Page 61 of So That Happened
The off-subject question brought him up short. ‘I did, but I handed the project to someone else to manage this time.’
It was now or never. He took a step closer to her, putting a hand on her arm in the hope that he could connect with her.
‘I had to come back and see you. I never should have let you leave. I was an idiot to say no to you – to a relationship with you.’ He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. ‘I thought it would be best for us both to move on and forget each other, but to be honest I’ve been miserable without you. You’re what I want. What I’ve been looking for, for so many years. I was just too stupid to realise it.’
Josie froze, staring down at the ground. He waited for her response, trapped breath burning his lungs until he thought he couldn’t stand it any longer.
‘Me too,’ she said finally, looking up directly into his eyes, her expression a mixture of pain and hope. ‘Life’s no fun without you.’
Relief flooded through him and he let out a long, low sigh. ‘Thank God for that.’ He moved towards her, his eyes not leaving hers, until their bodies were merely millimetres apart.
She put a hand against his chest. ‘I’m not the easiest person to live with.’
‘That’s okay. I like difficult women,’ he said, tucking a curl of hair around her ear, desperate now to feel her soft lips against his, but knowing there was more to say before that could happen.
‘How are we going to make it work?’ she asked, her anxiety obvious in the quaver of her voice.
‘I could base myself in London… for you.’
‘Really? You’d do that?’
‘I’d still need to be away a lot. We’re going to need determination and tenacity to keep this relationship on track.’
‘I have those qualities in abundance.’
‘How are you at phone sex?’
He grinned and she smirked back.
‘I suck at it. But practice makes perfect.’
‘And we’ll have a lot of holidays away. And I mean a lot.’
‘Okay.’
‘You have to meet me halfway, Josie. I can’t go through this if you’re not fully with me.’
‘We can make this work, I know we can.’
Finally, he brought his mouth down hard on hers, his hands cupping her face. Relief surged through him. He had a flash of what lay before them: a strong, equal partnership, one that would be challenging but totally worth the effort.
She kissed him back fiercely, her fingers winding into his hair, until they were both breathless and panting.
‘So you trust me not to turn back into the work-focused shrew I once was?’ she said as they finally pulled apart.
He laughed. ‘I trust you.’
‘And you don’t mind taking on the black sheep of my family?’
‘I can’t believe they love someone as amazing as you less than your sister, Josie, but, no, I don’t care what your family thinks.’
She gave him a sad smile. ‘I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to accept that none of us will ever change and make peace with that.’
‘Very sensible.’
‘Speaking of family and sensible,’ she said, looking at him coyly, ‘and not meaning to break the mood or anything, but I spend a lot of time with your sister and she’s a very good friend of mine. You can’t keep pretending she doesn’t exist.’
He rubbed a hand over his forehead, smoothing away the uneasy frown. ‘I know. When I spoke to her yesterday I arranged to meet her for a drink and talk things through. You’re right; it’s time to move on from the past. Something I laughably thought I had been doing, but was actually failing miserably at.’
