Wreckless
Page 17
She stopped, leaned up and kissed him. “I’m fine. Thanks for coming with me.”
“Don’t thank me. It was the least I could do. I—” He clenched his jaw, as if bracing himself. “Hell, Lexi, I didn’t know Pulbrook threatened you for so long after it happened.”
“I think he was terrified I’d change my mind and report him. The phone calls, the vicious text messages and emails were just his way of ensuring I stayed quiet.” Thank God she hadn’t erased them from her old cell phone. According to the police, that evidence would go a long way to nail Ian.
“Was he the reason you left London?”
“Partly.” The other, larger part had been because of Enzo. But she couldn’t tell him that. She resumed walking as he led her to his car. “There was also my job.”
“Yeah. Of course.” Why did he sound disappointed? She looked at him but the sun’s rays on the hood distorted her view of him as he walked to his side. His face, when he started the car, was still grim. “With any luck, Pulbrook will receive the punishment he deserves. With your testimony added to the two who’ve already come forward, I’d be surprised if he ever sees the light of day again. Thank God he hadn’t reached this level of violence when he assaulted you.” He shuddered and she knew he was remembering the horrific pictures of Suzanne Baines the newspapers had leaked this morning.
She put a hand on his arm. “Don’t think about it, Enzo. It’s in the past now.”
He hesitated before starting the car. “So, what now?”
“I’ve got the rest of the day off, but I’d like to go home now, if you don’t mind.” She wore clothes she’d borrowed from Cara’s wardrobe, and she was in desperate need of a shower.
“I—I meant, what about us?”
Her heart jumped into her throat. “Us?”
The look he turned on her was intense, scorching. “Yeah, us.”
“I—I don’t think there’s much of an us left, Enzo.”
Shock replaced the gleam in his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m going to New York on Monday. David Mancini’s making a mess of things there. From there, I’m returning to London. For good.” Now that the nightmare with Ian was over, she could finally return home and rebuild her life. Whatever was left of it.
His hands curled over the steering wheel, his knuckles white. “You’re ending this? You’re leaving me?”
The starkness of his words ripped her apart. “I think it’s for the best.”
“No, it's not,” he said. With a vicious twist of the key, he gunned the engine, and put the car into gear. “You know that talk we’ve been trying to have? We’re going to have it. All of it. Right now. After that if you want to leave...well...” His voice drifted off and a bleak look that shadowed his face made her heart twisted with pain and hope.
Tires screamed over asphalt as he accelerated out of the car park. Safety cautioned her not to speak as he drove toward his apartment.
He parked and yanked the key out of the ignition. “Out.” His voice was curt, but his hands were the gentlest she'd ever know them to be as he helped her out.
They rode up in silence. Once inside, he kicked the door shut and turned to her.
“Please don’t tell me you’re dumping me. Dumping us?” His voice held a dark desperation.
Lexi fought not to react to it. “I told you, there is no us. There hasn’t been for a very long time.”
“Bullshit. What about the past weeks? Has that meant nothing to you?”
“Has it to you?” she threw back, determined not to be the only one caught in the emotional backlash. If he felt so strongly about her leaving, he could damned well tell her why.
“Of course it has. I’ve been going crazy getting you to talk to me, and all the time you’ve been avoiding me. And now you’ve made plans to go to New York?”
“You knew about those plans. You’ve known about them for weeks.”
“But you didn’t tell me you were dumping me, did you? And you sure as hell didn’t tell me you were planning to return to London,” he said. He clawed a hand through his hair. “Jesus, Lexi. What do you expect me to do here? Tell me and I'll do it.”
Her heart hammered. “I...don't know. I really didn’t think it would be a big deal.”
“Well, it’s a big fucking deal to me. It’s the biggest fucking deal since you turned up in LA.”
“Why? It was only ever about the s—”
One vicious hand slashed through the air. “Don’t you even think about telling me it was only about sex.”
He was really angry now, livid in fact. Somewhere deep inside, a small bubble of hope grew. Remembering how callously Fate had snatched her happiness the last time around, she tried to smash it down. But like a nagging toothache, she needed to prod it a little bit more.
She affected a casual shrug, even as her heart hammered an urgent appeal. “That’s what we agreed to seven months ago.”
He shoved a hand through his hair and glared holy fire at her. “Seven months is a hell of a long time. A lot can happen in that time.”
“Like what?” Again, fear kept hope from breaking through but the new gleam in Enzo’s eyes made her foolish heart race faster.
“Like forgiveness, trust, justice.” He swallowed. “Like love,” he said huskily.
Her shocked gasp echoed in the room. Had she misheard? “Love?” she whispered around a throat gone bone dry. “Did you say, love?”
He nodded. The dark storm had receded and his eyes held hers, steady and sure. “Yes. Love. Mine, for you. We’ve made mistakes in the past year, mistakes we both regret but have learned from. To walk away now would be to let it all go to waste. We were meant to be together, Lexi. I've fucked up badly. I know that now. But it's not too late if you want this as much as I do. I'll...I'll come to New York with you if you need time to make up your mind. But don't walk away. Please, I'm begging you.”
The torrent of words made her dizzy. With happiness, joy, fear. “You'll come with me to New York?”
He nodded. “If that's what you want. I'll do anything it takes for us to put this past year behind us.” He came to her and cupped her cheeks in his warm hands. “We can do it, I know we can. All I ask is that you give me a chance. Love has a great way of taking all pain away, even the darkest ones.”
“But—but how can it work when you can’t forgive me for the pain I caused?”
“I forgave you a long time ago. I hung on to what I thought was anger as an excuse to be close to you. I was afraid of admitting to myself I hadn’t stopped loving you.”
A sob caught in her throat. “Oh God. Please tell me you mean that!” Hope was breaking through. Her heart had sprouted wings, ready to fly, but it’d been hurting for so long she couldn’t let go of the leash just yet.
“I mean it, I swear. I love you. Shit, Lexi, don’t cry.” Panic flared in his voice as he clasped her to him.
She clamped her arms around him and breathed him in.
“I thought you hated me. That you’d never forgive me for what I did to Cara.”
“Sure, I was upset when I found out you had a drink that night. But I very quickly realized you wouldn’t deliberately drink and drive.” He eased her away and looked into her eyes. “Did something happen?”
“Yes. I was stupid. And in a rush to get back to you.”
His jaw clenched. “Because I told you to hurry.”
She reached up and laid a hand on his cheek. “Because I loved you, you were my life and I wanted to be with you. I still do.”
“You want to be with me?”
Fresh tears filled her eyes, this time tears of pure joy. “Always. I love you. More than I did a year ago.” The words she’d been yearning to say again for twelve long months broke from her lips and finally set her heart free. “I love you more than words can adequately convey, Enzo,” she added for good measure, resisting the urge to scream it out loud.
“So can I convince you to stick around? S
ay, another sixty years or so?”
She smiled and wound her arms around his neck. “With the right incentive.”
He pretended to frown. “Hmm, let’s see. How about a large plot of land, a huge wad of cash, and an architect to build us a house to live those sixty years in, with maybe a couple of kids thrown in if that's what you want?”
Her bliss-filled gasp made him laugh. “Really?”
He kissed her parted lips. “Really, but first we need to find a ring, a priest, get your grandmother on a plane, and find a killer wedding dress for you.”
Unable to resist, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “No need for a new dress. I’ve still got the last one.”
His eyes widened. “You kept it?”
She nodded. “As a reminder…of what I had and threw away.” The past cast its cold shadow over her happiness, but for only a moment. She was too happy, too thankful the love of her life was hers again, to let it linger.
“Hey,” he cupped her jaw and tilted her face to his. “No more sadness. We can get you a new dress if you want. Or you can wear the old one and keep it as a symbol of the love we found again. We can show it our grandkids when we’re old and decrepit.”
“I like that, so much better.” Another tear fell.
“Then stop crying and kiss me.”
She went into his arms and did as he asked. When she lifted her head, the love in his eyes blew her clean away. “I love you, Enzo. With everything inside my heart.”
“And I love you back, Lexi. I intend to spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”
THE END
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Acknowledgements
As usual, my love and thanks goes to my husband, Tony, for his unwavering support and understanding when the crazy sets in. Also to Sally, for being the tremendously supportive pioneer who’s steered me true in my first attempt at self-publishing. You have my undying gratitude. Last, but not least to my wonderful kids, who will most definitely not see this acknowledgement until they’re at least fifty! Mummy loves you more than you will ever know!
About the Author
From the moment Zara Cox cracked open her first romance, she was hooked. To her nothing, is sexier than discovering two people made for each other who overcome tough odds to find their version of happy ever after, even if fictionally. Zara is currently working on her next story – RHAPSODY’S DELIGHT – which will be out this summer. She would love to hear from her readers, so please get in touch via her Facebook Page or via her Twitter Page or sign up for her Newsletter. Thank you for reading Wreckless
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Acknowledgements