Page 7 of Forever Mr Black

I can hardly throw stones. I jetted off to another country.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“I wanted to be on my own for a while,” he carries on, not listening to me. “I turned my phone off because I needed some time to think.”

I look at him. “And what conclusion did you come to?”

“About what?”

“You told me that whenever you have a problem, you come here, and you always leave, knowing what to do.”

“That’s right; I do.”

“So? What did you decide to do?”

“Go back home and talk to you. Because it doesn’t matter how we argue or how angry I am, I’ll always love you.” He slides his arms around my waist and gives me a squeeze. “If I’d have done that at the start instead of leaving, I would have been there when you needed me.”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re here now,” I insist.

“I’m fucked off with myself.”

“I can see that.”

“I feel like I’ve let you down.”

I curl my hand around his neck and kiss him slowly, taking my time, savouring the taste of him. We’re both slightly breathless when we pull away.

I smile. “It worked.”

“What did?”

“The kiss. It shut you up.”

“Any kiss from you is guaranteed to shut me up.”

I stroke my fingers across the back of his hand. “I told Mum we’re engaged. Well, actually, she noticed my ring.”

“Was she pleased?”

“Very. It cheered her up after the day she had. She was going to tell Martin before she left.”

He beams. “That’s great. I’m glad she’s happy.”

“She was always going to be. They both think you’re wonderful.”

He tightens his grip on me and smiles. “And Mum thinks you’re wonderful.”

I close my eyes and sink back against him. Everything is almost perfect.

A few seconds pass before he mentions her. “Tell me that you didn’t really believe I’d fucked Ash.”

The familiar way in which he says her name annoys me, but I let it go. I’m really not in the mood to talk about her, but I know it’s something we need to discuss.

I lift my eyes to find him watching me carefully.

“No. Not really, not deep down,” I admit. “Big Steve came to the apartment to talk to you and told me you weren’t at the club, where you’d told me you were going. I’m not going to lie; I was a bit suspicious, but when I couldn’t find you, I was seriously worried something bad had happened. I didn’t follow you. I drove round half of London, trying to find you. I went to Savage because I was desperate and worried. I never dreamt you’d actually be there.”

He rubs a hand through his hair and looks awkward. “I was going to tell you that I’d met up with Ash after I got home. I knew if I told you first, we’d end up having an argument before I could leave.”

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