She was silent for a long moment and then she nodded slowly, hope slowly building inside her. ‘Of course I love you. I thought it was obvious.’
‘Not to me.’
She smiled at him uncertainly. ‘But I’m useless at hiding how I feel, and you’ve had so much experience with women.’
‘But no experience at all with love,’ he pointed out, a wry smile touching his firm mouth. ‘Until now.’
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver box which he handed to her.
‘I’m probably not doing this properly, but I want you to marry me, Lucy. Quickly. Before we waste any more time.’
She stared at the box stupidly. ‘You want to marry me?’
‘Definitely.’ His voice was husky and very male. ‘That night we spent together—it’s never been that way with anyone before. When we woke up in the morning there was so much I wanted to say to you but we didn’t have a chance to talk and then you seemed determined that our relationship wouldn’t change.’
She looked at him in wonder. ‘I thought that the last thing you wanted was commitment.’
‘So did I.’ His voice was soft. ‘But I was wrong. You told me that I’d shown you that there are plenty of things in life left to discover. I suddenly realised that I didn’t want you discovering those things with anyone but me. That was when I realised that I loved you.’
‘And what about Sam?’
