AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hen? Amanda? It’s me, Stuart.”
I leaned against the wall, my traitorous body flushing with warmth at the sound of his voice. If I opened this door, he could be touching me, holding me…
“Hello,” I said, sounding breathless. “You can talk to me from out there.”
Stuart chuckled sadly. “Ye know, Caroline made me wait an hour on her doorstep before she let me speak to her.”
“I know,” I smiled despite everything. “You deserved that, too.”
“Aye, I did.”
Seconds stretched out. I placed my palms on the wood and listened for his breathing.
“Ye got my messages,” his voice rumbled.
“I did.”
“What are ye thinking now, after ye heard them?”
“I want to believe you and trust you again but…”
He shifted his body against the door. “I didn’t cast ye aside. Please believe me.”
“I believe you.”
“Can ye forgive me, one day, hen?”
I inhaled a sharp intake of breath.
“My bed has been so cold without ye. I miss you so much.” Stuart continued in a nervous rush. “And I don’t mean the sex, even though being with ye is incredible. I mean when I found ye’d been sent away, I realised I made a mistake on Burns Night. I was going to tell ye in the Laird’s office but didn’t. And the day after having lunch with my family, I was about to tell everyone just how much I loved ye -”
I wrenched the door opened and he stumbled into my flat, holding several bunches of red roses and sunflowers in each arm.
“There’s not enough flowers in this world to say how sorry I am.”
“Caroline confirmed your mistake. That you didn’t mean to hurt me.”
Stuart nodded, clutching at the cellophane around the flowers. “Yes, hen, it’s true.”
“I’m still mad at you.” I moved closer to him, his body rigid as he waited for what I might do. “This should have been our time to celebrate the audit over and done with.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them slowly.
“Is there any way I can fix this? I’ll do anything -”
I stood on tiptoes and pressed my lips against his, the plastic wrap around the flowers making a distressed sound. Stuart broke the kiss with a grunt and placed the flowers on the couch.
“I meant it when I said I loved ye at the office, and on my messages.”
A cry escaped my lips.
“Hen, I have to hear ye say it out loud.” He cupped my jaw, holding my gaze.
“Stuart, I love you, too.”
He lowered his face, his lips brushing mine. I deepened the kiss, my body lighting up from head to toe. Stuart broke our kiss and held me against him.
“We have so much making up to do. But hen, ye don’t have a job.”
