Page 9 of No Going Back

“I guess it is. You take care of all the graves?”

“I do.” He pushed his cap back. “There’s a few of us that does.”

Guy glanced down at Liz’s plot. “Thanks for looking after this one.”

“She someone special to you?”

“Very special.” He hadn’t known how special until it was too late.

“You meant same to ’er?”

Had he? She’d made him feel that way. “I think so—I hope so.”

The old man gave a thoughtful nod, as if weighing up the exchange. “She’s been gone a while. You told ’er anything like that before, ’bout meeting another woman?”

“Never.” Heaven only knew why he was confiding in a stranger like this, but instinct told Guy to run with it. “There’s never been anyone to tell her about.”

And there hadn’t been, not once—not that he’d been looking. Though he’d played at Aegis over the years, it hadn’t been with any of the available subs. He’d played the role of Top to submissives whose Doms lacked the sadistic streak they’d sometimes needed. Sexual release was an itch he’d scratched himself, and hell, at his age, it was a lot less significant than it used to be.

Until he’d laid eyes on Maddie Scott. Thanks to her, he felt fifteen years younger, and he was nurturing fantasies about having her scratch that itch with him.

“Seems to me she’d give you ’er blessing, if that’s what you’re looking for. If she loved you like you loved ’er, she’d not be after dragging you into that grave with ’er, no matter what. I got work to do, so you think on it. You’ll see I’m right.”

And with that, the old man ambled off.

He was right, of course. Liz had never dragged Guy into her grave—he’d gone willingly, fuelled by enough guilt to last for years. That damn mission. If it hadn’t been for that…

Things happen for a reason, or so they said. Coincidence had played no small part in bringing Maddie into his life. Simon’s trip taking him out of the country, Ros’ choice of venues, the planner reporting sick the day they went to the hotel—all played their part. Perhaps the universe—or that higher power he didn’t believe in—was trying to tell him something. After all, hadn’t his unplanned visit to the cemetery taken place at the precise time the old man was pottering around in the vicinity of Liz’s grave?

Guy crouched in front of the headstone again. As he scanned the words one more time, a sense of calm and acceptance came over him. She really was gone, and he could never bring her back. And somehow, through talking to the old man, maybe even through meeting Maddie, he finally understood.

His fingertips transferred a kiss to her name. As they tracked the carving for what he sensed might be the last time, he could almost hear her whispering to him.

Enough. There’s only room for one in this grave, and I’m not moving. It’s time for you to stop living in the past. Go and live your life, Fawkes.

“Thank you, Liz,” he murmured. “For everything.”

>>><<<

“Oh good grief! Are you sure?”

Ros’ words stopped him dead in his tracks. After a strenuous workout in the gym, Guy had wandered into the kitchen in search of coffee and cake. What he found was his niece with her phone welded to her ear, alongside his cook, who had frozen like a statue in the middle of pummelling a mountain of bread dough. They were apparently awaiting a response to Ros’ question.

“What—”

“Shush!” Della turned on him with a ferocious glare.

Guy raised his hands in surrender. He knew better than to argue with the woman who kept him fed and watered to a standard the gods would envy. He turned his attention to Ros—or at least, her end of the conversation.

“That’s amazing. I’ll check my email immediately, and once I’ve run it by Simon, I’ll be in touch. Thank you so much, Maddie. I’ll speak to you soon. Bye.”

“Maddie? From the hotel? What did she want?” Guy tried to make the enquiry sound casual.

“Yes, Maddie from the hotel.” Ros slipped her phone into the pocket of her jeans. The smile she then bestowed on all of them made Guy wonder if all her Christmases and birthdays had come at once. Especially when she hurtled across the kitchen and flung her arms around his neck, the way she used to when she was a kid.

“Hey, what’s all this about?” Guy wrapped his arms around her and lowered her to the floor. “What’s happened?”

“I know I shouldn’t be so happy, because it’s really sad for someone else, but it’s just amazing.”