Page 76 of Love Is: Two Bodies One Soul

ChapterTwenty-Five

Saturday 22ndOctober

It was an hour since Kate had sent Xander his travel details. She’d waited nervously for the bomb blast, but nothing happened. She waited some more, wondering if he had received her email. Then proof he had arrived with the first of many texts pinging onto her phone.

She read: Kate, there’s a mistake. This is the wrong date. Then she left him stewing for fifteen minutes, before tapping her answer: No mistake. That is the correct date.

Instantly, Xander came back with: It can’t be. It has Friday’s date. Yesterday!!! Multiple exclamation marks made an angry red faced emoji redundant, but he’d inserted two for good measure anyway.

This time she only kept him waiting for ten minutes before answering: That’s right.

Then a long pause from Xander.

Kate ignored her aching heart as she imagined him staring at her message. His brow would furrow as he let out an exasperated sigh. Dark blond hair would fall in deliciously louche waves over his brow while he tried to work out what was happening. Had he got it yet? Or was he still wondering what had gone wrong? Xander could sometimes be remarkably slow on the uptake for a bright, privately educated young man.

His next message arrived.

What are you saying, Kate?

I’m saying the flight was on Friday evening. Surely that was clear enough?

It was. The ringtone of an inbound call chimed cheerily, and Kate stared at the identity. Xander. Then she’d switched off the phone, deciding it was time for a long, long soak in the bath with lots of bubbles and maybe a glass (or two) of white wine.

An hour later, she was out of her bath, ignoring the persistent knots in her stomach and padding through from the kitchen with a third glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc, wondering if she should phone for a takeaway. She always got hungry when nervous and a little pampering was good for a girl in times of stress. Perhaps she’d order something special, she thought as she picked up her phone, switched it back on and flipped through the messages. Xander had left twenty. She listened to the last one first.

‘Kate, where the fuck are you?’

Charming!

The doorbell rang.

***|

Chest heaving, not recovered from his mad dash from the tube station, Xander stared at Kate. How could she look so lovely at a moment like this? Strawberries and cream complexion, beautiful big green eyes looking at him warily, a spiral of red hair silkily clinging to her damp cheek, skin flushed. Everything about her made him ache. He’d spent the last two weeks in hell wishing he could get back with her, and now here he was, standing in front of her with every part of his being in torment and no idea what he should do next.

She smelled so good. What was that foam she used in her bath? In a dark green bottle, a herb-like mix of scents which always drove him wild and made him imagine he was having sex with a sprite of nature at midsummer, on the starlit Sussex Downs. His sprite – his Kate.

As they stood in her doorway, staring at one another, Xander forgot he was angry. He forgot he’d stared and stared at the e-ticket until, finally, he’d spotted the letter ‘a’ at the end of the passenger’s first name.

Now, with Kate standing there, pink and sweet-scented from her bath, the name change was put aside. His anger and hurt dwindled to nothing and he thought only of winning back the woman he loved. Loved? Yes, loved. He’d known for months, probably from the summer … maybe since the weekend he and Kate had stayed at Lexie’s. He’d been in denial. Perhaps that’s why he responded to Samantha’s approach. Trying to ignore his true feelings and, putting everything he wanted in jeopardy. What an idiot he was. He loved Kate. That was the truth. He wanted her to forgive him and spend the rest of her life with him. But right then, he wanted to run his hands over her warm skin. He imagined nuzzling her to the ground there and then … so he would be in paradise. It had been nearly three weeks since he last touched her, and he longed more than he would ever have thought possible just for the feel of Kate. To hold her and never let her go again.

‘Kate, what have you done?’

Her expression changed, and she shut the door on him.

‘Kate, don’t do this.’ Xander dropped his head against the door with a thud. ‘Please, Kate, open the door. I’m not angry. I won’t shout at you. I just need to understand why. I just need ….’

Silence.

Was she listening from the other side of the door? He hadn’t heard her move.

‘Kate, please let me in. I need to talk to you. Please.’

The door opened.

‘You had better come in.’ She sounded husky, and her deep green eyes darkened as she stepped aside for him. ‘Go through. I’ll get you a glass of wine.’

Xander did as she instructed. He knew Kate’s small flat as well as he knew his own, but he couldn’t relax as he would have done in the past. Instead, feeling edgy, he perched on the arm of her sofa and waited for Kate.

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