Page 65 of Stars Shine In Your Eyes

He’d never said that to any other woman. Only to Josie. And he meant it with his whole heart. He did love her. Loved her so much that he could no longer envision his life without her.

He took one last look at Josie lying in his bed, her hair spread out on the pillow, her skin still slightly flushed from their lovemaking. The copy of Walden she’d given him sat on the bed shelf, almost mocking him as though it knew he was about to check business emails late on a Sunday night. Thoreau would shake his wise head if he could see Malcolm now.

Gently, he pulled up the covers over Josie’s shoulders and then crept out into the lounge. He opened his laptop. For so many years, this computer had been an appendage, his fingers always on it, never leaving his sight for too long. He’d thought he couldn’t live without it, or his phone, but this week he’d learned to use them as the tools they were meant to be and not as his masters.

It was no wonder his family was so overwhelmed by the changes in him. He was like a new man. And all because of Josie.

Out the window, he could see moonlight on the river. A bat flitted over the glossy surface of the water, and he realized he was able to see things like this again. It wasn’t that they hadn’t happened while he’d been working all those years, it was simply that he’d stopped noticing because they had no bearing on his business deals.

Truthfully, he’d achieved everything he wanted to in his career. Once House in a Box was launched globally, he would step back.

He opened his email and, almost as though he’d known it would be there, found an email from Kieran Taylor, CEO and inventor of House in a Box.

Malcolm read the email… and then read it again more slowly. His gut clenched hard in frustration. Kieran had called a board meeting and invited his bankers to discuss moving forward with the global expansion. He was inviting Malcolm Sullivan to the board meeting, but made it clear that the meeting would happen anyway. Malcolm could read between the lines that Kieran was completely overwhelmed and suffering a massive anxiety attack over taking his product global.

But to get to a Wednesday meeting in New Zealand with time to meet the board and talk some sense into Kieran meant jumping on a plane from London ASAP. He grabbed his phone, went up to the roof deck so as not to disturb Josie, and called Kieran.

“Good to hear from you,” Kieran said. “I hope you can make the board meeting. I really want to make sure we’ve got all our i’s dotted and t’s crossed. You understand.”

What Malcolm understood was that Kieran was running scared, but he didn’t say that. Instead, he reiterated all the good points of the deal he and Genevieve had worked so hard on.

“I know all that,” Kieran replied. “But if you’re asking me to commit everything to this global expansion, I need you to commit too.”

“We are completely committed to making House in a Box a global brand,” Malcolm assured him.

“Then I want you here, on the ground, running the operation. I can’t do it. I’m stretched too thin as it is. If I have to ramp up production, I’ll need you to run the business.”

Malcolm was completely taken aback. He calculated rapidly. “But you’re asking for at least a year.”

“That’s right, mate. If you believe in House in a Box the way you say you do, I need you here for a year.”

In the silence, Malcolm heard the river lapping gently against River Star’s hull. Was this the change he needed? What if he took Kieran up on his demand and moved to New Zealand for a year? He thought of all the places he’d like to show Josie. The mountains and beaches, the charming cities and sheep ranches. Because he couldn’t imagine a year without Josie.

They talked a little longer, and finally Kieran said aloud what Malcolm had already figured out. “Your being here is a nonnegotiable.” Kieran Taylor didn’t make decisions as quickly as Malcolm did, but he’d discovered the young inventor was hard line when he finally did decide.

When Malcolm got off the phone, he went inside, poured himself a two fingers of whiskey, and downed the lot in one.

This was an impossible choice.

He couldn’t ask Josie to come with him to New Zealand for a full year, the day after she’d committed to running reading retreats here on Elderflower Island.

A voice in his head said, It’s not impossible. Go. And if it’s meant to be, she’ll be waiting at the end of the year.

He tried to shake the thought off. But it just kept playing inside his head, louder. This is the deal you’ve been waiting for. Are you really going to blow it for a relationship that might not even work out?

No, he was in love with her. She was in love with him. He’d asked her to move in with him.

The voice grew to a shout. It’s only a year.

He could fly Josie out between reading retreats. They’d see each other.

If your relationship can’t make it for a year, then how strong is it anyway?

Dammit, the voice seemed to be making sense.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Josie woke, surprised and more than a little disappointed to find that Malcolm was already out of bed. She loved waking up snuggled in his arms—and then everything that came after snuggling. A delicious shiver ran through her as she thought about getting up and grabbing him to take him back to bed. They could be a little later to the cottages today. After all, they were making great progress. And with the sun shining through the boat’s windows, it was true that her fears had disappeared along with the night sky. There was no reason to be scared. They loved each other. And this time, she was certain that love was real. That it wasn’t just a lie, like it had been with her ex.

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