AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I lied when I sent you away.’
She gave a little huff of impatience. ‘I know. That occurred to me as soon as I was done with wanting to strangle you. You were right about one thing, though. We were tearing each other apart.’
Poisonous disappointment crawled through his veins, heading inexorably towards his heart. ‘Is there anything I can say to convince you that things could be different between us now?’
She thought for a moment. ‘Words don’t count for much. Actions...’
‘I’m here. I wondered whether I should come or send a note first, but sending a note is the kind of thing a man does when he needs an answer before he risks everything. I’m not that man any more.’
She nodded, looking at him gravely.
The long, detailed speech he’d prepared and memorised seemed beside the point now. Really, it all boiled down to one thing. ‘I love you, Sam.’
‘But...?’
‘No buts. No doubts or reservations. I love you.’
She stared at him, as if this was the last thing she’d expected. ‘You do?’
‘Yes. I’ve come to tell you that I won’t let you down, and I’ll never stop loving you. If that’s not what you want to hear right now, I’ll go, but I will never stop waiting for you, because I know I can be the man you deserve.’
‘I was never in any doubt of that.’ Slowly, she seemed to be getting the gist of what he was saying. Blooming in front of his eyes.
‘It was your confidence in me that made me see that.’
She slid forward on her chair, seeming to stumble as she rose. Euan reached out to steady her and then she was in his arms. Sitting on his lap, crushed against his chest. One long breath. It seemed as if he had been holding his breath for the last two months, without fully realising how much he needed to breathe again.
‘May I kiss you?’ He still couldn’t quite believe that this was happening.
Her eyes were bright, almost like quicksilver. ‘Do you really need to ask?’
* * *
It was more. More in every way. That was the only way that Sam could describe it. Everything that she wanted and needed fell into place around his kiss. She clung to him, in case the lurch of the world turning should somehow throw them apart again.
‘Am I dreaming?’
He chuckled. ‘I don’t think so. You can pinch me if you like.’
‘You’re supposed to pinch me...’
‘Nah. I’m not going to pinch you.’ He settled his arms around her, cocooning her in his warmth. ‘You had something you wanted to say to me?’
He’d been listening. One of the things she loved about Euan was that he always listened. ‘I phoned the number you gave me. The one for the guy who runs a group.’
‘Yeah? Did you go?’
‘I went. Listened to everyone else’s stories. Told my own. I cried quite a bit.’
‘And did it make a difference?’
‘Yes. I didn’t think it would at first, and I hated every moment of it. And then I started to feel the way that I did when Sal and I started out. When I couldn’t wait to get out of bed in the morning to get to grips with the day.’
He smiled. That melting grin that she loved so much. ‘That’s the way it often goes. It takes a lot of courage to confront your past.’
‘It was more like desperation. I loved you, and I just had to find my way back to you. So I talked it all out. Sally dying. My mother. Stuff about having to earn love, not feeling I had a place in the world...’ He was nodding, and she broke off, laughing. ‘You know.’
‘Yeah. I know.’ He brushed another kiss against her cheek. ‘I never stopped loving you, Sam. You made me trust that I could finally come to terms with the past, and I realised that I trusted you to do the same. We just needed a little time by ourselves to achieve it.’
