Page 80 of The Forgotten Wife

Her heart thundered. “I just do.”

Rising, he shoved a hand through his hair and paced. “But… you can’t just know. Surely there are signs? Indications?” She put the brush down. “I guess.”

“Tell me what they are,” he said in a rush.

She licked her lips. “Well, when I feel sad and I think of you, I feel better. When I wake up in the morning, I listen for you, and when you walk into the room, my chest wells up, and I’m glad you’re there. The thought of you being hurt in any way makes my heart ache. When I think of growing old with anyone, yours is the face I see. And when we make love, I feel as if heaven itself is smiling down at me, filling me with bliss. When I imagine doing all of that with anyone else, I…well, I can’t.Nick!”She screeched when he lurched toward her and fell on his knees in front of her. When he dropped his head into her lap, she sank her hands into his hair. “Darling, what is it?”

He mumbled into her lap.

“What did you say?”

Slowly he raised his head. “So if I feel all those things you just described, and then seeing you in that bastard’s arms made me feel as if I was dying, what does that mean?”

Her poor heart sprouted wings again, but hesitated, wary of the hope that urged it to fly. “I don’t know, Nick. Try saying what you feel.”

His hands circled her waist, gripped tight as if seeking an anchor.

“I…I love you.” His eyes widened, and his nostrils flared. “I love you.Thee mou, I love you.”

The sob burst from her heart before she could stop it. “Oh, Nick. Oh, my darling, darling Nick.”

He took her in his arms and pulled them both to their feet. “I love you, but I never want to experience again what I did tonight.

I don’t think I’d survive it.”

“Me, neither,” she whispered, holding him tight. Her heart soared; tears threatened to blind her. “Oh, Nick. When did this happen? When did you start feeling like this?” she asked, eager to know.

“It hit me two days ago, on our last night on Althea. The French door was open, and…before I found you in our bedroom,

I thought somehow Mwana had captured you again.”

She pulled back in surprise. “Really?”

“It wasn’t completely irrational. Although I’m guessing irrationality is another symptom?”

She smiled, nodding. “Trust me, there are many symptoms of love.”

He looked so terrified, she rose on tiptoe and kissed him. His arms banded harder around her. After several seconds, she broke the kiss. “You were telling me when you discovered you loved me,” she prompted, aching to hear the words again.

He kissed her fingers. “It wasn’t a discovery, more of a realization of what I’d been feeling all along but was subconsciously refusing to put a label on.” His laugh was pure self-deprecation. “I suppose because when it comes down to it, there’s still a frightened ten-year old somewhere deep inside, scared of being hurt and rejected again.”

“Tell me again,” she demanded gently. “Practice makes perfect, I hear.”

He touched his forehead to hers. “I love you, my Tinkerbelle,” he complied huskily.

Tears filled her eyes. “I love you, too. I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you.”

“You didn’t hate me in-between when things got rough?” he asked, doubt coating his voice.

“I thought I did, but true love can withstand anything. You’re my hero, my saviour, my husband. And I’ll love you until I draw my last breath.”

He sealed his lips to hers, but after a long, thorough kiss, pulled back, a frown on his face. “That’s what my mother said about love withstanding anything.”

Belle tipped her head, gazing up at him thoughtfully. “You should give her the benefit of the doubt, darling. In her own way, she loves you. I could see it when she was here. Maybe she wasn’t very great at expressing it to you?—”

“Yeah,thatruns in the family.” His grimace was pained. “She didn’t regret having me, so that’s a start. And she withstood my father’s obsessive tantrums for as long as she could. She walked away from me, too, but she claims she’s regretted it for a long time.”

That explained a lot of the heartbreak she’d seen in the other woman’s eyes. “So are you going to see her?” Belle asked.

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