Page 32 of The Best Thing He Never Wanted

“Honestly, I think I was probably the biggest letdown in his life. He wasn’t some terrible tyrant,” she added quickly when Blane’s eyebrows knitted together. “He was always very reasonable. There was usually a perfectly good reason that things should be done his way. And honestly, over the years, I think I even stopped asking myself what my way might have been.”

She lifted one shoulder. “That’s partly what Crete is for. Simon would never have moved there. It’s the first big life decision I’ve made entirely for myself since I was eighteen.”

His eyebrows shot up.

“We met at university.”

“Damn.”

“Exactly.” She smiled. “But all that’s behind me now. Once I land on Tuesday afternoon, my house, my garden, my life will all be my own.”

For a man who was mostly very still, Blane somehow became even stiller. Even the air around him seemed to stop. “Tuesday?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not leaving tomorrow?”

“No. Why?” She stared at him. “Oh! When are you leaving?”

The smile that spread across his face was a sight to behold. “Not tomorrow. I don’t know what Cash is playing at, but I do know I’m here until at least Tuesday.”

She laughed and clapped her hands together. “Well, how about that? Perhaps that’s why the goodbye wouldn’t stick. Because it didn’t have to be one.”

He nodded, still smiling. “I thought it had to be.”

“Me too! We were rather dramatic about it, weren’t we?”

“Speak for yourself.”

“You gave my taxi driver a hundred pounds, Blane.”

“That was a safety issue.”

“Okay, Mr. Wilder. Whatever you say.” She smiled at him. “I, for one, will admit that I was very sad.”

~ ~ ~

Blane took his time processing it. He’d assumed she was leaving in the morning. He’d kick his own ass for that later; he knew better than to make assumptions. He’d also assumed he would be leaving, and he should have known better than that too. Now, out of nowhere, he’d been handed another day. A gift he had no intention of wasting. He met her gaze, determined not to make any more false assumptions. “Do you have plans tomorrow?”

She beamed. “Not a one. Well, if anything, I need to get rid of my old suitcase. I should see if I can find a way to …” She caught herself halfway into the ramble and gave him a sheepish smile. “No. No plans.”

“Breakfast, then?”

“I’d like that.”

“Seven-thirty?”

“Seven-thirty.”

The bartender was stacking chairs now; they were the last two customers in the place.

Bea looked around. “We should go.”

“We should.”

They rode the elevator back up to the twelfth floor together. When the doors opened, she touched his arm the way she did and smiled up at him. “I’m so pleased we get to say see you tomorrow this time.” She reached up and kissed his cheek again.

And this time, he managed to turn his head and brush his lips over her cheek before she stepped away. “See you tomorrow, Bea.”