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He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her, show her how much he loved her. But he was afraid that if he moved too fast, she would feel he was pressuring her. He didn’t want that. Never. “I don’t have the words to explain my behavior. It was wrong of me to make you feel so alone. Since you’ve been gone, I wake up every morning facing an empty bed. I can’t go on like this. The long nights of lying awake, missing you. No morning talks. No discussions about our days. We belong together. There’s never been anyone for me but you. Only you.”
“Oh, Aidan…” She moved closer to him.
He closed his eyes in torment. He had to get this right. He had to. “And it’s because I love you that I’m willing to accept whatever it is you decide you want. I’m here for you. I’ve tried to make it clear how I feel, how sorry I am. I won’t pressure you into a decision about us. I’m powerless to change how you feel about what I’ve done to you.”
“Aidan, I want us to be happy again, but I don’t know how to do it, how to fix what went wrong between us.”
Aidan fought the urge to crush her to his chest, to plead with her to move home. But if there was one thing he’d learned through all of this, it was that he had to give Grace time to accept what had happened and how sincere he was in trying to make amends.
“I would like for us to go away together. So much has happened since Charleston. I really believe that if we spent time together, really shared our feelings about everything that has happened, we can find our way back to each other. I’ve already talked to Lucas and he’s willing to take over for me. I promise to never touch my business cell phone from the minute we leave here until we get back.”
He stopped, confused by the look on her face. Was she crying? “Oh, Grace, darling, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I really wanted to do something nice for you, spend time with you, but if you don’t want to—”
“I do,” she said quickly. “I would love to go away with you.”
He held his breath, uncertain as to what to do next. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am. More than anything we need to work things out between us.”
His throat thick with emotion, he pulled her close and kissed her gently—and with so much bottled-up feeling he thought he would burst with happiness. When her arms moved around his neck, he took her face in his hands and kissed the last traces of tears from her cheeks. “Grace, whatever happens from here on, we’re in this together.”
His cell rang, startling both of them. Holding her close, he pulled the phone from his pocket. The caller ID showed the kindergarten he’d hope to enroll Emma in. “Sorry, but I need to take this call. It’s about Emma’s kindergarten. Do you mind?”
For a moment Grace hesitated, her teeth biting her lower lip. “No. Go ahead.”
Thankful for Grace’s support, he answered the phone.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Fellowes, but we won’t be able to offer your daughter a place at our facility because we don’t have the space for her. I can leave you on the list and if there’s a cancellation, we could see about fitting her in.”
He gave a sigh of disappointment. “I’m sorry to hear that. I was hoping you would be able to accommodate her. Thank you for informing me of your decision.”
He ended the call and put the phone away.
“What happened?” Grace asked.
“I was trying to enroll Emma in a kindergarten recommended to me. They don’t have an opening, at least, not now. Maybe later.”
“How soon do you need a kindergarten? I understood that Lisa was staying on with you to give Emma lots of time to adjust to her new life here.”
