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“It was you, Molly. It was always you. I was just too stupid to see it.”
Her heart was racing. She’d imagined this conversation a million times over the years. She’d hoped and dreamed that one day he’d realize he’d made a big mistake and he’d come back for her. “We were just kids, Marcos.”
He nodded. “But we’re not anymore.”
What did that mean? Was he saying he was coming back? She couldn’t crumble. She couldn’t help him through his darkness. “No, we’re not. We’re both adults with our own lives now. My life is here. Yours isn’t.”
“I don’t know where my life will be for the next little while. It won’t be in Sicily, and it won’t be here either.”
Relief and disappointment fought for control over her racing heart.
“I had to ask you, though. When I get straight with myself, would you mind if I come back here?”
She held his gaze for a long moment. “What for?”
“The honest answer to that is: for you. I don’t want to ask anything of you, not yet. All I want is a glimmer of hope. I have some dark times ahead of me, and I want to believe that there’s a possibility, however small, that you could be the light at the end of the tunnel.”
She didn’t want him to come back here right now, but she hated the thought of him going off who knew where and leaving her waiting and wondering if he’d ever come back. She’d done that once before. All that time she’d believed there was no hope for a future with him. Did she want to spend more of her life waiting and tormenting herself with hope? “I can’t make any promises.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to. All I’m asking is that if your answer to me isno, never againthat you tell me that now.”
She looked deep into his big brown eyes. In them, she saw sadness and hope, and more than that, she still saw all the love that she’d seen in them when they were kids. She nodded slowly. “I spent years trying to convince myself that that was my answer to you.”
He reached out and took hold of her hand, making the tears prick behind her eyes.
“I’ve wished and wished that I could say that, but I can’t. I could never say never again to you.”
He squeezed her hand, and she could see tears shining in his eyes. “Thank you, Molly. I’m going to leave now before I make a fool of myself. Can I …?” He held his arms open to her, andshe met his gaze before nodding and stepping inside them. Twelve years of hard work melted away as he closed them around her and she hugged him back. She was back in his arms, however briefly. Her world shifted on its axis as she buried her face in his chest and breathed in the smell of him.
Chapter One
Six Months Later
Molly leaned against the wall in the short corridor to the kitchen. She tilted her head back and blew out a sigh.
“Hey, what’s up?” Grady came through the swinging doors from the dining room and stopped dead when he saw her.
“Nothing.” She smiled. “I was just taking a minute.”
He came and put his hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you take the rest of the night off? I seem to remember that was why you hired me in the first place—so you could take more time for yourself.”
Molly pushed away from the wall, at the same time stepping away from him. “I’m fine. I just needed a minute.”
His smile faded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep. I don’t want to be that employee who creeps you out.”
She shook her head rapidly. “You’re not. And you know it.”
His smile came back, lighting up his handsome face. “I just needed to check. I mean, my boyish charms haven’t worked on you yet, so I was starting to think that maybe you find me creepy?”
“No. I don’t. I’m as aware of your charms as the next girl, but I’m your employer, we’ve talked about this before.”
He gave her a rueful smile. “And I’ve told you that if me working for you is the only thing keeping you from agreeing to go out with me, then I’ll quit.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want you to quit. You’re a great asset to this place.”
“I could be a great asset to you, too.” He stepped a little closer again, but she shook her head and moved away.
“No.” It was getting harder and harder to say no to him. He was a great guy. Easy on the eye, for sure. If you saw him walking down the street, you’d think he was a laid-back surfer. He was all California tan, with his blue eyes and wavy blond hair.
