Kiss and Make Up

by Serenity Woods

  Eli stared at her. “You mean you won’t go to the UK?”

  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. Will you marry me?”

  “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?”

  He looked so unsure, so uncertain, her heart overloaded and tears spilled down her face again. “How can you not know how much I want to be with you?” She reached up and put her arms around him. “I love you so much, Eli. Of course the answer’s yes.”

  “You’ll marry me?”

  He sounded so surprised, she laughed, wiping her tears away. “Yes, you idiot. I’ll marry you. But you have to promise me one thing.”

  “An orgasm every day?” His grin revealed the sexy gap in his teeth.

  She pushed him, blushing. “No. Honestly. No more fighting. For real, I mean. Stage fighting, yes. Real fighting, no.”

  “I promise. I’ll even write it in my vows, if you like.” He took the ring out of the box, lifted her hand, and slid it onto her finger. He nodded. “Good. Now everyone will know you’re mine.”

  “Yours? Are you going to be all possessive now that we’re engaged?”

  “Absolutely. I’m a terribly jealous guy. Except now I’ll have to use harsh language to keep your admirers at bay.”

  She laughed, and ran her fingers over his black eye and the cut on his cheek. “I keep getting this image in my head of a boy with your black hair and blue eyes, and I have to tell him off constantly for drawing on his hands with a black marker.”

  “And I keep thinking about a daughter who looks like you, a real tomboy, and teaching her how to fall down the stairs.”

  She smiled. “I guess we both have vivid imaginations.”

  He shrugged and glanced out at the stars. “Who knows? Maybe we were given a glimpse of the future.” He went quiet, and she knew he was thinking of Charlie.

  “A little glimpse of heaven?” she said, sliding her arms around him. She kissed his throat, his jaw, and up to his split lip, touching her tongue to the cut lightly.

  Beneath her mouth, his lips started to curve. He tightened his good arm around her and pulled her toward him so she could feel the evidence of his growing desire. “Now, you know you’re too wicked for heaven, Tabbs. When will you learn?”

  “I forget. You’ll have to keep reminding me.”

  “I will.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Every day. I promise.”

  Epilogue

  Fourteen months later

  The pub in Ealing, West London, heaved with people, most of them graduates who’d attended the awards ceremony at the Delmar Academy of Make Up just down the road.

  Eli finished off his beer and smiled at his wife. She stood at the bar, talking to a couple of her fellow graduates. It was warm in the room and her cheeks were flushed, her eyes alight with pleasure at her success, at finally achieving her goal. She’d worked damn hard the past year, and she’d passed the course with excellent grades and a portfolio ready to wow any potential employers. She’d have no trouble getting a job, he was certain of it. She looked young and trendy with her hair tucked up under a cap, full of life, so beautiful. Every day, he thanked anyone above who might be listening for making him see sense.

  She caught his eye and gestured to the door with her head. He nodded and pushed himself to his feet, met her halfway to the door, and took her hand in his.

  They made their way outside into the cooler evening air. Eli linked the fingers of his right hand in her left, enjoying the feel of
the gold band she wore. During the Christmas break, they’d flown to New York, and Eli had met her family. Eli’s parents, and Mick and Madeleine, had then flown over from New Zealand, and they’d had a quick, quiet wedding before returning to London so Tabby could continue her course.

  Eli had landed a job at Ealing Studios as a stunt man in an action movie. It had involved being blown up in cars and falling off bridges into rivers, which he’d thoroughly enjoyed. He’d only broken one finger over the course of the movie, so he counted it a success.

  The filming had finished a few weeks ago, and now Tabby’s course had come to end. It was time for them to return to New York for a while, as Tabby wanted to spend some time with her family. After that, they hadn’t made up their minds. Eli knew that wherever they ended up, he’d be happy, as long as Tabby was with him.

  She nudged him with an elbow. “Penny for your thoughts?”

  He threw an arm around her shoulders. “I was thinking how lovely you look in your hat.”

  “My titfer, you mean?”

  “Sorry, what?”

  She grinned. “My titfer. Tit-for-tat. Hat.”

  He rolled his eyes. She’d been torturing him with Cockney rhyming slang since they’d arrived in London. “I’ll never get the hang of it.”

  She laughed. “Never mind. We’ll be leaving soon. Then I can torment you with my New York twang.”

  Pulling her close, he kissed her forehead. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you. Likewise.”

  “I mean it. You’ve worked so hard. You deserve every ounce of success you get. And you look so happy—you’re positively glowing.”

  She stopped walking and turned to face him. He glanced up and down the pavement, moving her back out of the way of the pedestrians. On a Friday night, London came alive. The July evening air was full of the spicy aromas from the Indian restaurant a few doors away, warm and exciting.

  “I was thinking,” she said. “After we visit my parents… Maybe it’s time we settled down?”

  He took her in his arms, aware of the smile playing on her lips. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I thought we could find a shady corner of New Zealand to call our own. Our turangawaewae.” She pronounced it “turanga-why-why.” He’d taught her the Maori word. It meant “a place to stand.”

  Pleasure brought a smile to his face. “I’d love that. But are you sure?”

  “I think it would be a lovely place to bring up a family.”

  He nodded, agreeing with her.

  She waited for him to say something. When he didn’t she said, “I only drank Sprite tonight, Eli.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Did you now? Why so?”

  She sucked her bottom lip for a moment. “Because this morning, I took a pregnancy test.”

  Time seemed to slow, then stop. All the noises faded, and for a brief moment it was as if they were the only two people in the whole world.

  “What did it say?” But he already knew. Her words about finding a place to settle down, as well as the shine in her eyes, couldn’t have meant anything else.

  She kissed him. “You’re going to be a father, Eli.”

  He caught his breath. They’d decided as her course came to an end that they weren’t going to wait before they started trying for a baby. Still, it had only been weeks since he’d stopped buying condoms in bulk.

  “Wow. That’s some energetic sperm I have there.” He made the joke, but it didn’t hide the emotion that welled up inside him. He was going to be a daddy?

  Tears shone in Tabby’s eyes too. “Thank you.”

  “Aw, Tabbs. Thank you. I love you so much. I must be the luckiest man in the universe to have a girl as wonderful as you.” He bent his head and touched his lips to hers. “Mrs. Tabatha Black.”

  “Don’t full name me,” she murmured, wiping away the tears that had spilled over her lashes. “You know that leads to punishment.”

  His mouth curved and he nibbled her bottom lip. “Tabatha, Tabatha, Tabatha.”

  She kissed him back and then took his hand, her eyes alight with amusement and desire. “Right, that’s it. Back to the apartment. You’re in for it, mister.”

  “Promises, promises.” He let her lead him along the road, his heart swelling with joy.

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  About the Author

  Serenity Woods lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes hot and sultry contemporary romance with a happy ever after, and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. Writing as Freya Robertson, she won the national NZ Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel for her epic fantasy, Heartwood. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. You can check out all her books at www.serenitywoodsromance.com

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