Page 72 of Three's a Crowd
Sated and elated.
When they’d both caught their breath, Zach gently rolled off her and after helping her properly remove the rest of her clothes, pulled her close against his body again, kissing her face and hair.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked quietly.
She looked at him and smiled. ‘Yes.’
His brow pinched into a frown as he stroked the hair away from her face. ‘I know I’ve made a god-awful mess of everything up till now and I’m really sorry. I’ve been so jealous of Adam. I wanted you so much, but I didn’t know what to do to prove that I loved you. You always seemed angry with me, no matter how many times I tried to apologise.’ He sighed and ran a hand over his own tousled hair.
Daisy was lost for words. He was right. She’d been really afraid to trust him, but she truly believed now, deep down, thathe did love her. ‘I’m sorry too. I was scared that you were just playing games with me,’ she whispered. ‘But I know you weren’t.’
He drew his head back to look into her eyes. ‘Please say it now, Daisy.’
‘Okay.’ She cupped his jaw and looked right back at him. ‘I’m in love with you and I always will be.’
He finally smiled, the expression on his face the happiest she’d ever seen him.
They lay in each other’s arms for a long while, enjoying the closeness of their bodies as they gently dozed.
After a while, Zach turned to kiss along her shoulder to her throat, then up to her mouth. After teasing her with his tongue and biting down gently on her bottom lip, he pulled away and gazed at her.
‘You’re so gorgeous. I’ve never met anyone who can equal you in beauty,’ he said, kissing her again.
She pulled away from him with one ironic eyebrow raised. ‘What, not even all those glamorous women you’ve dated?’ she asked, not daring to believe the compliment but desperately hoping to be contradicted.
‘You’re kidding me. Most of them have turned out to be self-centred attention seekers. I felt like I was playing a part the whole time I was in a relationship with any of them. You met Lola, right? I only had to mention that we were close once and she turned into this crazy-jealous person I didn’t recognise,’ he said, grimacing as if reliving it in his mind. ‘But you… you’re the real deal. You know me better than anyone. By which I mean you know what an irascible bastard I am, but you love me anyway. I need you, Daisy, to save me from myself,’ he said with a teasinggrin. ‘You’re so genuine. No pretentions. That’s what makes you so beautiful: that and your amazing eyes,’ he added. ‘Even when we were children, you just blew me away. When I first saw you again at the anniversary party in Fowey, I thought my heart was going to stop.’
Daisy looked at him in surprise.
‘Really? I had no idea you felt like that. I guess I was too concerned about how you were makingmefeel. I dropped that glass bowl of fruit salad all over the floor at the sight of you.’
Zach laughed, his dark eyes twinkling. ‘I just put that down to your usual clumsiness,’ he teased.
She slapped his arm playfully. ‘No, not that time, at least.’
He propped his head on his hand. ‘Did you really find me attractive then? I had no idea. You seemed much more interested in Adam.’
Daisy grimaced. ‘I was confused about how I felt about you. I thought you weren’t interested in me and Adam came along professing his love and I didn’t know what to do.’
She glanced at him. His face was set in a frown.
‘Don’t be cross. I was so young and naïve; I didn’t think I could handle you. You seemed so self-assured and…’ she paused trying to find the right words, ‘…so hard.’
He glanced away from her when she said that. His face tense and troubled. ‘I know.’ He sighed and rubbed at his eyes. ‘I wasn’t in a good mental place when I was young. Well, you know all about my upbringing. Iwashard. I didn’t really feel any love from my dad. That’s why I care about the Carmichaels so much. They saved me from going completely off the rails.’
‘Yeah, they’re really good people. That’s why I love them too. I feel like they’d always have my back if I needed them to.’
Zach nodded in agreement. ‘Yeah.’ He paused for a moment, then took a breath before he spoke again, as if he wasn’t sure about the wisdom of saying the next thing.
‘You know, Sally kind of warned me off you when we were younger. Not that she was really blatant about it. She just suggested I give you some space. I think she thought I was too angry for you. I guess she wasn’t wrong. Trouble was, it only made me want you more. I really hated being told what to do – or what not to do – when I was young. Still do.’ He gave her a rueful grin.
‘No kidding,’ she agreed, grinning back.
‘But I love her like she’s my own mother so I tried to do what she asked. But it was so fucking hard, Daisy. I had no idea how to be friends with you. I always wanted more than that. So I was really confused about how to act around you when we were young. And then when we got locked in that cellar.Jesus. The way you looked at me: with such defiance… and such heat. You always knew exactly how to push my buttons.’
He reached out and stroked her face.
‘I totally went to pieces. Before and after. I felt so shitty about going against her wishes, but Ireallyfucking wanted you. I wantedyouto be my first. I’m sorry I made you believe otherwise. I was really cruel to you, but I swear I was trying to protect you, and myself of course. I’ve always been a self-serving arsehole. Still am.’
