No Kissing Allowed (No Kissing Allowed #1)(61)

Are you okay? Why aren’t you responding? I’m calling Lauren.

Lauren didn’t answer. Fuck it, I’m calling the office.

The admin said you left early. Please tell me you’re all right.

I’m really worried here.

Damn, new admin! She doesn’t even know my name. How would she know if I left early? I hit his name again, pacing the room as I worked my bottom lip between my teeth. Voicemail. Dammit. Frustrated, I threw my phone to the floor, then quickly grabbed it, checking to make sure I hadn’t broken it, my mind whirling.

“What do you think happened?” Lauren asked.

I shook my head, tears burning my eyes. “I don’t know. He’s never like this. Something had to have happened, and now I can’t get him on the phone and— What if he’s been hurt? What if he was at the hospital when he called? What if he’s in surgery now, and I have no idea what’s going on and—”

Lauren pulled me into a hug. “No, honey, I’m sure it’s nothing big. He just probably needed to talk to you, and now he’s in a meeting.”

“It’s eight thirty here, and he’s five hours ahead. He should be calling me or asleep. This…I can’t just sit here.” I spun around and started for the door, reaching down to grab my purse, my phone still in my hand as Lauren chased after me.

“Cameron, stop. Stop. Where are you going?”

“The airport.”

“What? You can’t go to the airport. Who knows when the next flight is to London? You could be there all night. Just stay here. Just wait.”

“I can’t wait here. At least if I’m there, I’m doing something. I’ll worry myself sick if I stay here.” I started for the door just as my phone rang in my hand. Without thinking I accepted the call and pressed the phone to my ear. “Aidan?”

“It’s me.”

“Oh my God. I was so worried. I thought…I don’t know what I thought. God, I—”

A soft knock interrupted my rambling and for a moment I wasn’t sure if it had been at my door or coming from the phone. I waited, and then the knock sounded again, this time clearly from both my door and through the phone.

“Aidan?”

I ran for the door and threw it open to find him standing there, cell phone to his ear. He slowly lowered the phone.

“Are you crazy—what are you doing here?”

“I had something important to tell you.”

“What?”

“I love you.” He took a step toward me. “I couldn’t wait another moment to tell you, but then you didn’t answer my texts or calls, and I thought something happened. And before I could convince myself to be logical, I had a plane ticket and was headed to the airport.” Another step. “And that’s when I realized that I didn’t want to be an ocean away from you if something happened. I want to be right here, protecting you—loving you. I am in love with you, Cameron Lawson. Every fiber in my body aches when I’m away from you, and these last few weeks have been the worst of my life. I don’t want to spend a minute without you, forget a day or a week or a month. And I know this is a lot to take in, but I can’t do this anymore. Forget the job, I need you.”

Tears raced down my cheeks, and before he could say another word, I launched into his arms, my lips on his, every emotion pouring out of me. I couldn’t wait another second, because he was right. These weeks brought on a pain I hadn’t felt since my dad died. An emptiness that couldn’t be filled.

I kissed him harder, desperate to taste and feel every bit of him, then I pulled away. “I love you, too. And I don’t want to do this either. I’ll quit. I’ll email Gayle tonight. I’ll—”

“I sent my resignation in to the partners this morning.”

“You what? No, you can’t.”

He peered into my eyes as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “No, what I can’t do is spend another moment away from you.”

I rose onto my toes and kissed him again. “So you’re here? For good?”

Aidan pulled me into his arms. “As long as you’re here, I’m here. I love you. You’re my home now.”

And he was mine.





Epilogue


Eighteen months later


The DJ switched from the classic wedding dance songs to Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight.” I smiled as Lauren and Patrick went to the center of the dance floor. I had never seen her more beautiful or more genuinely happy.

The summer heat had worried me when Lauren selected July for her wedding, but like always, she had been right. A soft breeze blew through the air during the outdoor service, and when day turned into night and the candles were lit for the reception, I found myself dreaming about my own wedding. Or the hope of a wedding someday. Lauren’s happiness made me hopeful in a way I had scarcely allowed myself to hope before. But now, here, watching her and Patrick dance, knowing that I was with someone I loved made me giddy inside.

I glanced around for Aidan. Ever since he quit Sanderson-Lowe and opened his own agency, he had been working around the clock, making calls, setting up meetings, expanding his business. Once the non-compete time frame lapsed, many of his main clients with Sanderson-Lowe followed him to his agency. At first, he worked out of his apartment, but then he took out a lease for a small office and hired Dorothy, his assistant from Sanderson-Lowe. Before long, his office became fully functional, complete with an art department and an account manager—me. We were living our dreams, together.