Page 70 of Stars Shine In Your Eyes

“Josie!” He looked as stunned as she felt.

“What are you doing here?” they both said at the same time.

“Coming to find you.” Again, they spoke in unison.

She shook her head. “Let me go first. Otherwise, I’m afraid I might never get the chance to say what I need to say to you.”

* * *

He stared into her eyes, drinking in the sight of her. The luminosity of her skin, the fullness of her lips. Every last inch of her was so beautiful. He nodded, and she took a deep breath, so deep that he could practically feel it in his own chest.

“I wasn’t honest with you earlier,” she said. “I didn’t tell you the truth about how much I wished you would stay. I don’t want a year of long-distance. There’s already been so much time lost for us, all those years between high school and now. And I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I love you with everything I am, with everything I was and will be. I love you for your past, your present, and your future. And I want so badly to be able to see you every morning and every night. To let our love continue to deepen. To learn everything there is to know about you, from your childhood to the things that you’re proud of as an adult, and even the things that you’re not. I can’t stand the thought of you resenting me for pulling you away from a world and a deal that has always meant so much to you, but I have to be honest. I love you, and please, don’t go to New Zealand for a year. Please stay in England. Be my boyfriend. My proper relationship. And I promise you won’t regret it. I’ll never let you regret it.”

At last, she seemed to run out of breath. As soon as she did, he had to kiss her. Had to capture her beautiful mouth, had to draw her lovely body against his and hold her tight. He kissed her as though it had been a year instead of a few hours since the last time.

Finally, he drew back to look into her eyes. “Do you know what I just did? I handed the deal over to Genevieve. It’s hers now, and she’s willing to stay in New Zealand for a year.”

Josie’s eyes widened. “But what if the CEO won’t take the trade and insists on you?”

“I’m pretty sure Genevieve can handle him. And if not?” He stopped to imagine losing House in a Box. And he knew. “I really don’t care.”

“I’m so glad.”

“I should never have said yes to it. You and what we’re building between us mean so much more to me than any business deal ever could. The only project I’m interested in right now is you and me together, in London, as a proper couple.”

“You’re doing that for me?”

“For us. You don’t know how much I admire you for coming here and being so honest. Honest in a way that I have not been with anyone since I was seventeen. I’ve always been too afraid of how they might respond to the truth inside me. To my fears. To my weaknesses. But you, Josie—you’re not afraid of anything. I look at you and I know this is such a big part of why I couldn’t help but fall in love with you. Because you’re so damned brave. And yet, your heart is right there on your sleeve for everyone to see. I want to learn from you. Maybe after twenty or thirty years with you, I will no longer be afraid to be who I really am.”

“You’re amazing,” she told him. “And you have never given yourself enough credit for that. The way your family loves you—that’s not just because of blood ties. It’s because of the man you are. And I hope it doesn’t take twenty or thirty years for me to convince you that you are lovable exactly as you are.”

This time, she was the one kissing him. Stealing his breath in the same way that she had completely stolen his heart.

“I love you, Josie. And I promise you I won’t ever do this to you again. I won’t run, even if everything inside of me is telling me that it’s the safest thing to do. I’m going to count on you to help me face and deal with that voice inside me that tells me it’s too risky to love. That it’s too dangerous to devote myself to something I’m passionate about. And to know that it will be okay if something ever hurts me the way my father was hurt all those years ago.”

“Anything you need from me, I want to give to you. And just like you, I know you will always support me when that little voice inside my head tries to tell me that I’m not good enough. That I’m not special enough.”

“You are the most special, wonderful woman alive. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure that you never, ever forget that. Oh, and I bought you something.”

He handed her a bag with a book inside. She pulled it out. “Pride and Prejudice,” she said aloud. Then she glanced up, puzzled. “How did you know this is my favorite book?”

“I didn’t. But I remembered Mari saying it was about a man who had to let go of his pride in order to win the woman of his dreams. It seemed appropriate.”

She hugged him to her. “It’s perfect, and so are you.”

EPILOGUE

Fiona Sullivan showed up at the informal family launch party of Elderflower Island Reading Retreats promptly at seven o’clock Tuesday night. The reading retreats started the next day, but Mari and Josie had decided to hold a little party to thank the family for pitching in to get the cottages ready in time. Secretly, they all wanted to see with their own eyes that Malcolm had learned his lesson and wouldn’t be putting his heart at risk again anytime soon.

Malcolm and Josie couldn’t seem to stop touching each other, glancing over with looks so full of love that Fiona felt she was intruding if she didn’t glance away.

The cottages were beautiful, and she took a moment to take pride in the part she and her decorating eye had played. She’d even enjoyed working within a tight budget, sourcing secondhand designer curtains and cushions. Amazingly, she’d popped into a couple of charity shops, something she’d never done before and secretly enjoyed. She’d bought a couple of lamps, a side table that was also a bookshelf, and some book-themed prints for almost nothing.

Lewis demanded the best, and she’d learned early in their marriage that he equated cost with quality. Everything from their house to their furniture to their cars and clothes was top of the line. So she’d enjoyed a little holiday from buying the very best and gotten creative with cheaper finds. It had been surprisingly satisfying.

“You really should have become a professional decorator,” Alice said, also gazing around at the comfortable room that looked like something between a country hotel and a private library.

Perhaps there were moments when she’d have liked a career, but Lewis needed her. They entertained his clients a great deal, and he expected her always to look her best, so she spent more time than she cared to admit on treadmills and in salons and high-end boutiques. She hired and managed the household staff, but always did her own cooking. Lewis liked a home-cooked meal, and she did love to cook. At one time, she’d imagined motherhood would take up a lot of her time, but that joy had been denied her.

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