Chapter Seventeen
Felix drove through the darkened streets as though the devil was on his tail. Kate had sounded frantic on the phone, and he still hadn’t understood half of what she was talking about. All he knew was that there was trouble, and they needed all hands on deck. He turned up the dirt track to Highest Point and gunned the accelerator, the bike roaring in response. His headlights picked out snapshots of Lantana growing wild along the sides of the track, and a bird fluttered out of the bushes in shock as he rode past. He hardly saw it, panic gnawing at his gut.
Where is everybody? he thought. Usually, if there was an emergency, the whole island turned out to help, but the roads seemed oddly quiet all through town…unless they’re already there.
As he pulled up to the apex of the hill and rounded the shed that stood on the very top, his heart dropped. The place was deserted. He swore under his breath as he switched off the bike, and the lights died. It was now pitch dark, and the only noise was the gentle breeze through the trees, the distant sound of the ocean booming on the rocks below, and the call of night birds.
What the hell is going on?
He almost fell off the bike as the sudden hum of a generator rang out through the night, and fairy lights strung through the trees flashed on. The trestle table that usually sat under the large Norfolk Pine that marked the edge of the ridge had been pulled into the middle of a grassed area, a table cloth draping it, and two plates with large silver domes sat atop it.
Sliding off the pommel, he ran a hand through his hair and then froze in shock as Jen walked out of the shadows. Dressed in a figure-hugging, off-the-shoulder dress, she walked tentatively toward him with a tremulous smile on her lips. She clutched something in her hand, and her fingers worked at the envelope nervously.
His heart wrenched in his chest to see her, and he stepped forward to meet her. He wanted to take her into his arms, sweep her around in the air, hug her close, and never let her go, but something stopped him. This had to come from her. She’d called him here. This was her show.
I only hope it’s not good-bye.
“Hi, Felix. Thanks for coming.”
He gulped down a lump in his throat. “I thought it was an emergency. Kate said…Kate’s in on this, too?” he began in surprise. With a shake of his head, he realized he’d been manipulated, but he found he didn’t care a bit. She was here…for him. A warm glow began to spread around his heart. “If you’d called me, I would have come, anyway. You didn’t need to do all this.”
“I—I wanted to make this special,” she answered softly. “It’s what I do.”
“You read my letter,” he said, staring hard at the envelope in her hand, but she shook her head.
“No, this is mine for you. I realized I didn’t care about anything but the fact that you said you loved me. What you said in that letter meant nothing but the words you said to me at the airport. You loved me. You said it wasn’t over. I realized I didn’t want it over, either.” She paused, her eyes glistening with tears. “And you needed to know how I feel about you.”
His heart started to thump hard in his chest. “I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t either. I still don’t. But I know how I feel, Felix, and for once, I’m not running.” She passed him the envelope. “Open it.”
He slit the paper with a shaking hand and slid out the oblong card inside. In the dim light, he could see it was a ticket—a one way flight to New Zealand made out in her name. The date and flight matched his own—a ticket that sat with travel documents in a suitcase in his staff quarters. His eyes flicked questioningly to hers.
“I love you, Felix, and I’m not giving up on us. I want to come with you. I want to be with you,” she said.
He could hear the dry click of her throat as she swallowed nervously. “Say something.”
“I can’t,” he said harshly, his voice grating with emotion. Instead, he did what he wanted to do since he saw her walk out of the shadows. He swept her into his arms and kissed her. He claimed her mouth with his own, branding her with his love, his pure relief. The emotion made his knees weak, his chest ache. He showered her with kisses—her lips, forehead, and cheeks—before releasing her, breathless and flushed.
“What are we going to do with two tickets?” he asked with a shaky smile, his heart almost overflowing with love.
“Two?”
“That’s what’s in my envelope, Jen. A ticket. I wanted you to come with me. I’ve had it for months and been too scared to rush you.”
“You should have told me what you were doing,” she growled. “When I found out you were leaving, I thought I was just a fling, just a game to you.”
“You were never that. Never a fling. I think I loved you from the minute I saw you, but I made you run from me once. I was terrified you’d do it, again.”
“I was scared, Felix.”
“I know. That’s why I waited so long, too long to tell you that I wasn’t renewing my contract. Every time we seemed to move forward, you took a step back. Then, when I thought the time was right to ask you to marry me, to be with me forever…”
“Hang on. What?” Jen interrupted. Her mouth fell open, and she stepped out of the circle of his arms. His heart instantly dropped.
He put his hands up in surrender. “I’m so not rushing you, Jen. I promise. We’ll take this one step at a time. Just come with me. Come to New Zealand with me, please. We’ll talk about marriage later.” The words tripped out of his mouth in a rush as he pleaded with her, sudden horror that he’d pushed her away, again. I’m an idiot! he shouted to himself.
“Oh, no,” Jen said, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. “You’re not getting away with that.”
He was stunned. This time, his own mouth fell open in shock. “You just said you wanted to come with me.”
“Uh, uh.” She pointed to the ground. “If we’re going to do this, you’re going to do it properly. Down on your knees buddy, and ask me properly. I’m not going to say yes until I get the full works.”
She shrieked with laughter as he pulled her back into his arms. “You little horror,” he growled. “I love you so much that you’re just lucky I don’t put you across my knee and paddle your sweet little butt. You scared the shit out of me.”
She stared up into his eyes, and he melted inside at the love he saw shining there. “You asked for it. Now, kiss me, and don’t ever let me go.”
“That’s a promise.” Felix bent his head to hers and held her tightly. Finally, he had the woman he loved in his arms, and she loved him back. There was no way he’d be letting her go, again.
* * * *
“You’re a brave man, Felix,” Bryce said, clapping him on the back. “When she told us she was cooking for you that night, we all thought you were a dead man for sure.” He shook his head. “All that work to set up that night at Highest Point, and we were sure we’d have to come up and cart you down to the clinic to have your stomach pumped.”
“Hoi. He’s still standing, isn’t he?” Jen asked with a smile. She wrapped her arm around Felix’s waist and smiled up at him. “You enjoyed it, didn’t you?”
Felix looked from Jen to Bryce to Kate before wincing back down at his fiancée. “Uh, it was edible. I was just happy. I could have been eating sawdust, and I wouldn’t have cared.”
Jen swiped at his arm playfully. “Cheeky bugger. Just as well you’re a chef.”
The airport intercom blared the news that the flight was boarding, and people began to move in the terminal. Jen grimaced, hiccupping back a sob as she flew into her sister’s arms.
“I’m gonna miss you, Sis. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” she whispered into her ear.
Kate hugged her back hard. “Jake will be fine. He’ll come to the office with me and attend the new day care center you’ve set up. Tyler’s over the moon that he’s now got a permanent position at the hotel, and between you two, everything ran like clockwork when I was away. You did great.” She paused and smiled sadly at Jen. “Mind you—you have to know that there will always be a place for both you and Felix if you want to come back.” Kate pushed her out to look at her at arm’s length. “It’s time to stop worrying about everyone else and start enjoying what you’ve got, Jen.”
Jen nodded wordlessly and gave Kate another bone-crushing hug. “Love you.” She pulled out and went to give Bryce an awkward hug as he held Jake up on his broad shoulder. Jen kissed Jake tenderly on the top of the head. “Look after my nephew, Yeti-man.”
“You betcha.” He gave her a one-armed squeeze and whispered in her ear. “Look after yourself, little sister. If Felix gives you any trouble, you let me know.” He grinned.
Sniffling back tears that streamed unchecked down her cheeks, she let Felix pull her away and settled herself into the crook of his arm. As they walked toward the gates, Jen turned and waved furiously to her sister and Bryce. “We’ll be back. I promise.”
Out on the tarmac, the plane gleamed before them in the sun. She inhaled deeply the familiar smell of Pitcairn. The sun beating down on hard-packed red earth, the smell of Frangipani and Hibiscus, and the salt in the air. She’d miss this. She’d miss home.
She sighed under the welcoming weight of Felix’s arm around her shoulder. Pitcairn was home, but home also was where her heart was, and the man beside her held it firmly in his hand.
As the plane rose into the blue skies, Jen smiled happily across at him. She finally knew what love was, and now that she had it, she wasn’t letting go.
