Would that be Ian and me?
As I waited, the stream of people became a trickle, and then just one or two stragglers came out, and then nobody.
Where was he?
I stood for a few minutes, staring at the gate as though I could somehow will it to release him. Either it was particularly resistant or my willing skills were sub-par, because Ian didn't appear.
I headed to the information desk at the baggage claim area, trying hard not to imagine any of the horrors that could have befallen him in Bangladesh. I'd never received an answer to my email on Friday, which I'd chalked up to his getting ready to leave. Now, though, it seemed more sinister.
I reached the information desk, and lined up behind two other frazzled-looking people. The first customer was dealt with (not to his satisfaction, judging by the look on his face), and the second moved up to take his place. A man came up beside me, and I moved forward slightly to establish my claim to being next in line.
"Don't worry, sweetheart," he said, "I won't go in front of you."
I wasn't quite sure how to respond to this, so I said nothing.
The woman in front of me was finished and turned to leave, and the man moved right up and began to talk to the clerk. I was blazing. For a second, I was tongue-tied, and then inspiration struck.
"Excuse me, sweetheart," I said, matching his intonation, "but I was next in line."
The look on his face! It nearly made me laugh out loud, but I contained myself. With an angelic smile, I moved forward and the clerk, thankfully, turned her attention to me.
Conscious of the man fuming behind me, I quickly explained the situation. I soon understood why the other customers had left the line looking less than pleased.
"I cannot release the names of any passengers."
"I'm not asking you to. All I want to know is--"
"I cannot release the names of anyone who was on board."
I paused, unsure of how to proceed against what seemed to be some sort of robot. "I understand that. I simply want to know if--"
She began to repeat her line, but I kept talking over her. "--if my husband was on the flight. I already know his name, you just have to say 'yes' or 'no'."
"I cannot release the--"
"Oh, for the love of... Fine then."
I turned on my heel, trying to ignore the snickers of 'sweetheart', and my own sweet heart nearly stopped beating. Right at the end of the large room, I saw a familiar face.
Ian.
Heading outside.
I ran full-tilt across the arrival hall, dodging suitcases and slow-moving travelers like a football player running to make a touchdown. My elliptical training seemed to be paying off.
"Ian!"
He froze halfway through the door, and turned to face me as I ran up to him.
"Hi," I said, feeling completely off balance. I'd been set to meet him at the arrival gate like a civilized person; this head-long dash was not part of my plan.
"Hi," he said.
"Why were you so much later than everyone else?"
"My bags ended up on the wrong carousel."
"Oh."
We stared at each other for a moment. Neither of us moved. There'd been no hugs, no kisses, and barely any words. A huge luggage cart, hauling a tiny man behind it, broke the spell, and we moved to the side of the room.
He looked so different! Somehow I hadn't expected that; it had only been a month, after all. But he was deeply tanned, and his hair was cut in a different way, and he'd built up more muscle.
Gorgeous, actually.
But somehow a stranger.
"I like your shawl," he said, his voice sounding as awkward as I felt. "You did a beautiful job."
"Thanks. You gave me the yarn, so thanks."
"You're welcome," he said, and then we stood staring at each other again.
I tried to cover my discomfort by reaching for one of his suitcases to help him out to the car. He reached for the same suitcase at the same time, and our hands touched.
By the way he snapped his hand back, I knew he'd felt the same surge of electric connection that had ripped through me. I stared up at him, and he stared back. Neither of us moved. I couldn't think of what to say, what to do. Then, suddenly, I knew.
I stepped past the suitcases so there was nothing between us, put my arms around his neck, and kissed him full on the mouth.
He froze at first, and I felt an icy fear chill my heart. Then he came to life. His arms strong around my waist, his body warm and solid against me, our mouths reclaiming each other.
The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but I felt like spring had come in the middle of a Canadian winter, thawing all the frozen places and making everything new again.
I gazed deep into his eyes, feeling tears rising to my own, tears that to my amazement were matched in his. "I have missed you," he said, quietly and slowly, making every word count. "I love you."
My tears spilled over. "I love you too. I'm so sorry."
Ian shook his head. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for everything. It's all right. We're fine."
Then he lowered his lips to mine again, and I felt his desire, and his love, pouring over me. I'd been so afraid of other thoughts, other memories, intruding, but all I could think about was Ian. Ian, and our fresh start.
The kiss was magical.
When it ended, he pulled me against him and hugged me so hard I could hardly breathe. We clung together for a long moment, and then he whispered, "Let's go home."
"Okay," I whispered back.
"So," he said, picking up the largest of his suitcases and waiting while I picked up the smaller one, "that shawl really is gorgeous. I did good buying that yarn."
"You sure did," I said, as we set off together.
"And short hair suits you. It looks great."
"Thanks. Yours too," I said, looking over at him. Something dark on his arm caught my eye, and I reached over and pulled up his t-shirt sleeve to show a tattoo of dense black lines, bold and powerful, encircling his bicep, with a deep blue star embedded in the lines. I stopped walking and stared.
"A few of the guys went out to get them last weekend," he said, putting a slight stress on 'guys'. "I was going to tell you, but I thought it might be fun for you to find it. I'd have got a polar bear but I didn't know if they could really do one and I didn't want a messed up one. I figured you like stars too, so why not?"
Our eyes met and I shook my head in amazement. "It looks great on you, but I wouldn't have expected it. I never thought you were the tattoo type."
He grinned, the Ian I'd fallen in love with. "I'm my own type."
I considered flashing him my back, but decided against it. Plenty of time for that later. "You're my type," I said, and kissed him again, long and sweet and just as good as the other kisses.
As we parted, he murmured, "I want you," then pulled me in again and kissed me so hungrily my body caught fire in an instant. I couldn't speak, but I returned his kiss with more than enough enthusiasm to make my feelings clear.
He caught me by the shoulders and held me away from him. "Enough airport. Let's go home. I... miss Ninja."
"Do you now," I said, smiling at him. "Then let's get you home to see him right away." I had a feeling poor Ninja would have to wait a while to get his daddy's full attention, and I didn't mind a bit.
We walked on, a little faster, holding hands, and Ian said, "Hey, are you okay with that suitcase? It's heavy."
"I'm fine," I said, noticing with surprise that I really was fine.
Ian raised an eyebrow.
"I've been going to the gym," I said almost apologetically. "I haven't lost any weight, but I think I'm stronger."
"You look awesome, I can see muscles," Ian said, eyeing me dramatically.
Then he laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing... just maybe now the two of us will be strong enough to finally get the junk off the balcony."
"Maybe," I agreed, stopping to kiss my wonderfu
l husband yet again.
Acknowledgements
The gorgeous cover illustration comes from http://www.istockphoto.com/kim258. I bought it nearly two years before I first released "Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo" and I'm so glad I was able to make it into the book's cover.
I am so lucky to have such great people to encourage me and help me along. My sisters, my friends, my husband, my parents, and now my readers too... I hope you know how grateful I am for your support.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the book! You can see my other books at http://www.heatherwardell.com or at my Amazon author page.
Heather
Table of Contents
Book Description
Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo
Acknowledgements
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Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo Page 29