“Aw, come here.” Madeleine moved closer and put her arm around Tabby, and Tabby curled up next to her. In silence, they watched the moon rise higher in the sky, lost in their thoughts.
They were both dozing when Madeleine’s cell phone started ringing in her pocket.
She brought it out and flipped it open. “It’s Mick.” She put it up to her ear. “Hello?” Tabby bit her lip as Madeleine listened, eyes downcast. Then Madeleine frowned. “Is he all right? Oh for God’s sake. Whereabouts? Okay. We’ll come now. Mick Forstner, you’re a dead man, you know that? Yeah, love you, too.”
She hung up.
Tabby’s heart pounded. “What happened?”
“They got into a fight.” Madeleine stood and collected her handbag, slid on her shoes, and gestured for Tabby to stand. “They’re in the hospital. Come on, you need to get dressed.”
“Are they…are they all right?”
“They’re keeping Eli in for the night because he was knocked out for a while. I think it’s just cuts and bruises, but it sounds like they took a bit of a beating.” She stopped at Tabby’s little hiccup and turned to hug her. “Oh crap, sorry, honey. He’s all right. They’ve been in a lot worse, believe me.”
Tabby put her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Madeleine,” she managed to squeak. “I’ve screwed up our lovely weekend.”
“You didn’t screw it up. Laurel and Hardy over there screwed it up.”
“No, it was my fault. I should have waited to take the test. I shouldn’t have ruined the weekend. We were having such fun.”
Madeleine took her by the shoulders. “That’s enough self-pity, missy. It’ll all work itself out, I’m sure. Now come on. Get dressed, and we’ll go and pick the idiots up.”
…
When Eli opened his eyes, his first thought was that he was dead. Everything around him was white and hazy, and it struck him that maybe he’d been idiotic enough to lose the fight. Maybe the redhead had slit his throat with the broken bottle, and now he was outside the pearly gates, waiting for St. Peter to let him in.
Tabbs. He felt a wave of panic at the thought that he’d never see her again. How could he have been stupid enough to let her go?
Then his head cleared, and as he looked to his left, he saw Mick sitting in the chair beside the bed, head leaning back, snoring loudly.
“Now I know I’m not in heaven.”
“Hncmph?” Mick woke himself up with an extra-loud snore and opened his eyes. Seeing Eli awake, he sat up. “Hey. Feeling any better?”
“Better than you look.”
“You haven’t seen a mirror yet. Don’t go passing any judgment on me.”
Eli studied him. Mick had a swollen eye, a cut along his cheek, blood-rimmed nostrils, and hands covered in cuts and bruises. He also moved like he was a hundred and eighty years old.
Eli assessed his own injuries. His left arm was in a sling, and his forearm throbbed. He seemed to remember the cut glass slicing through it before he’d been able to knock it away. He touched his face and ran his fingers over the cut in his lip, the sore points on his cheekbones, and his tender right eye, then checked with his tongue that all his teeth were intact. He ached all over—particularly his ribs and his right leg, and he guessed someone had managed to give him a good kicking before the cops turned up. His head throbbed, and his mouth tasted sour. “Geez, I must look awful.”
Mick met his gaze. “The girls are coming in.” He looked down at his hands. “Madeleine’s going to kill me.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Mick snorted. “You think that’ll matter?”
Eli felt a sweep of relief that the police had detained the redhead before he could take the bottle to Mick. He’d never have forgiven himself if he’d been the reason Mick had been scarred. “I’m sorry.”
Mick met his eyes and shook his head ruefully. “You’ll be even sorrier when Madeleine gets here.”
“I mean it. I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass.” He laid his head back on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling.
“Are you feeling okay?” Mick stood by his bed and frowned. “Have you got a headache? Want me to call the nurse? They’re worried about you having concussion.”
“No, I’m fine. I could use a drink, though.”
“Eli…”
“Of water,” Eli corrected hastily. “Geez.”
“There’s a cooler down the hall—I’ll go get a cup.”
Eli watched Mick limp out and then lay his head back. Tabby was on her way in. What was he going to say to her? Was she still mad at him?
His heart ached—literally, ached—at the thought of seeing her again. He lifted the arm that wasn’t in a sling to cover his eyes as they began to sting. He wasn’t going to cry. He really wasn’t. And yet the tears pushed their way through his lashes, wetting his cheeks. He’d never felt like this about a girl, ever. But then, he’d never been in love before.
He remembered what he’d thought—that he couldn’t change how Tabby felt toward him; he could only change his own actions. He didn’t want to lose her, and the power to keep her lay within his own hands.
So what was he going to do about it?
Mick came back in carrying the cup of water and stopped when he saw Eli’s face. “What’s up? You all right?”
“Yeah.” He took the cup and drank it in one go. “I’ve had a eureka moment.”
Mick sat in the chair. “Well you’re going to have to enlighten me later. It’s time to put your armor on. I can hear Madeleine coming down the corridor.”
Chapter Twenty
Tabby’s heart pounded. She gave Madeleine a quick smile as the other woman turned from asking the nurse where her husband was, but the smile faded as they walked along the corridor toward the room. She had no idea what sort of state Eli was in—all she knew was he’d been in a fight, and he’d been knocked unconscious. Was that his answer to everything? To pound another guy into the ground until he felt better?
Madeleine strode down the corridor, stopped outside one of the rooms, and opened the door. She walked in, and Tabby followed her, pausing in the doorway.
Mick sat in a chair to the right of the room, his head propped on his hand, but he straightened as he saw Madeleine, looking up at her warily. His face was a mess of cuts and bruises, one eye swelling, and his knuckles were scarlet and raw.
Eli sat on the bed in the middle of the room, propped up on a heap of white pillows. He wore a medical gown, and his left arm was in a sling. His face looked awful—his right eye was already bruising up, his bottom lip was split, and his left cheekbone had Steri-Strips all along it. His eyes met hers, shining in the dull light.
Eli glanced first at Mick, then at Madeleine. “You think this is bad? You should see the other guys.”
Mick coughed and bit his lip as Madeleine put her hands on her hips. She turned her glare on Eli. “You think this is funny?”
“No ma’am.”
“I should think not. How old are you?”
“I assume that’s rhetorical.”
“Twenty-six. Twenty-six, Eli Black. And you’re still trying to solve all the problems in your life with brute strength. Sometimes it takes a subtle touch to get what you want. Why do you assume you can only find the answer with your fists? You’re not stupid—far from it. And yet you act like a thug, thinking if you hit another man until he bleeds it’s going to get rid of all the pain you’re feeling. Well it won’t, take it from me. You’ll wake up in the morning, and all you’ll have is an aching body to go with your aching heart.”
“Hey, it wasn’t—”
“Don’t even start arguing with me, sunshine. I’m far too mad to let you get a word out.”
Eli closed his mouth. His lips curved, but he didn’t argue with her. He glanced at Tabby again and winked at her. Tabby stared at him, wondering why he was in such good humor when it had been such an awful night.
“And as for you,” Madeleine said, turning the force of her fury on her husba
nd. “What the hell do you think you were doing?”
“I couldn’t let him go into the fight alone,” Mick tried to protest.
“You were supposed to stop him doing anything stupid,” she snapped. “For God’s sake, Mick, you know what he’s like. You’re supposed to be the sensible one. What the hell were you doing drinking with him? You knew how that would end. The pair of you haven’t got a brain between you.”
“That wasn’t—”
“Mick!”
He looked sulkily at the floor. Tabby stifled a sudden urge to laugh. The two of them looked like a pair of naughty schoolboys caught in the girls’ locker room.
Madeleine folded her arms. When she spoke, her voice was husky. “What would have happened if that guy had managed to get to you with the broken bottle? Cut up your face. Eh? What then?”
Mick looked at her and tipped his head. “I’m all right, love.” He pushed himself to his feet. “Come here.”
To Tabby’s surprise, he put his arms around Madeleine, and she let him, burying her face in his jacket.
“You stupid ass,” she said, her voice muffled. “You could have been killed.”
He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “I had my white knight watching over me, don’t worry. Eli wouldn’t have let anything bad happen to me.”
Madeleine pushed back and wiped her eyes. She glanced over at Eli. “Mick’s a good friend to you. But sometimes I wonder if you know a good thing when you see it.”
Something told Tabby that Madeleine wasn’t only talking about Mick.
When Eli said nothing, Madeleine took Mick’s hand. “Come on, you. I haven’t finished with you yet.”
“I sincerely hope not.”
Madeleine glared at him. “Well, you can forget about anything like that for a few days until your face heals.” She walked past Tabby, leading him with her, and they disappeared down the corridor, Madeleine continuing to chew him out all the way.
Tabby’s heart began to speed up again. There was nothing left to say to Eli, and part of her wished she’d stayed at the beach house, but she’d had to come and see with her own eyes that he was okay. Now, however, she didn’t know what to do. Should she just turn and go?
As she surveyed him, however, seeing his black hair sticking up all over the place, and the way he winced as he shifted on the bed, her heart went out to him.
She came into the room, shut the door behind her, and walked up to the foot of the bed. Eli heaved a sigh and finally looked up to meet her gaze.
Tabby couldn’t stop the smile spreading on her face at his sulky, hopeless look. He stared at her for a moment, but his lips began to curve.
He touched his hand to his cut lip. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“Madeleine’s worse than a mother.”
“Yeah. And she’s going to be in an even worse mood when Mick tells her what really happened, and she has to apologize.” He explained briefly the events of the evening.
So he hadn’t been out for a fight after all. He’d been acting all heroic. Sighing, Tabby perched on the bed next to him. “How’s your arm?”
“I’ve had worse.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
He flexed his hand and winced. “Sore.”
“What happened?”
“Got caught with the broken bottle.” He sighed at her frown. “I know.” He met her gaze. His eyes were such a beautiful blue, it made her think of the moment they’d made love in the grass under the canopy of the sky.
A silence fell between them. There was so much to say, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to say any of it. How could she explain everything she was feeling—that she loved him so hopelessly? That she was going to miss him so much when she left? That the thought of fulfilling her dream had lost its shine with the knowledge that to do so also meant losing him?
Looking into his sad eyes, Tabby knew she couldn’t do it. She’d promised herself she’d never give up her dreams again for another man, but that was before she met Eli. He meant the world to her, and the thought of being without him devastated her more than the thought of not fulfilling her dream. He was caught up in his past, in the promise he’d made to his brother, and it clearly meant the world to him.
He wasn’t forcing her to give up her ambitions—he’d made no demands on her, not really, only a desperate plea because he wanted to be with her. He was as mixed-up about this as she was, she figured. It involved taking a huge risk, but love was a risk, she understood that, and sometimes love involved a sacrifice. She knew he loved her. And she couldn’t let him tie himself in knots any longer.
She leaned forward and kissed him over the cut on his lip.
“Ouch,” he said when she moved away, but his smile and the pleasure in his eyes betrayed his words.
She pulled back and pressed her lips together, the coolness of his lips lingering. He linked their fingers, and her heart gave an unnatural bump. She took a deep breath. “You know I love you, don’t you?”
Eli blinked.
“Because I do.” She turned their hands over and rubbed her thumb across his palm, brought it up to her lips and kissed it. “Eli, you know I can’t let you go?”
He frowned. “Tabbs…”
“Wait—” She interrupted, worried he was going to turn her down. “I know the promise you made to Charlie is important to you. I do understand that, really I do. But I also know you love me, too. And so…I’ll come to LA with you.”
Eli stared at her. “You mean you won’t go to the UK?”
Her heart thumped. She shook her head. “If you still want me.”
He frowned. “You’d do that for me? Even after what happened to you before?”
She nodded and bit her lip. “I want you more than anything. More than I want to do that course. I love you, Eli.”
She pushed aside her uneasiness at the thought of what Simon had done to her. Simon wasn’t Eli. This wasn’t the same sacrifice she’d made for him. Eli’s revelation about the fight in the bar had confirmed to her what a generous, selfless spirit he had, and how honorable he was. He’d told her he loved her, and he wanted to marry her. What else could she ask from him, really? He knew how important her career was—they’d work something out. Maybe after he finished his training, she could go to college then. She knew he’d help her make it work.
Eli hadn’t said anything. He had a strange look on his face.
He pulled her toward him with his right hand and wrapped his arm around her. He kissed her hair, holding her for a moment. Then he released her and lifted his head. “Tabbs, I don’t want you to come to LA with me.”
Her heart seemed to stop. “W-what?”
He pushed her away. “I need to get up.”
She moved back, starting to shake. “I think you should stay in bed for now.”
“No, I need to stand up for this.” He managed to shuffle to the edge of the bed, got to his feet and caught her hand, taking her over to the window. Outside, the night sky was free of clouds, a thousand, thousand stars winking at them in the darkness. “Yeah, this’ll have to do.”
Was he going to say good-bye to her? Tears filled her eyes, and she couldn’t stop them spilling down her cheeks.
To her surprise, he pulled her toward him with his good arm and kissed them away. Too stunned and confused, she let him, unable to stop more from joining the ones he was removing. Eventually he cupped her face with his hand and leaned in to kiss her lips. “Sweetheart, stop crying. I don’t want you to come to LA with me. I want to come to London with you.”
Tabby’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
He picked up his jeans from the chair, fumbled through the jeans pocket, and produced the black jewelry box she’d seen him show Mick and Madeleine. Before she could stop him, he sank down gingerly onto his left knee and flipped open the box with his thumb, wincing the whole time.
“Tabatha Rogers,” he said, “I’ve been a complete idiot. I don’t know how I ever thought I could get by without you. Wil
l you marry me?”
Her heart thundered. “Eli, how drunk are you?”
“It’s not the whisky talking, I promise.”
Tabby’s heart threatened to leap out of her chest and boing down the corridor, but she kept a tight hold on it. “Eli, stand up.”
He did so, frowning.
“I can’t let you do this,” she said softly, taking his right hand. “I know your promise means everything to you.”
He looked out at the stars for a moment. “It did. I thought if I didn’t go, I’d let Charlie down. But I realized if our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t want him to give up the only woman he’d loved in his whole life.”
Tabby blushed. “Oh.”
“And I began to think that, rather than wanting me to go to LA in particular, maybe all he ever wanted was for me to reach my potential.” He cleared his throat. “I realized I was afraid that if I let go of my promise, I’d be letting go of him. Finally admitting he’s gone and is never coming back. But he has gone. I can’t change that.”
She touched his face. “He still watches over you, I’m sure of it.”
“Maybe you’re right. I don’t know. But I do know that if he is up there somewhere, I’m sure all he wants is for me to be happy. I’m not failing him if I don’t go to LA. I think it’s okay to make sacrifices when love comes along and changes your dreams.”
He raised her hand in his and kissed her fingers. “And you make me happy. I’m happier than I’ve ever been when I’m with you.”
“Eli…”
He stopped her words with a brief kiss. “When we thought you were pregnant, and then we found out you weren’t, I was so disappointed because the thought of having kids with you, marrying you, spending my life with you, makes my head spin.”
He brushed away her tears with his thumb. “I just want to be with you. I don’t care where I go, Tabbs, or what I do. I can be a stuntman in London the same as I can in LA, or New York, or anywhere else, for that matter. Val knows lots of people in London—he’ll help me get a job. Love, I’d like to come to the UK with you. Then, I don’t care what we do. As long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy.” He kissed her again. “And you want me to be happy, don’t you?”
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