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He should have told her he could spend the rest of his life watching her sleep, with her blonde hair splayed around her and the sun kissing her skin.
He should have told her that he loved her.
He watched the couple beneath him start to kiss passionately and his heart twisted in his chest.
That’s what he was missing out on.
That’s what he could have.
He picked up the parcel from his desk. The time to tell her that he loved her was now.
He could only hope and pray that she’d listen.
* * *
Lara looked out of the window onto the London street. It had been raining solidly since she’d got back. Her phone had been permanently switched off and all the messages on the house phone had naturally been for Addison and Caleb.
Her mood felt as wet as the weather.
Addison had left her a message, saying they’d be back a few days later. There had been no explanation and Lara was a little curious. It wasn’t like she’d anything else to do to fill her time.
She opened another window on the internet. Last night she’d listed all her fancy clothes to resell. When on earth would she get the chance to wear them again? But her finger had hovered over the ‘sell’ button for too long. She’d just been unable to press it. She’d never owned clothes like that before and likely wouldn’t again. She might keep them for an extra few weeks.
All the other windows opened were wishful thinking. On a whim last night she’d pulled up the prospectus for the university she’d wanted to attend. The entrance requirements hadn’t changed. She could still make the cut.
Then she pulled up another—and another. Degrees had changed in the last few years. She could study English and French, English and German, English and History, English and Philosophy, even English and Creative Writing or English and Media. The list was endless. She’d spent a long time considering the English and Egyptology degree. How interesting would that be?
All she had to do was fill out the form. It was silly. As a mature student her application would be looked at differently. She didn’t need to start at the beginning of the academic year. She would be able to start midterm if she wanted.
Her fingers hovered above the keyboard again. The key question was—did she?
She had confidence now. Confidence that Reuben had helped instil in her. She bit her lip and selected the university she’d always dreamed of and the degree that looked best. After half an hour she pressed ‘send’. Done.
A noise at the door startled her. She stood up swiftly and strode over to the door. A delivery guy handed her a thick envelope and asked her to sign for it. She did it without even thinking—she signed for parcels for Addison and Caleb all the time.
But this one was different. This one was addressed to her.
She tore open the envelope, tipped it up and a data stick fell into her hand.
What?
She peered inside the envelope again There was a small sticky note. She pulled it out. Watch me. That was all it said.
She frowned and walked back to her laptop. Her hand hesitated next to the port. What if this was one of those things with a funny virus—one that would read her bank accounts and empty them?
She gave a rueful smile. Good luck with that, then. She might have got there first.
She stuck the stick in and waited until a message appeared on the screen, asking her what to do next. It only took a few seconds to get it to play.
A video screen appeared in front of her.
She blinked. Reuben Tyler. No way. What in the world...?
He held up a few pieces of white card with black writing, one after the other.
Her hand covered her mouth. She knew exactly what he was doing. He was imitating one of the films they’d watched together.
The words appeared quickly.
You might have guessed...
I’m not too good at this stuff...
You might even say...
I’m the worst in the world.
Words don’t come easy to me...
And I’m afraid the ones that I do say...
Will be the wrong ones...
So I decided...
To get by...
With a little help from my friends.
She smiled at the song reference as he threw the last card away.
A few seconds later someone else sat down in front of the camera. It was a face she recognised instantly. Red Lennox, the baseball player Reuben represented.
He held one card in front of him.
What are we?
His trademark smile reached from side of his face to the other. It was clear he was highly amused by this. Her ears were flooded with his thick Texas accent.
‘What are we? It’s a good question—particularly for a man who is used to having all the answers. But it seems that he struggled with this one. So he asked for some help.’
Red held up a little piece of paper and held it front of him. He leaned towards the screen.
