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‘Not just that.’
I hear her trainer-clad feet against the hard floor contending with the bustle of the Parisian streets below. ‘You’re here on business too, how coincidental.’
‘No. I’m not here on business. I came for you.’
My pulse skips a beat, my fingers clenching around the glass as hope flutters to life inside.It doesn’t mean she loves you though. A trip to Paris is a drop in the ocean for someone as wealthy as her, money she’d willingly spend to enjoy the kind of sex we once did.
I shake my head. Still don’t turn. ‘I’m sure there are many men out there willing to treat you how you so desire in the bedroom, Olivia. You don’t need me for that.’
‘Do you really think that’s why I’m here, Valentine? For sex?’
I turn away from the view to face her, my eyes clashing with hers. ‘Why else would you be here? You made it quite clear you don’t love me, so tell me, Olivia, what else could you possibly want?’
Her eyes and lips tremble as she holds my gaze. ‘I want to tell you face to face that I was wrong, that I lied to you...’
She walks towards me and I step back. I can’t bear her being any closer without crumbling and I see the hurt that flares in her eyes at the move, feel the sight of it crushing my resolve.
‘Valentine, I’m here to tell you that I love you. I loved you when I told you I didn’t. I love you more than I’ve ever known it possible to love someone.’
The words echo through my skull, beat at my heart. Insistent. Incessant.
‘Please,pleasetell me you can forgive me.’ Her voice is soft with her plea, strong with her desperation. ‘Tell me that you’ll give me another chance, give us another chance.’
‘How do I know you won’t wake up tomorrow and change your mind?’
‘Tomorrow I want to wake up in your bed, in your arms, and the next and the next, for as long as you’ll have me. I pushed you away because I was scared. I was the one stuck in the past, fearing the what-ifs, of regrets that you may have down the line. I was being a hypocrite.’
I shake my head, the lightness spreading inside. ‘Olivia Carmel, are you telling me you were wrong?’
Her lips quirk into the first hint of a smile. ‘Don’t let it go to your head.’
My eyes narrow. I take in all that’s vibrant about her and see the love that shines so clearly in her face and I know she means it. Every word. ‘What changed your mind?’
‘I did. With a little help from my sister, Fee, and a dollop of encouragement from Alan. He was the one who found out where you were and reported back to me.’
‘The lying devil; that was why he called. It had nothing to do with missing contact information for Louis and Adele.’
She gives me a sheepish smile.
‘Olivia?’
‘Yes?’
‘Tell me again.’
Her smile grows, her eyes sparkle. ‘I love you.’
‘Again.’
She steps towards me, takes the whisky from my hand and places it on a side table. ‘I love you.’
‘Once more for good measure.’
Her chest brushes up against me. ‘I...’ she rests her palms on my shoulders ‘...love...’ she brushes her lips against mine, her lashes fluttering closed ‘...you.’
Her eyes flick open. ‘Sir.’
My chest expands with so much love, so much warmth, and I clutch her to me, swing her in the air. ‘I should punish you for taking so long to realise it, Kitten.’
