He tore his mouth from hers and stepped away. They were both silent, only the sound of their heavy breathing filled the room. He lifted his hands to her hair then in a tender caress. “Take care of yourself sweetheart.” And he walked out of her apartment. He had on just his silk boxers and he wasn’t wearing any shoes. But at that moment he didn’t care if he was buck naked. He found his key under the mat inside the grill and opened his apartment. Who cared if he was standing outside his apartment in only his boxers? His heart had just been ripped out of him and was bleeding on the floor in the apartment next door.
Chapter Seven
Angie locked the door to the apartment and lifted the heavy shoulder bag onto her shoulders. She pulled out the handle of her luggage, prepared to roll it. Then she paused and stared at Alex’s door. She thought of going to knock on it, but knew it was a waste of time. He’d left the apartment the day before and hadn’t returned. She knew because between bouts of weeping, she had been listening for him. She felt her chest tighten as her throat constricted. She couldn’t believe he wasn’t even going to say goodbye. Her eyes burned with unshed tears at the thought of not seeing him again. But she couldn’t honestly blame him. They had said all they’d needed to say in her apartment. There was nothing else to say. But God, she missed him.
She turned and walked to the elevator, dragging her suitcase behind her. At the lobby she nodded to the concierge and mumbled her thanks when the porter came to relieve her of her luggage. Her flight was not until nine pm. and check-in time was an hour before then. But she’d decided to leave early. It was just two pm. so she would have a long wait at the airport. The taxi that was taking her to Kuala Lumpur International Airport was already waiting out in front of the apartment building.
Stepping out into the heat of the Malaysian sun, Angie noticed a shiny black limousine sitting right in front of the entrance. She was about to walk around it when the door opened and none other than Hussein stepped out of it. He looked striking in a pair of designer jeans and a blinding white dress shirt, but Angie didn’t notice. She was too stunned to see him. She just stood there staring at him as he walked towards her. For one heart stopping moment, she had thought it was Alex. The disappointment was so sharp it was almost tangible.
“Hi Angie.”
“Hi.” She shaded her eyes from the sunlight and stared up at him. She couldn’t see his eyes, though, because they were shaded by a pair of sunglasses.
“You’re leaving.” He nodded towards where the porter was standing with her luggage.
“Yes.”
“I guess you got tired of him eventually.”
Angie felt white hot rage flow through her and just as quickly as it came, it subsided. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. What was the point? She was leaving wasn’t she? She dropped her gaze from his and stared at her taxi instead. “Thanks for coming to say goodbye Hussein, I need to go now.” She made to move but he stepped in front of her.
“Let me take you.” She opened her mouth to refuse but he quickly cut in. “It’s the least I can do.” When he saw her hesitate he changed tack. “My jaw still hurts. Take a ride with me so I’ll know you’ve forgiven me.” When she made no remark he frowned. “Please.”
With a sigh she turned to look at him. “Fine.” She knew she sounded ungracious so she sighed again. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
Ensconced in the luxurious comfort of the limousine, Angie faced Hussein. He had finally taken off his sunglasses. “So why are you here, Hussein?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “To see you safely to KLIA of course.”
She frowned then. “How did you know I was leaving for the airport?”
“I asked the concierge to let me know when you called for a taxi,” he stated blandly.
Angie opened her mouth but nothing came out, she was completely flummoxed. “Y… You… How, I mean, How…?” she spluttered in consternation. She took a deep breath and tried again, “How did you get him to do that?”
“I own that building,” he told her simply.
She nodded slowly. Okay, so he owned the building. Fine. “Why?”
“Why do I own the building? It’s a good investment, I suppose.”
“No, I mean, why did you ask him to alert you about my movements.”
“You make it sound all cloak and dagger.” He smiled.
Angie was not impressed. “It is cloak and dagger Hussein, even if you do own the building,” she told him tartly.
“Why are you leaving?” he asked suddenly.
“Ah, my return ticket is for today.”
“What about Alex?” There was no smile on his face now.
Angie stared at her hands which had somehow formed a knot without her noticing. “I haven’t seen him. He didn’t come to say goodbye.” Her voice cracked then, but she cleared her throat and fought down the tears that were already hovering on the surface.
“He told me about your husband.”
“Ah.”
“And that you’re afraid to trust.”
“It’s…it’s more complex than that. If Alex left me, I don’t know what I would do. It would kill me.”
“So you’re leaving him instead.”
“I have no guarantee that he won’t leave me.”
“There are no guarantees in life Angie. It’s all a risk. Life is a risk and it’s trusting people that helps us through.”
Angie didn’t expect him to understand. She knew about risk and life and the pain, the hurt that went along with both. She had lost too many people in her life. First her dad, then her mom and finally, Michael. Even though she knew now that she’d never had him to begin with. Still, she wasn’t prepared to go through that again. And she wasn’t leaving Alex, not really. She just needed to be gone before they started anything. The pain in her heart said they’d already started a lot, but she refused to heed it.
“Do you love him?”
Angie stared at the man who looked so much like Alex but was not him. She didn’t know how to answer his question. Did she love Alex? She loved him so much she had no idea how she was going to face the rest of her life without him. Dear Lord, just the thought of it was tearing her apart. She felt like her heart was splitting in two and there was nothing she could do about it. Suddenly the pain was too much for her and she doubled over and began to heave, dry sobs racking her body. This was ten - no, a hundred - times worse than losing Michael and this time around she had no one to blame but herself.
She felt enveloped in the tangy scent of cologne before strong arms came around her. Hussein held her as she wept like her life was over. He murmured soft, comforting words to her until she finally stopped shaking.
“Should I take you to him?” he asked softly handing her the box of tissue that magically appeared.
Angie just nodded and leaned against the seat, inhaling the scent of leather while he spoke into the receiver beside him. She was scared and she still wasn’t sure if she could trust her judgment and her heart, but she trusted Alex totally. That would have to do for now because the thought of losing him wasn’t something she was willing to contemplate. Even if she had to beg and grovel, she would do whatever it took to get him to look at her again like she was the only woman in his world.
***
“I’ll leave you here.”
Angie turned to Hussein in alarm. He’d brought her all the way to Port Klang and had led her onto a very beautiful sailboat, where he said Alex was hanging out. After her crying spell, he’d entertained her with stories about him and Alex when they were younger. By the time they had stopped at the wharf, she had come to the conclusion that Hussein Farhadi wasn’t all that bad. He still was an arrogant playboy, but he had a lot of redeeming qualities. She faced him now, strangely nervous about the thought of facing Alex alone. “You won’t stay just a little while?”
He cast a wry smile at her and lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ears in a gesture so reminiscent of Alex that she caught her breath. “I think yo
u’ll do better by yourself,” he said gently. “You should find him in the Captain’s cabin, below deck.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “Thank you, Hussein. Regardless of how this goes, I’ll never forget your friendship.” She stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
A flicker of emotion came and went in his eyes before he flashed a mischievous smile her way. “Don’t forget my offer. My boat is much bigger than this.” He winked at her and laughed when she rolled her eyes at him. With a final nod at the stairs leading below deck, he left.
Taking a fortifying breath, she went to find Alex. She found him in the Captain’s cabin, just as Hussein had said. He was lying on the bed in a pair of white cotton shorts and a white t-shirt and he looked incredibly sexy. He didn’t move when he saw her. She saw the surprise in his eyes before his lashes came down, hooding his eyes.
“Hi.” Her voice sounded croaky even to her ears.
“Hey.”
She walked further into the room and stood by the king size bed. “Don’t you want to know why I’m here?”
Alex closed his eyes. “I’m sure you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”
Angie sighed. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her. “I was on my way to the airport when we turned back and came here. Hussein brought me.”
Alex didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say. He could barely hear himself think above the pounding of his heart. He couldn’t think beyond the fact that she was here. She hadn’t gone to the airport. She was here! He wondered if he was dreaming or hallucinating. He had dreamed about her so many times since yesterday that it wouldn’t surprise him if he opened his eyes and discovered she was gone. Mercifully she began to speak.
“I…You weren’t there to say goodbye, then Hussein was. And he made me see that nothing in life is guaranteed. I’m scared Alex. I’m scared that if I lose you I might never recover from that. But then by leaving, I was losing you anyway so…” she paused to take a breath. “So I figured I would rather have any time I can have with you than not have you at all.”
When he still didn’t say anything, Angie began to cry softly. She clambered up the bed, kneeling beside him. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Alex. Please don’t send me away. I love you so much. Just, please…”
Her tears undid him. He grabbed her and pulled her on top of him, rubbing her back as he kissed her eyes, her nose, her cheeks and finally her mouth. He went back to her eyes again and kissed off her tears. “Sweetheart, please don’t cry. Angie baby, I love you, don’t cry.” He held her as she sobbed out her heart.
“I’m so sorry,” she said through her tears.
“You have no idea how glad I am that you’re not at the airport,” he murmured, running his hands through her hair, her wonderful silky hair. He still couldn’t believe she was here with him and that she loved him. She did say she loved him, didn’t she? “You love me?”
She lifted her head off his chest then and gazed into his eyes, hers twin pools of adoration. “I love you so much Alex Farhadi that I don’t want to go another day without you. The past twenty-four plus hours have been hell.”
He framed her face between his hands and looked deep into her tear filled eyes. He was so crazy about her. His emotions rose, nearly overwhelming him and he couldn’t say a word. Closing his eyes briefly, he thanked the Saints and the Prophets for bringing this woman to his life and for giving him a chance with her. Opening his eyes again he let all the emotion inside him show in them. “Angie, I want to ask you something.” When she nodded, he continued, “I am going to ask you to marry me.” He gently placed the tips of his fingers on her mouth when she opened it to speak, her eyes wide with apprehension. “Not now, I can see you’re not ready. But I will ask eventually. What I want to know is if you’ll consider spending the rest of your life with me. I’m not asking you to do that. I’m just asking if you will consider it. Will you consider it?”
He held his breath waiting for her answer. He already knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. She was the other part of his soul. But she had been through a lot and he knew she needed time to adjust. She was here and that was huge. She stared at him now, her eyes deep fathomless pools. He had no idea what was going on in her head and that worried him. She looked away from his probing eyes briefly, but when she looked back at him, his breath caught in his throat. He saw reflected in her eyes the promise of tomorrow. It was almost as though she’d taken everything he was feeling inside and beamed it back at him. She lowered her lips to him and dropped a quick kiss.
“When you do ask, I will not consider it.” Alex stiffened and frowned in confusion. Had he read her wrong? But she was smiling tenderly at him. “Whenever you ask me to marry you Alex, I will say yes.”
Relief so strong surged through him, he felt he would burst. With a quick move, he flipped her over so that she was lying down and he was on top of her, then he proceeded to kiss her so thoroughly that she was gasping for breath by the time they broke apart. He was already hard from needing her. “You are a minx, Angela Scot. And I love you so much.”
Angie wrapped her arms around Alex and smiled into his eyes. She leaned up and whispered into his ears, “Show me how much.”
Alex’s eyes flared with passion and he proceeded to show her just how much he loved her.
Thank You!
Thank you so much for reading Holiday with Mr. Right. I appreciate every one of you who picked up this book. If you enjoyed it, I would love a review on the Amazon page.
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