AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’ve already been over this,” she sighed. She had a sleeper cabin booked for the trip across the Bass Strait and she was suddenly exhausted. The ferry sounded its horn, a sign it was about to leave. Nico needed to go if he didn’t want to end up in Melbourne.
“I’ve been an idiot.” He took her hands in his. They were cold, and she had a sudden urge to tuck them between hers to warm them up. To pull him in close and wrap her arms around his waist, just to feel his heartbeat beneath her cheek one last time. Because this was goodbye. She knew it now.
* * *
“It’s okay.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss Nico on the mouth. Such a sweet, gentle kiss. Full of forgiveness… And goodbye.
If his heart rate hadn’t been skyrocketing before, it was now. The touch of her lips on his was all he’d been yearning for. The past three days had been absolute hell, hoping and praying she’d return his calls, turning up to work like nothing was wrong, pretending everything was okay to everybody who asked. He’d even fooled Sally-Ann. When inside he was a complete and utter mess, unable to function normally, because all he could think about was Lacey. If Charles hadn’t told him that Lacey had been in to see him that morning and was planning to leave today, he’d still be sitting like a dozy dumbass in his office wondering when she was going to call him back. He’d run all the way up the docks and had to show his police badge to get up the gangway, then sprinted up the steps, searching every level of this damnable ferry to find her. He couldn’t believe she was about to sail away forever and he nearly hadn’t made it in time. He just wished they could go somewhere a little more private to have this conversation. But if she wouldn’t budge, then he’d have to say it here, right in front of the whole goddamn world.
“I’ve been an idiot,” he said again, drawing her nearer as some asshole jostled past them.
“I get it, Nico. I get why you can’t love me. I’m broken. But that’s okay.”
What was she saying? That wasn’t it, at all. That wasn’t what he’d come to say. Corralling his thoughts, he bent his knees until his eyes were level with hers. Until she was looking at him. Really looking at him. She wasn’t the problem; he was.
“No. You’ve got it wrong. I should’ve told you how I felt. But I let you walk away because I was afraid. You might think you’re broken, but I’m the one who needs rescuing.” He could deal with her problems; it was his own demons he was too scared to tackle.
“Why do you need rescuing?” she asked, suddenly going very still. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”
There were so many reasons he wasn’t worthy. But he needed to focus, tell it in a way that she’d understand. “I wasn’t sure I knew what love was,” he said, keeping his gaze locked on hers. Someone pushed past his shoulder, but he barely felt it. All that was important was right in front of him. He had to get Lacey to believe in him. “I had a difficult childhood, as you know. And I’ve never really let myself fall before. In love, that is. It’s all been too hard. Like my heart wasn’t built for love.”
Lacey shook her head and opened her mouth as if to disagree, but he barreled on. He needed to get this out.
“When you walked out my front door the other day, I didn’t understand what I felt for you. But these past three days, I now know I can’t live without you.”
“That’s not the same—” she began to say gently, but he cut her off. It wasn’t the same as being in love. Yes, he knew that. But he had more to tell her.
“It’s so much more than that. We have a deep connection. I’ve never had such a strong connection, not with anyone else. I trust you implicitly. I love how we can just talk, how we understand what each other is thinking. I love your sharp mind, the way you instinctively drive right to the heart of a problem. And I would actively choose you to be with over anyone else in my life. I also never thought sex could be so satisfying, but at the same time so intense, like I might explode every time I touch you. I think about making love to you every minute of the day, but this is so much more than lust. And this all adds up to one thing.” He took a deep breath. “I can say it now. In front of all these people. I love you.”
“You do?” Lacey narrowed her eyes at him, seemingly unsure. She probably had every right to be dubious, after the way he’d treated her. But he meant every word. How did he convince her? Did she see it as too little, too late?
There was only one thing for it. Go big or go home.
He stepped back, dropping her hands and waving his own in the air. “Hello,” he shouted at the crowd, using his loud, detective, authoritarian voice. “Hello, everyone, can I get your attention for a second.” A few people at the front of the crowd turned around and eyed him curiously.
Oh, God, this was about the most painful thing he could ever do. He was a very private person and this was so far out of his comfort zone; he could be on Mars right now. Would Lacey appreciate exactly what he was doing?
“I just want to declare publicly, in front of everybody here, that…” More people turned around and their chatter died down as they listened to him. He drew a deep breath and took Lacey’s hands again. She’d shrunk away from him when he’d started yelling, but now she had no choice but to look up into his face. “That I am in love with this stunning woman. I want you all to bear witness to how much I love her. And please help me to convince her to stay. Will you stay with me?” he asked, shifting his gaze from the audience to her. He stared down at her, willing her to answer, instead of gaping at him like a stranded fish.
A hush fell over the crowd as they waited for her answer along with him. It was only then that he wondered if this was perhaps the wrong way to go about it. Would she hate him for making her the center of attention? Would she turn him down anyway?
Lacey glanced nervously at the people by the railing, then licked her lips.
“C’mon, luv, give him an answer,” a middle-aged man with a blue knit cap called out from the back of the crowd.
After frowning at the man in the knit cap, she pursed her lips and said, “I am going to see my family in Melbourne. I promised them I’d be there.”
“So, you’re still leaving then?” Nico’s heart felt heavy, full of a million regrets. He’d failed to convince her.
“Yes. A promise is a promise,” she said, but there was a strange twinkle in her eye. “But I guess they can wait a day or so, while I sort out my love life.” A wicked grin lit up her face, that carefree grin he’d come to love so much.
He barely dared to ask. “Is that a yes? Does that mean you’re staying?”
She nodded, and there were whoops of glee from a couple of ladies standing nearby. He picked her up and kissed her so deep and so long the rest of the crowd began to whistle and clap, saying things like, “Get a room, will ya?”
Putting her back on her feet, he steadied her as people flowed around them, heading inside out of the wind as the ship’s horn sounded again.
“Oh, shit. We need to get off the boat,” she said, half laughing, half in a panic.
