by Sarah Bailey
“Hello?”
It wasn’t Fiona’s voice. Whoever it was, they had a sing song Scottish lilt to their accent. Questions about who this was and why they were answering Fiona’s phone ran through my head, but I felt so sluggish the answers weren’t forthcoming.
“Um, hello.”
“Who is this?”
“It’s Jensen. And you are?”
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I’m Liora, Fi’s sister in law.”
Her brother’s wife. The reason we’d broken up in the first place was due to his reaction to finding out about Fi and me.
“Is Fi okay? She just sent me a text.”
That was really all I cared about.
“No, she’s not really. She hasn’t gone to work for two weeks and refuses to get out of bed. Jen has spent every night with her, but nothing any of us do makes a difference. It’s like she’s given up. I had no idea she’d messaged you.”
I sat up. Hearing how much she was suffering gutted me. My heart squeezed painfully and all I wanted was to hold her. To tell her it’d be okay. That she didn’t have to live without me if she missed me.
“Why do you have her phone?”
“She came out here a minute ago and shoved it at me, muttering something about how she’d done something stupid, but now I’m thinking it’s because she texted you.”
“She’s with you?”
“Yeah, she’s been here since she left you.”
“She just told me she misses me. Do you think she meant that?”
I had to know. If she did, then I wanted to see her. Desperately.
“I’m pretty sure she did.”
“Do you think she’d see me?”
“Yes, and even if that wasn’t the case, I think it’s a good idea for the two of you to talk.”
Considering she’d reached out to me, I was inclined to agree.
“Will you text me your address? I can come now.”
“I can do that. Are you sure you want to see her?”
Fiona might have left me because she thought she was doing the right thing, but I was fucking damned if I was going to let her suffer. I jumped out of bed and put my glasses on. Even though I felt groggy, my body ached and the lack of sleep would make it impossible for me to get in the car and drive to her, I didn’t care.
“Yes, I don’t know what Fi told you about me, but I never wanted her to leave me. I need to make this right… Is your husband going to let me in the house if I come over?”
After the way Dante had reacted, I wasn’t quite sure if he’d be okay with me being there or not.
“Well, he’s not here for starters and I can’t stand by and watch her like this any longer. I don’t care what he says or thinks about it. Fi’s wellbeing is far more important. I’ll text you my address, guess I’ll meet you soon.”
“You will.”
I hung up without saying goodbye. I’m sure she understood I was in a rush to get to Fi’s side. Dragging myself over to my wardrobe, I threw on clothes and ordered myself an Uber after getting a text with Liora’s address. All the way over to her house, I was tapping my foot agitatedly. My heart raced at a hundred miles an hour. My emotions were all over the place. Happiness at being able to see her again. Anxious because she hadn’t left bed in two weeks. Worried about her mental state. Fiona had me in knots. I’d never fretted over one person so much in my life. Not even in the aftermath of Hailey’s death.
When I arrived, I tried to breathe and remain calm as I walked up the steps to Liora and Dante’s house. I rang the doorbell and waited. A minute later, it opened, revealing a short blonde haired girl with green eyes.
“You must be Jensen.”
She put out her hand to me. I shook it, trying to be polite even though I was anxious to see Fiona.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
She stepped back as she dropped my hand, allowing me inside. I followed her as she started towards the stairs.
“I hear you’re expecting.”
Her hand fell to her stomach as we took our first step up the stairs.
“We found out last week we’re having a boy.”
“Thought about names yet?”
She shook her head. A streak of fur ran down the stairs in front of us, causing Liora to curse as it ran between our legs. I put a hand out to stop her stumbling.
“Thank you,” she said as I steadied her.
“You have cats?”
“They can be a nightmare when they run around like that. Dante’s threatened to get rid of them on more than one occasion. If I’d fallen down the stairs, he’d have lost it.”
I smiled despite myself. Fi told me Liora loved animals. We continued up the stairs and she took me along the hall, stopping outside a closed door.
“She doesn’t know you’re here. I didn’t want to give her time to object. If you can get her to have a shower, I’d be grateful.” She pointed to a door across the hallway. “That’s the bathroom. I’m going to make some lunch in the meantime.”
I nodded. There wasn’t much I could say. Fiona and I had to work this out ourselves.
“I’ll leave you to it.”
She gave me a sad smile before turning and walking back towards the stairs. I took a deep breath as I put my hand on the door handle and turned it. The room was a little dark as I stepped in. The curtains were half drawn. I could see a figure huddled under the covers. I stripped off my coat and threw it over a chair before toeing off my shoes, unsure if she was sleeping or not.
Approaching the bed, I reached out and tugged the covers off her face. She blinked rapidly before her eyes focused on me. We stared at each other for several moments. My heart pounded against my ribcage. She looked pale and drawn with dark circles under her eyes.
I didn’t want this to turn into an argument. I had no energy to fight with her over what happened. All I wanted was Fiona and her sweet scent of orange blossom and jasmine surrounding me. This was the woman I wanted for life and nothing would stand in the way of that again. I wouldn’t allow it. Her family didn’t get to dictate whether we were together or not. I didn’t care if my career was ruined and went up in flames. All I cared about was her. All I needed was her.
She pulled the covers back without a word. I popped my glasses on the bedside table and slipped in beside her, gathering her up against my chest and kissing her forehead. She didn’t cry or make a sound as her fingers curled around my t-shirt. We stayed like that for the longest time until she pulled away and looked up at me.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry too.”
She reached up and stroked my face. I shuddered under her touch. I’d been starving for this girl for two weeks and having her right here allowed me to breathe again.
“You haven’t been sleeping.”
“Neither have you.”
I didn’t need to ask her if that was the truth. It was clear by her appearance. My heart squeezed painfully. I was here for her now, but would she tell me to go? Would she break my heart all over again? She searched my face for a long moment, her blue eyes beginning to brim with tears.
“Jensen…”
“Hmm?”
“Did Liora tell you where I was? I’m guessing you called after I messaged you.”
I nodded. She tucked her head back against my chest and sighed deeply as her fingers ran down the side of my face and along my neck.
“I never meant to hurt you. Everything was so overwhelming. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I don’t really know what that is any longer. All I know is I miss you. I hope you can forgive me because I don’t know how to be without you.”
My arms tightened around her. Fi was far too self-sacrificing for her own good. I knew she’d done it to protect everyone she cared about.
“I forgive you. Just promise to come back to me, little one.”
She trembled, a little sob escaping her lips.
“I promis
e, Jensen,” she whispered. “I love you.”
I swear my heart just about stopped in my chest. It wasn’t that I didn’t know she felt that way, but hearing it was an entirely different matter.
“What did you say?”
She leant back a little and looked up at me, those blue eyes radiating adoration.
“I love you.”
I opened and closed my mouth twice before I was able to form a sentence.
“Well… it’s lucky I love you too then, isn’t it?”
“You do?” she asked, her voice all choked up.
“Yes. I should’ve told you that before you walked out on me.”
Her thumb ran across my neck.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“So are you, little one.”
She smiled, her bottom lip trembling. I reached up and stroked her cheek, feeling content for the first time in two weeks.
“Now, I think I promised your sister in law I’d get you in the shower before lunch.”
A blush appeared on her cheeks and fuck if that wasn’t adorable.
“You don’t want to know how long it’s been,” she whispered.
I raised an eyebrow, looking her over. I had an idea, but I didn’t want to embarrass her any further. Pulling away, I got up, snagged my glasses from the bedside table and put a hand out to her. She let me help her out of bed and lead her from the room into the bathroom Liora had indicated to me earlier.
“Should I leave you to it?” I asked.
“Yes… if that’s okay.”
I kissed the top of her head.
“Of course it is. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
She went up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek.
“Thank you for understanding.”
I knew she meant about her leaving me. If I let that stand in the way of us being together, I’d just be hurting myself. Not to say that it wouldn’t take time for the sting to go away, but love wasn’t easy. It was messy and brutal. Despite all the pain, Fiona was worth fighting for.
“I expect you to make it up to me,” I told her as I backed away towards the door.
“I will.”
Her smile almost had me wanting to strip off and get in the shower with her, but instead, I winked and left the room. When I got here, I wasn’t quite sure how she’d react to seeing me. A huge part of me was glad there had been no drama between us after the emotional strain of being apart had taken its toll.
I made my way downstairs and looked around, trying to find out where her sister in law had got to. The first room I tried was an empty dining room. Further along the hallway, it opened out into a huge kitchen and that’s where I found Liora. She turned at my approach.
“Is Fi okay?” she asked, eyes full of concern.
“I think so. I left her to take a shower.”
“And are you two okay?”
I leant up against the counter. The concern in her eyes made me answer despite having only met this girl half an hour ago.
“Yes.”
“You can sit down if you want. It’s almost ready.”
She waved at the conservatory doors where I could see a large table set for four. I didn’t ask who else was here, knowing I’d probably find out soon enough. I walked through and took a seat after turfing one of the cats off it. It gave me an evil look before stalking away into the kitchen. I stared through the windows at their small garden. Dante and Liora had a beautiful home. It didn’t surprise me this was where their family gathered. Fi had told me they’d lived here with Dante until they were nineteen after he took them away from their father.
Ten minutes later, Fi appeared in the kitchen. She and Liora had a hushed conversation before she came through and sat next to me. Liora disappeared into the hallway, presumably to get whoever was joining us.
Fi had her damp hair up in a bun and she looked a lot better having showered. Her blue eyes were no longer dull and lifeless. I put an arm around her and tugged her closer.
“A little birdy told me you’re going to have a nephew soon.”
She smiled as she laid a hand on my thigh.
“I didn’t think Dante would be the first of us to have kids, but I’m looking forward to being an aunty.”
“And I also heard from my sister in law someone was very good with my niece who won’t stop going on about how she met twins.”
She blushed, looking down at her hand.
“Is the invitation to officially meet your family still valid?”
I tucked a hand under her chin and forced her to look at me.
“Yes, it’s this weekend so you better find something nice to wear to impress my parents.”
She laughed at that as she leant closer.
“Is that so? You sure they won’t think I’m far too glamourous for the likes of you?”
I raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.
“Oh no, little one, you’re just the right amount of glitz and glamour for me.”
I kissed her before she could respond. She melted against me, her arms wrapping around my neck. I remembered her taste of bittersweet chocolate as her tongue found its way into my mouth and the way her body moulded to mine. It felt like coming home.
There was a sharp cough from behind us which made me pull away. Fi looked a little sheepish as she took in the two people standing in the doorway. One of them was Liora and the other was a tall guy with brown hair and hazel eyes.
“It’s good to see you up, Fi,” he said as he came over and sat across from us.
“Jensen, this is Brent, Dante’s best friend, bodyguard and kitten wrangler,” Fi said with a smile.
He rolled his eyes. “You’re beginning to sound like Jen.”
“Jen and Brent hate each other,” she whispered to me before shooting him a look.
“I hope you’re prepared to take care of our Fi here,” he said to me. “She’s a handful.”
“And you’re annoying,” she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.
Liora rolled her eyes as she brought through lunch and started dishing it out to everyone.
“Oh come on, I don’t annoy you nearly as much as your sister. Besides, I’m more like nursemaid to old pregnancy guts over here currently. You have no idea what it’s like living with D and his constant ‘is the baby okay?’ every five minutes. He’s even forcing me to give him regular text updates because Liora refuses to entertain his overprotective daddy behaviour.”
Liora whacked Brent around the head with a rolled up placemat a moment later.
“Leave Dante alone, he’s just worried about me,” she muttered.
He rubbed the back of his head and scowled.
“You’re violent when you’re hormonal.”
“I’ll show you violent in a minute when I throw your lunch over your head if you don’t keep your mouth shut. Do you want our guest to think all we do is bicker in this family?”
He grinned and zipped his mouth closed with his hand which earnt him a frown from Liora. Fi was watching the two of them with amusement in her eyes which led me to assume this was a normal occurrence between them.
I leant over to her. “Is he considered family then?” I whispered in her ear.
“Pretty much, he came to work for us when Jen and I were fifteen. One of Dad’s stipulations when he agreed to let Dante take us three.”
“You said he’s Dante’s bodyguard.”
“His protection detail has been Liora since she came into our lives. He does other stuff for Dante which I don’t ask about,” she replied with a shrug before she started tucking into her meal.
The rest of lunch passed without incident. Liora asked me a lot of questions about myself, things I hadn’t even told Fi yet, but I was more than happy to oblige her with answers. I’d never tried to make a good impression on a woman’s family before, although I hadn’t had many relationships serious enough for that to happen anyway. Everything was d
ifferent with Fi. I wanted her family to like me so they’d be on board with our relationship for her sake. We still had an uphill battle to fight with Dante and Jen, but at least if some of them liked me, that might stand in my favour.
Fi excused us after we’d had tea, stating she was tired. Given she hadn’t been sleeping, it hardly surprised me. I was shattered too. I wanted to take her back to mine, but she looked so worn down, I decided it was better for her to sleep now. When we were upstairs and in the bedroom she’d been staying in, she turned to me after she stripped out of her clothes.
“You said once you’re not a good person, I think today proves otherwise. Liora seems to like you.”
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
She shook her head and walked over to me. Her hand curled around the bottom of my t-shirt.
“No? I hurt you deeply and you’re not mad at me. You forgave me and you just tried to impress my sister in law. I don’t think those are the actions of someone who only cares about himself and his own needs.”
I let her tug my t-shirt off me and throw it over the chair with my coat on it. Her fingers went to my jeans next.
“Nothing you could tell me about what you’ve done in the past would ever make me think any less of you. We all make mistakes. You went through something awful. I defy anyone not to struggle in the aftermath.”
She really had absolutely no idea what kind of shit I’d done. I wasn’t sure if she would be okay with it, but it didn’t stop it spilling out anyway.
“So if I told you one of the reasons Ben hates me so much is because I slept with his girlfriend at the time, you’ll still be here? Or that I was almost arrested for beating the shit out of a guy for telling me my sister was a two-bit whore who deserved to die, which would’ve ruined my career as a doctor. Let’s not forget how I stole my father’s pride and joy, his prized Harley Davidson and smashed it to pieces after my parent’s told me they would never forgive me for not saving my sister. And I won’t mention the copious amounts of drugs, alcohol and women that followed.”
Her hands stilled after she tugged down my zip. She looked up at me. I couldn’t read her expression. For a long moment she said nothing. Then she reached up and cupped my face.
“I told you once before… you don’t scare me, Jensen. Your sister died in your arms. You were hurting and your family wasn’t there for you. I can understand you lashing out at them. I wanted to lash out at the world after what my father did, but I didn’t know how. You tried to cope with it in the only way you knew how. Nothing you’ve done will ever change how I feel.” She took my hand with her free one and placed it on her chest, right where her heart was thudding against her ribcage. “You feel that? My heart only races like this when you’re near me.”