Page 116 of The One That Got Away

And I didn’t think I’d ever been so happy to see anyone in my life.

47

MAX

For the past half an hour, my heart had raced so much that I thought it was gonna fly out of my chest.

And I’d used so many serviettes from the bar to wipe the sweat off my forehead I was sure the barman was gonna add it to my tab.

But when Stella spotted me and her face broke into a huge smile, all of the nerves vanished and every atom in my body came alive.

She looked happy to see me.

Thank fuck for that.

First hurdle down, several more to go.

God, she looked beautiful.

Stella was dressed in a long yellow floral dress and she looked like sunshine. All I wanted to do was jump up, pull her into me and kiss her. But I had to wait. Go at her pace.

I’d said to Colton that I wanted to do things properly and I meant it.

‘Max!’ she shouted. ‘What are you… how come you’re here?’

‘Stell.’ I took her hands in mine. ‘I asked your mum to bring you here because there’s something I need to tell you.’

‘Mum?’ Her head spun around to face her mum. ‘You knew Max would be here?’ She nodded. ‘I… I have so many questions!’

‘Maybe save them until later, love. He’s trying to tell you something!’

‘Yeah, course. Sorry!’ Stella turned back to me.

‘So, I’m not good at expressing myself but I… Even though it’s only been a week since we came back from The Love Hotel, I missed you.So much. Those two weeks together were some of the best in my life. And I want more of it. I want more fun times together. I missed waking up with you. I missed you lying on my chest. I missed snuggling up on the sofa and watchingTed Lassowith you. I missed hearing you laugh, seeing your smile, touching you…’

‘Ooh, hello!’ Heather – Stella’s mum – gasped. ‘Oops. Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt. Do continue!’

‘I miss everything. I don’t want to be without you, Stella. I love you and I want to be with you. If you’re interested, I’d like us to be together.’

Stella stood there staring at me, her mouth open.

It was obvious she was in shock, but I couldn’t work out whether it was good shock orno fucking wayshock.

Seconds passed in silence, but it felt like hours. I knew she’d be surprised to see me, but I was hoping she was still interested.

When I played the songs she’d added on the playlist, which included Mariah Carey’s ‘We Belong Together’ it seemed like it, but as the silence stretched, my nerves came back.

‘Well, say something, Stella! Put the poor guy out of his misery!’

‘Yes!’ she shouted, snapping out her trance. ‘Sorry, I was just, I wasn’t expecting you to be here or to say all those things so Ijust needed a moment to take it all in. To check I wasn’t dreaming. It seems a bit surreal. Being in theTed Lassopub with the man I’ve always loved telling me he loves me too and wants to be with me. This is real, right?’

‘Yep.’ I brushed my thumb over her cheek, then paused as I replayed what she’d just said. ‘Wait. Did you just say you’ve always loved me?’

‘I did,’ she said quickly.

‘Well, shit.’ I grinned, my heart inflating like a hot air balloon. ‘I thought I was the only one. The truth is, I never stopped loving you. I don’t know if there was ever a day that I didn’t think of you. Whenever I saw something funny or interesting, I always wanted to tell you about it. Or I’d wonder what you were doing and how you were.’

‘Really?’

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