International Player(69)

“Truly needs to know she’s in your plans, and that the future you see for yourself includes her.”

“She is. She really is. I got a business offer a few weeks ago that would involve a lot of travelling, but I couldn’t imagine a life where I only saw her a few times a month. I tried to talk to her about it but that’s when she ended things.”

“So what happened? Did you accept the offer?” Abigail asked.

I shook my head. “I said no yesterday. It’s not the life I want. Even though she ended things, I can’t picture my future without her. Can’t accept that we’re over for good. And if we’re not over, then I know I’ll never be happy travelling when I could be home with her.”

Rob cleared his throat and grinned at his wife.

“Sounds to me like you have the evidence you need,” Abigail said.

Without knowing it, I was organizing my life around this woman. Rob said it would happen like that. He’d warned me.

“You think me having turned down the job will be enough?”

“I think the reasons you turned down the job should convince her,” Abigail said.

And now I saw it. Loving Truly wasn’t a goal or a challenge. She was a way of life. She was and would be at the heart of everything, forever.





Thirty-Six





Noah


I was probably about to get arrested. The air was still and frigid, and my fingers had become stiff as the minutes ticked by. It was as if the cold and dark added to the pressure on my chest. I was desperate to see her. I’d been watching the entrance to Truly’s building for forty minutes. Where the hell was she? There’d been no answer when I’d buzzed up, but I’d been determined to wait for her.

My heart lifted as she appeared on the other side of the road. I took a step toward her before I realized she wasn’t on her own. She was with a guy. Who had a dog.

Surely Abigail and Rob would have mentioned if Truly was on a date? But then I knew from experience that Truly didn’t tell her sister everything about her love life.

Fuck, what had I expected? That she’d remain celibate? That everyone’s lives stopped when I wasn’t in them? She had every right to date other men. Sleep with other men. I just didn’t know if I could stand here outside her flat while it happened.

I waited as the two of them disappeared inside. The lights went on in her living room window and her silhouette appeared. I imagined her seeing me when she drew the curtains. Fuck, I should never have let her go. I should have said anything it took to keep her from walking away.

My imagination was my own worst enemy. Were they having drinks before doing whatever they were going to do, or had they gone straight to her bedroom? Would she think of me when he touched her?

I began to pace, and on each turn, I inched closer to the front of her building. I wasn’t about to stand by and let whatever was going on up there just happen. Not as long as I had breath in my body.

I sped across the street and caught someone coming out of Truly’s building, grabbing the door before it slammed shut. Too impatient for the lift, I took the stairs to the fourth floor and arrived winded. I rested my hands on the door frame, trying to catch my breath, then knocked on her door. Would she be shocked when she answered, or would she want to know why I was here?

“Noah? What are you doing here?” She glanced at her watch. “It’s late.”

“I know. I’m sorry but I have to speak to you about something.”

She glanced over her shoulder.

“It’s important,” I said.

Finally, she opened the door and let me in. She didn’t look pleased to see me, but she still looked beautiful. Her hair was up, but some curls had escaped to fall around her face. She’d changed into a Star Wars Episode V t-shirt—of course, because it was the best of all the films—and pajama bottoms. She looked incredible. “I wanted to talk to you and—”

“It couldn’t wait?”

“I guess I’m impatient. You should go and tell the other guy to leave.”

“What are you talking about? You think I’ve got a man stashed in my bedroom?”

I sucked in a breath. “The guy you came home with.”

“Oh my God.” She paced into the kitchen and filled two glasses with cold water from the tap, shoving one at me before she headed back into the living room. “He’s my neighbor. I met him in the park while I was out. We walked back together.”

My neck muscles unbunched, and it took every ounce of my willpower not to grin like the cat who got the fucking cream. Thank fuck.

“Now that you have the lowdown on my evening, can you explain to me why you are here?” She took a seat on the sofa.

“What you said at the winter ball caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting to have a conversation about our relationship, our future together in the lobby of a London hotel that night.”

She took another sip of water, watching me over the rim of the glass.

“I need you to know that I’ve never known anyone like you. I’ve never felt what I feel for you for anyone.” I blew out a breath. “Let me start again.”

“Noah, I’m not sure this is a good—”

“Just hear me out, Truly. I’m sure you have everything worked out in that head of yours. That you’ve told yourself to move on, that we weren’t right on paper or whatever. But a week ago you were imagining us with gray hair, playing Scrabble, and I don’t believe that disappears overnight.” I exhaled and she didn’t try to interrupt me again.