Page 29 of Her Dom's Secret Past

No, he didn’t seem the type, but then who knew. The letter seemed to be genuine. He wanted a relationship. Would he have written that if he wanted to forget me?

Actually, logic said he would have left without writing anything, but logic flew out of the window when all I could think of was I’d lost something wonderful.

I was glad when Sunday arrived and I could go home. When I handed in the key, I tried to wrangle John’s full name and number from the receptionist to absolutely no avail. It was the same woman who chastised me when I asked if he’d left. I explained the letter that he left, asking me to ring him. I pleaded with her but all I got was a blank glare and a “humph”.

My drive home was bleak. Even the weather seemed to fit my mood. It was cold, miserable, and wet. When I got home, I dragged my suitcase upstairs to my apartment, left it in the spare bedroom, and threw myself on my bed in tears.

I’d finally met a man who punched every button I had. Handsome, funny, interesting. He seemed to honestly enjoy my company and if his kisses and our making-out were anything to go by, we excited each other. And now I’d lost him. I lay on the bed, bawling like a teenager.

When I finally stopped crying, my eyes sore and my throat burning, I fired up my laptop and typed in an inquiry for Marlow—there was one near me! It was on the Hawkesbury River. That had to be it!

Then I spied the entry underneath it,Marlo. It was in Victoria and also on a river—the Snowy River. Damn, which one was it? They both fitted the description. Not that either helped. Bit hard to find a person only by their first name, and especially a common name like John. It wasn’t as if I could drive to Marlow orMarloand cruise the streets searching for him.

Becky and Cass commiserated with me. I’d been going to dinner with them once a week for years, as well as a fortnightly luncheon with Charlie and Justin. Becky had rung me Monday night, demanding to know all about my holiday. I tried to get enthusiastic because it really was wonderful, but I knew she saw right through me.

“Come to dinner tomorrow night. There’s more to this than you’re telling, Belle. I expect you here at six.”

I promised I’d be there and I didn’t think I’d even put my keys and handbag down before I burst into tears. Then I told them my sorry tale and even showed them the note I’d carried around and stared at a dozen times a day.

“Do you think he did it on purpose, Becky? Wrote the number wrong?”

I could hear the sadness in my voice as Becky reread the note.

“I don’t think so. I mean, it sounds as if he certainly wants to see you again. What do you think, Cass?”

“I agree. If he didn’t want to see you, he wouldn’t have bothered to leave a message. You said you tried moving a few numbers around?”

“Yep, but there’s thousands of combinations. I’d have more luck winning the lotto than hitting on the right combination.”

“What was his last name?”

I almost burst into tears again. “I can’t remember,” I wailed.

Becky hugged me at that point. They both knew my love life was non-existent, and if I was acting this way, then it must have been pretty serious.

“All I know is he lives in Marlow orMarlo.”

They both stared at me as if I was insane.

“I know the two places sound the same, but they’re spelled differently. Either of them could be the right one. He told me his house was on the river and the two places are both on rivers. One’s local and the other’s in Victoria.”

“Maybe he’ll find you.”

I shrugged. “I never told him my last name. All he knows is I design wedding gowns and live a four hours’ drive from the holiday villa. Now he probably thinks I don’t want to take things any further because I haven’t rung him.”

On Wednesday, I went back to work, thinking at least the days would pass quickly but of course they just seemed to drag. I tried to get out of my blue funk, but it was hard. That first week back was horrendous. I had to force myself not to burst into tears every five minutes. I’d taken some pictures of him with my phone and now I’d sit and stare at them all day, my fingers tracing the contours of his handsome face.

The weeks slowly went by and I gradually accepted the fact I’d lost something precious and would never get it back. Becky and Cass tried to help me. They tried hard to make me get him from my mind, but it was impossible.

I felt as if my lips were stained by his kisses, the imprint of his hands burned into my breasts. If I closed my eyes, I swore I could smell him. If I ran my hand over my skin I could almost believe the sensations were his touches on my body. I fell asleep at night with his name on my lips, and when I woke, his name was still locked on them.

I couldn’t think properly. He was continually in my thoughts, overriding my senses. In a moment of sheer madness, I booked in for laser treatment for my nether regions. I had no idea why, maybe subconsciously I thought John may one day find me again or I’d find him.

Anyway, the laser place I usually used was a couple of doors up from the boutique. Following their instructions, I shaved down and went in thinking it would be like having my legs and underarms done—shit, it wasn’t!

It was going okay until she said, “I’m about to do the labia area now.”

“Fine,” I answered blithely as she smiled knowingly.

---