Page 68 of Catch Him
“No, I quit.” She turned and tilted her face up to him. “I think I knew that having met you my life had changed. I knew nothing was going to be the same. Going back to my old job, my old life… wasn’t possible.”
“And what did your new life look like?”
“Well, first there was my evil plot to destroy you and take you down by any means necessary…”
Declan chuckled. “Yes, well that didn’t work out quite like you planned.”
“After that I’m not sure what I was going to do next. I guess I’m still not.”
“You can do whatever you like, or nothing at all as far as I’m concerned. As long as you do it with me.”
Her expression was intense then. “Is that what you really want? I know you said the whole forever thing. But I think you were being a little dramatic. Three weeks is still just three weeks. And yes, maybe we know each other but don’t you think that’s moving too fast?”
No. He didn’t. He wanted her tied to him now. If he thought he’d have enough time before Huntley showed up tomorrow, he already would have had a judge out to the farm to marry them. He could see though that might be shocking to her, so he kept those thoughts to himself and instead took another approach.
“How did you feel when we were together?”
“Amazing. Like I was capable of anything because I was with you.”
“How did you feel when we were apart?”
Sinead considered that for a moment as if searching for the right emotion.
“Anxious.”
He nodded. The word was a perfect fit for what he’d been feeling too. “Like a part of you was missing. A part you instinctively knew you were going to get back, but you wanted to speed up its arrival.”
“Yes.”
“That’s exactly how I felt too. Those first days where I was convinced I would never see you again.. during that time I felt despair. As if I had lost that piece of me forever. I didn’t like that feeling, so much I knew something had to change. That’s when despair changed into anxiousness. As if I was waiting. Now ask me again if I want you with me. Always.”
She didn’t have to ask. It was there on his face for her to see.
“Tell me you love me, Sinead.”
She turned back to the TV. “We should rewind. I think we missed a few explosions and a car chase.”
He sighed and accepted his challenge was not over. “I’ll pay you one million dollars if you say it.”
She smiled at him and patted his cheek. “Do you have any ice cream? I could really use some after that salty popcorn.”
She got up off the couch and made her way across the room.
“Fine, two million,” he shouted after her.
Her only answer was a lingering giggle.
Slightly frustrated but hopeful that she was at least thinking about a future that involved him, Declan rewound the movie to find they had in fact missed a few more explosions and a car chase.
