Page 32 of Never Leave Me
“Thank you, Harrison.” She squeezed his hand.
He released his hold and retracted his hand to his lap. “I want you to know that even though I massively bumbled the end of our trip, I had a spectacular time.”
“You didn’t bumble it. I blame myself for letting things go on as I did. You didn’t want to pretend to be a couple, and I convinced you to go against your principles.”
“I had a choice too, you know.”
A smile finally lit her face and eased the pain in his chest a little. This was what he wanted—her happiness. That’s all he’d everwanted. And if making her happy meant he had to let go of his far-fetched dream of being with her, then so be it.
He leaned forward, and before he could stop himself, he brushed a wisp of hair from her face.
Her breath hitched, and her gaze met his. The message in her wide blue eyes was anything but platonic. It was filled with longing, a longing that reached out and tugged him closer. Did she want him to kiss her?
Her lips parted slightly as if in expectation. And she drew in another shaky breath.
They weren’t performing for an audience now. What reason could she have for wanting a kiss except that she’d liked kissing him every bit as much as he had her? Maybe the changing nature of their relationship was confusing her too.
“Looks like your driver is here, Lord Burlington.” The pilot’s call came from the open door of the cockpit.
Ellen stood abruptly, putting an end to his speculation. She spun away and reached for her bag underneath the seat. As she straightened, she fidgeted with getting the straps over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the car, okay?”
“Right.”
She hurried to the door and ducked through, her high-heel sandals clicking in her haste to get away.
Once she disappeared, he expelled his frustration, a cold chill wrapping around his heart. She was going to leave him. As fast as she could. And he would be helpless to prevent it. He sat forward and bowed his head.
The words of the Serenity Prayer whispered through him:God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
He’d heard Ellen whisper the prayer often enough that it was embedded within his memory. But until now, he hadn’t truly thought about accepting hardships as the pathway to peace. He’d only thought about having the courage to change Ellen’s sickness.
Now that he’d done his part in helping her get well, could he accept the hardship of letting her go? Was that his next step?
He blew out another breath. He didn’t know how in doing so he’d ever find the pathway to peace. At the moment, it seemed like the pathway to despair. But if he wanted what was best for her, could he do it?
“Lord Burlington?” The pilot’s voice from the cockpit contained a note of alarm. “Looks like your driver is leaving without you.”
Harrison jumped to his feet, the ease of the movement still taking him by surprise. He’d intended to wait for his wheelchair but strode to the door regardless. Had Ellen told Bojing to leave? She was anxious to get back to Chesterfield Park and attempt to get more holy water. But she wouldn’t rush off without him, would she?
His heart pounded a protest at the thought. As he ducked through the door and started down the stairs, he caught sight of red taillights speeding away. He leapt down the steps and then stopped at the bottom. He might have gained his legs back, but he wasn’t a superhero and wouldn’t be able to run fast enough to stop Bojing.
He pulled out his mobile and rang Drake’s contact.
Drake answered on the second ring. “Almost there, my lord.”
“Almost?” Harrison watched the taillights round one of the private terminals and disappear from sight.
“Airport security was holding us up. Telling us they’d already given us clearance.” His tone was loaded with exasperation.
“I don’t understand.” The light of something a dozen paces away on the tarmac snagged his attention. He jogged toward it.
As he retrieved it, his pulse crashed to a halt. Ellen’s mobile. The screen was shattered, but the picture underneath was unmistakably hers—her last picture with Marian the previous May, before Marian had died. The two stood together in the garden of Chesterfield Park under the archway of wisteria. Both smiling brightly, arms around one another.
At the flash of lights from an oncoming car, he shielded his eyes to see his Bentley angling toward the jet. Bojing’s head barely reached above the steering wheel, and Drake sat in the front passenger seat beside him.
As they pulled up, Harrison’s pulse stuttered. Ellen was in the back. Surely she was. They’d simply driven away without him and now had returned. The moment the car stopped, he jerked open the rear door.
The seat was empty. She was nowhere in sight.
