Page 114 of Still Yours
“You’re right, Ma,” I say under my breath.
I leave my international office behind. Aaron leans back in his seat. To my shock, he doesn’t yell at me to snap out of it and go earn him his commission. He watches me depart with a strange, satisfied grin on his face.
The same type of smile pulls on my lips when I realize what I have to do.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Noa
Christmas carols play on an incessant loop at Saint’s restaurant, even though it’s long over.
At first, I loved the nostalgia the music brought as well as the new enjoyment hearing them all in French gave me. But on the fourteenth run of the playlist and when closing up the restaurant, I’m done with it all.
I’m one of three people willing to stay late, now the last. Marcel bids me adieu on his way out, eager to get home to his family. Saint is remarkably fair to his staff, paying us overtime for after-hours work while he’s returned to his family. His salty nature isn’t in keeping with a gesture so kind, but I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth while he works me to the ground and makes sure I understand every aspect of the kitchen before releasing me into culinary school.
Once Marcel leaves, I dart to the stereo and turn the music off. The resulting silence is a balm on my ears, the soft traffic seeping through the chilled window front as I turn down lights and turn the last of the chairs over.
Saint’s benevolence doesn’t end with a commis chef position in his kitchen. His apartment is also available because of his mysterious move to Falcon Haven, and he offered it to me, so long as I house-sit his plants appropriately. The large, vacant interior would be incredibly lonely had I not brought Moo along with me. He’ll be waiting with his tail puffed in aggravation and a prissy look on his face when I return to him tonight. Moo hasn’t gotten over the indecency of a long flight where not only did we have to fly in economy, but he also had to stay in his carrier for the entire six hours.
With Moo in mind, I pocket the remaining sardines that lay fresh and unclaimed in the freezer. I do a last once-over of the kitchen, and, satisfied, I head to the entrance, the key ring jingling in my hand.
My steps stall, then come to a complete stop when I notice a large, bulky figure on the other side of the door.
One with startlingly blue eyes, even at night.
It takes time for my brain to come to terms with who it is. Time enough for the man to press his palm to the window, the heat of his hand condensing into a temporary handprint as he mouths, “I’m sorry.”
My breaths were falling naturally until my mind shouted his name. Then they stuttered, gasped, and I choked on wordless anguish until my body knew enough to burst forward and unlock the door.
Stone pushes at the same time I pull, bringing the cold night in with him. A black beanie rests tight against his ears and forehead, and he’s pulled his coat’s collar to protect him from the Parisian winter. His cheeks are flushed red, his eyes blazing, as he shadows my form in a single step.
“Lavender,” his voice scratches out.
Tears brim as I look up at him.
“William,” I whisper.
We stare at each other, each unmoving within a thrumming city, the door softly shutting behind him.
Stone is the first to break the quiet. “I made a mistake,” he says before I can respond. “I’ve made so many when it comes to you. I didn’t appreciate you. Didn’t worship you. Didn’t love you the way I should have.”
“Which time?” I ask, both shocked and pleased that my voice comes out level. “Because I’ve fallen in love with you twice now.”
His mouth goes slack with breath as my words hit him. “I didn’t need a reason other than thinking of you here, all alone, but after saying something like that…”
I pray I can stay strong with him standing in front of me, all but making my dreams come true.He’s here.
“We said our goodbyes,” I say. “You made sure they were absolute. You even sealed it with a kiss. I moved to Paris, and you went to Singapore. We were willing to start over again without each other.”
Stone takes a moment to think, but his eyes don’t stray from mine. They burn so much that I’m turning into flames just by keeping us connected.
He says, “It took a harsh reminder for me to realize what my mother was also trying to say by putting you and me in the same house again. Putting distance between us didn’t make a difference, either. I’m pulled to you wherever I am.”
He feels the draw, too. Elation floats me sky-high until I lecture it down again.
I retreat. I have to. “Physically, maybe. But mentally,emotionally, I can’t handle more of this, Stone. I’vemissedyou. I woke up with you on my mind every morning, but seeing you now, it’s pure agony. I can’t play these games anymore. I can’t choose between a life of passion with you or my dream.”
“I know that.” Stone moves forward, clasping my hands in his. Despite his hot, searing gaze, his hands are ice cold. “Hell, Iknow too well how much I’ve hurt you. I’m not here to make you choose, Lavender. I never want to do that to you again. I want…”
