Page 72 of Love Me Carefully
Chapter Fifteen
“Can you believe Donald was actually working with the FBI?” Leah asked when they finally made it back to their hotel.
They’d spent the bulk of the afternoon at the hospital with Rosie and Donald’s daughters who’d eventually been contacted. After a while Terrell and Leah had finally convinced Rosie to go back to her room and get some rest before returning to their own rooms. Jeff had already come down and talked to them, apologizing for not being able to tell them everything.
“Nah, I’m still trying to digest that one. But I guess it makes sense. That’s why the FBI was so concerned with his disappearance. They thought his cover had been blown. I’m just glad Cable was the one who did the shooting in the alley, and not Donald.” Terrell watched as Leah fell on the bed, toeing each of her shoes off.
“Cable was a monster. I’m glad Donald was able to convince him to leave us alone.” She dropped an arm over her forehead and closed her tired eyes. Today had been so eventful that now all she wanted to do was get a good meal and fall asleep, but only after she had a cool shower and some fresh clothes.
Terrell sat on the bed beside her. “I’m glad Donald thought to lock us in his basement.”
She turned toward his voice and glared at him. “What? You like being drugged and locked up? You’re so weird.”
“No, that’s not what I liked about it. I enjoyed having that time to be alone with you.”
Leah gave him a slow, tired smile. “I kind of liked sharing bologna and cheese rolls with you too. Speaking of which—”
“Uh oh, here it comes. You’re hungry, aren’t you?” Terrell joked.
“Well, I haven’t eaten all day. I’ve been on this island for two days now and haven’t had one traditional Jamaican meal. You’d think somebody would take me to dinner or something.”
Grabbing her by the waist, he rolled her over, aligning himself with her on the bed. “Calm down, I have every intention of taking you out to dinner and to see the island. That’s why I booked the room for a few more days.”
“A few more days?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to wait to come back here with you. I want us to take a few days together now, to enjoy it. We still have a lot to talk about.”
He was making lazy circles on her back, the motion clouding her mind. “You want to stay a few more days? I have a wedding next week,” she said sadly.
He understood the need to get back to work, even though SISCO had assured him things with his project were going along smoothly. “Then I’ll make a deal with you. We stay one more night on the island. Then when we return to Baltimore, we spend all our remaining nights together.”
Her heart thumped double-time at his words. Was he suggesting they move in together? “I have my own place and you have yours. We’ll have to compromise.” Leah wasn’t ready for that step. Even though she readily admitted how good it felt to be with him and to wake up beside him, she wasn’t about to jump that quickly.
He was only mildly disappointed. He hadn’t really expected her to go for the idea of living together that easily. But she hadn’t outright shot it down either. She was still game to spend their nights together. He was getting close. “Three nights at your house and four at mine. How does that sound?” His hand moved to her butt, cupping each mound.
“It sounds one-sided. Weeknights at my house and weekends at yours,” she countered.
“That’s not even, but I’ll take it.” He’d take anything she was willing to give him at this moment.
A few hours later they managed to go down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. “Let’s go for a walk,” Terrell suggested.
Reggae music played in the background as they walked along the cliffs headed for the beach.
“I love the sunsets here,” Leah said after they’d walked a bit in silence. “I’ve seen them so many times in pictures. It’s nice to finally see them in person.”
“Yeah, they’re extraordinary,” Terrell agreed with her.
When they came to the beach, they slipped their shoes off and let the warm sand sift through their toes. Holding hands, they walked along the water’s edge watching as the sky turned a deep red and the fiery sun sank into the stunningly blue-green water.
“Remember I told you I wanted all or nothing?” Terrell asked her.
Leaning her head against his shoulder she sighed. “I remember.”
“I meant it.” He stopped abruptly, turning her to face him. There was a light breeze and the gold sarong she’d tied around her waist moved with it, showing so much of her leg it was almost indecent. “I don’t want to go backwards or forwards with your four-step plan. I know it seems like this has all happened so fast, but after all we’ve been through, I’ve realized that life is short. I don’t want to waste any more time. I love you, Leah and I want to be with you, always.”
The moment could not have been more perfect. The sky glowed brilliantly with the sun’s descent, the water was crystal clear at their feet, the cliffs were alluring, the little huts, charming. And the man. The man was all she’d ever dreamed of—funny how now ‘all or nothing’ didn’t seem quite so elusive to her. “I can’t believe after all this time of being against relationships, that this would all unfold so unexpectedly.” She shook her head. “I love you, too, Terrell. And I completely understand what you want.”
He sensed a ‘but’ coming so he put a finger to her lips. “Don’t deny it, Leah. Don’t deny us. I won’t believe you. We’ll be coming back here just as soon as you can plan our wedding.”
