Page 93 of Escape to the Sun

She closed her mouth.

“I need you to hear me. And really listen to me, okay?”

She nodded.

He took a breath. “I know what you saw this morning hurt you and that was never my intention.” She squeezed her eyes for a second before she opened them again. Hurt was an understatement. “I need you to believe me that there’s nothing between Sara and me. I thought I was clear with her before, but apparently not. That’s been remedied. What happened today will never happen again.”

She nodded, because there was nothing else to say.

“Do you believe me? Nothing happened, Heather. I need you to believe me.”

“I do.”

“You do?”

“I do.” As she said the words, she found she believed them. Seeing Ash standing there with another woman shocked her. It hurt her. But listening to him, seeing his face as he explained it, she did believe him. But that didn’t fix everything.

“I’m glad you believe me.” He let out a breath, and visibly relaxed, but not all the way. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. About how I told you I would never love again.”

Her heart clenched in her chest, hearing him speak the words out loud again.

“I was wrong, Heather. I think I already knew I was wrong when I told you that. In fact, I know I was wrong because when I told you about Carlie and my past, it was just that. My past. But what I didn’t realize was that I’d already fallen in love with you.”

His mouth kept moving, and more words came out, but Heather wasn’t listening. There was an intense buzzing in her head, with his words on replay. I’d already fallen in love with you.

“Wait.” She interrupted him. “What did you say?”

“I was talking about how I was wrong.”

“Right.” She stood and the towel dropped in a puddle at her feet. “Before that. About how—”

“I love you?”

She nodded.

“I do.” He smiled. “I’m not even totally sure when it happened, but all I know is that I love you so much, Heather. When you ran away from me today, I knew I’d do anything it took to make you understand about what you saw and more than that…” He stepped over the candles and closed some of the distance between them. “I needed to make you understand that it doesn’t matter what I said before because I was wrong. I can love again and I do. I know you feel the same way.” He shook his head. “No, I hope you feel the same way.”

He took two more steps until he was directly in front of her and took her hands in his own. “Tell me, Heather.” She looked directly into his eyes. The candles and the moonlight lit them perfectly, so she could see everything he was feeling and she knew he could see the same. “Tell me you love me.”

“I love you.” The words were soft at first, as if they were hard to say, but the moment they were out of her mouth, she had to say them again. “I love you.” And again. “I love you.” This time she laughed, because it just felt so right.

“You do?”

She nodded.

Ash bent and kissed her forehead. “Good.”

“Good?”

“Good,” he said with a laugh of his own. “Because I was all out of ideas on how to convince you.”

Heather reached up and pulled his head down to hers so she could kiss him properly. He tasted of spice and salt and everything Ash. His arms came around her bare back, holding her tight as their lips explored each other. They kissed as if it had been months since they’d had the taste of each other. And when finally they came apart, Heather said, “I think you just said it all.”

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