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That smile was so sweet, she cupped his face and kissed him again. “I love you too Zadir. I have in one way or another since I was about thirteen years old and those girls bullied me.”
He smiled. “I remember.” He kissed her forehead. “That was a really good burn.” He chuckled at the memory.
“It was,” she smiled and pushed him off her until they both stood outside the car. “As I was saying. I’m so in love with you and when you ask, I’ll happily accept the proposal to be your wife.”
He frowned. “I did just ask.”
“No, you said you can’t wait.” She smiled at his confounded expression.
“Okay,” he groaned. “One day soon I’ll ask you for real.”
“And I promise I’ll say yes to forever with you.”
“Forever,” he smiled, “I like the sound of that.”
THE END
Her Older Lover
1.
Riley Foster sprinted up the hospital stairs and found a bored-looking receptionist sitting behind her desk. The nine and a half hour flight from London to Miami had done nothing to still her nerves. She had spent those long hours drifting between mentally willing the plane to fly faster and bitter tears of resignation. She could do nothing but sit and wait while her brother lay in a hospital bed half way across the world.
“I’m looking for my brother,” Riley told the receptionist. Her voice wavered on the brink of tears. “He was in an accident. His name is Matthew Foster.”
“Just one moment,” said the receptionist. Riley tapped her fingernails anxiously against the desk while the woman gazed at her computer screen. Riley wasn’t sure if she had a moment — if Matthew had a moment. She felt the tears brimming up once more and fought to keep them down.
“Please,” begged Riley. “It’s really serious. Can’t you just do a search for the name?”
“I’m sorry, Miss,” said the receptionist. “I’m going as fast as I can.”
Riley was just about to jump over the counter and hijack the computer when she heard a deep, familiar voice from her left. She almost jumped.
“Riley? Riley Foster?”
She spun to face the man who had called to her. He was dressed as if he had just stepped from a tense business meeting, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to the elbows revealing tanned, muscular forearms, his tie pulled down and the top two buttons undone, as if at some point he had found the smart shirt stifling and had hurriedly ripped them loose. The stubble dotting his cheeks might have been sexy under other circumstances, but here, under the fluorescent lights of the hospital, it hinted at a man who had barely slept in days, let alone had time to shave.
“Yes, I’m Riley,” she said.
“Follow me. Your brother is this way.”
The man turned and began down one of the hospital’s long, sterile corridor, without a backward glance at her to make sure she was following him. He walked with long, purposeful strides and Riley had to jog to catch up to him.
“Are you his doctor? Is he okay?” she asked him as they wound through the hospital corridors. He smiled warmly, tenderly.
“No, I’m Nick Maddox. Matthew’s business partner. We spoke on the phone. The doctors say his condition is critical but stable for now. We had some scares earlier, but it looks as if he’s pulled through.”
It was hard to believe that less than twenty-four ago she was in her dorm room at the University of London, talking to this man on the phone. He had called her from the hospital within hours of the accident and offered to pay for her tickets to come home to see Matt. Without a thought to the man on the other end, she had accepted, thinking only of her brother. Now she felt as if she owed him a huge amount of gratitude.
“Nick, I’m so sorry. I expected you to be older,” said Riley. “I can’t thank you enough for getting me back here so quickly. I’ll pay you back the money for the flights.” She paused for a moment, thinking of the mountain of student debt she was already facing. “It might take a while.”
Nick waved the offer aside. “No need. I know how terrible it would be to be stuck on the other side of the world while all this was going on. I’m just glad you’re here. For Matt’s sake.”
Riley regarded his face for a moment. “You look really familiar,” she said.
“We met once before,” he said, eyes focused ahead of him as he navigated the bleak corridors. Riley cast her mind back, trying to place him in a memory. “About three years ago,” he continued, “before you left to study in England. Before Matthew and I started the company.”
She found herself staring at him as they walked, trying to remember, her overburdened mind unable to slot things into place. Then it clicked. It had been at Matthew’s apartment in Tampa before he moved to Miami. She’d been visiting him for the weekend and Nick had come around to discuss a business opportunity. He’d introduced himself as one of Matthew’s college pals, brimming with excitement over a crazy idea he had to start a tech company. He’d had long hair then like some figure from Greek mythology with a penchant for checkered shirts and surfing. She was eighteen then and remembered thinking how cute he was in a beach bum kind of way.
