Page 146 of Ace My Heart

“Just say it, Stink, so I can kiss you already,” he whispered. I heard my breath hiss as I gasped. I ignored the fact that he’d just used the nickname he’d promised not to.

I knew I had to say it. I knew it was time to tell the truth. But I was stubborn, I couldn’t quite swallow all of my pride.

“I don’t know why I have to say it out loud – you already know it anyway,” I grumbled. “But yes, I’m in love with you.” I sighed, reaching up to brush my fingertips down his cheek. He deserved better than that.

“I love you, Joel Herbert.” I whispered.

His mouth met mine, but he could hardly kiss me he was smiling so much. And that made me smile too. Soon we were both grinning like fools, and we’d given up on kissing for the moment.

“Youloveme,” I sighed in wonder and pressed my cheek to his, loving the way I couldfeelhis smile. He turned his head until his lips were at my ear.

“Youloveme,” he replied. His mouth traced down from my earlobe, along my jaw to my chin, and then he found my mouth again.

He wasn’t smiling anymore. He was kissing me in that way that I should have realised was about more than just seduction. He’d always kissed me like someone who loved me, I’d just been too blind to recognise it. I wrapped my right arm around his neck and pulled him closer.

His hands slid down my back and slipped under the bottom of my t-shirt. He broke away and gasped as his hands met my naked butt.

“I wasn’t going to do this tonight,” he moaned against my hair, even as I felt the physical evidence that it wasdefinitelywhat he wanted to do, jabbing me in the hipbone.

I dug my nails into the back of his neck. “Why the Hell not?” I asked huskily.

“Because I didn’t want you to think that I only said I love you so you’d sleep with me again.”

I giggled breathlessly. “I’m going to regret saying this, when your ego gets so big it needs its own postcode, but you wouldn’t have needed to say it to get me in bed with you. You were right – I can’t resist you.”

“Now she tells me!” he joked, his hands moving off my butt and caressing up and down my back. I clung to him, pressing my lips to his collarbone.

“Mel, I love you, and if you said to me that you wanted to sleep alone tonight, I’d respect that. The last few weeks have been … a lot.” He leaned back and waited for me to answer. I bit my lip as if I was thinking about it.

“Well,” I replied after a pregnant pause, “actually …” I grinned when I noticed that he was holding his breath. “I think I might just spend the night in your room, if that’s okay.”

He didn’t need any more encouragement. He scooped me up into his arms, like I weighed nothing, careful of my shoulder, and carried me inside. I laughed, and it was the most carefree sound I’d made in as long as I could remember.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Healing

Icould finally lift my arm above my head without feeling like it was about to fall off. The relief seeped through me, making my knees feel like jelly.

“You’re coming along in leaps and bounds, Mel. I told you that you’d be fine, as long as you did the work.”

Julie smiled at me as she helped me stretch out my shoulders. I’d be sore in the morning, but it meant that my shoulder was getting better. It meant that soon I would be able to compete again. The thought made me impatient.

I’d already missed all of the US tournaments. Tokyo was just around the corner. I really wanted to try my luck, but I was sure that Julie would tell me not to push it. An instruction that Joel would no doubt agree with wholeheartedly.

Thinking about Joel made me smile ridiculously. It had been six weeks since I got out of hospital. Six weeks since he’d told me he loved me.

Julie saw me grinning like a fool and smirked. “You can’t stop thinking about him, can you?” she asked. I batted at her with my left hand, pleased that I could actually use it again.

“I can’t help it,” I sighed.

Julie chuckled. “I know what you mean. I used to be like that when I thought about …” Her voice trailed off. I knew she had been about to say Steve. But for more reasons than one she felt it wasn’t appropriate to speak about him.

“How doyoufeel, Julie, now that Thomas has been found guilty?” I asked, gazing out over Sydney Harbour. Joel’s gym and tennis court were perfect for Julie to help me rehab. The best part was that it was private.

In some sense, my injured shoulder was a blessing – it had kept me out of the public eye for the weeks following the shooting. The weeks where the speculation in the media was going berserk.

“I feel … at peace, I guess. I don’t think that has much to do with that boy pleading guilty or anything. I think it’s more to do with Sandra.”

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