“It’s time we finished that talk and make sure there are no misunderstandings.”
Tension seeps in ruining the languid afterglow of our lovemaking. My hand stops petting his chest and I chew on my bottom lip.
“Maybe we should get dressed for this.” I strain against his arms to pull away, but he holds firm.
“Hell no, I’m not letting you get dressed and take the chance you disappear on me again.”
I peek up at him through tendrils of hair.
“Do you know why I came back here to Granite Cove?”
“Because you needed a break and you remembered a few happy summers here?”
He brushes the hair off my forehead and tucks it behind my ear. “I came back because of you.”
My lip is now in danger of being permanently mangled as my teeth dig in. What does that mean? I’m afraid to ask. Afraid to hope.
“This isn’t my first trip back. About a year ago I drove through town. I only intended to take a quick look around and reminisce a little. I didn’t think you’d still be here, but I wondered because I had thought of you often over the years. Then there you were, waltzing down the sidewalk. I knew it was you instantly. This gorgeous hair was the same.” He buries his nose against my hair and breathes deep.
Mitch thinks my hair is gorgeous?
“You were wearing jeans that showed off these mile-long legs of yours.” His hand draws my leg over his and holds it in place. “You appeared to be in a hurry, striding down the sidewalk like you owned it. A car horn blasted at me because I had slowed to a crawl watching you. I made a U-turn and parked the car while keeping you in sight. You disappeared down the alleyway next to the building and, like a stalker, I got out of my rental car and trailed behind you and then watched you for a while through the window.”
Euphoria fills my veins. Mitch came back to Granite Cove for me.
Resting my chin on my folded arms on his chest, I stare up at him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because at the time I was still in a floundering relationship. It was at that point I knew without a doubt it was over.” He cups a hand to my cheek and rubs my back. “I never felt a fraction of the emotion looking at her, or anyone, as I did seeing you. I planned to be back a lot sooner, but she started using again and I had to help her if I could before I left for good.”
“So, you bought the building and the house?”
“Yeah, I saw the house was for sale and I remembered you mentioning it one summer.”
“I did?”
“You described it and promised to show it to me, but then my parents left early a few days later.”
I don’t remember, but I had always loved that house. It makes sense I wanted to share it with him.
“Anyway, your parents sent an invitation to their Memorial Day party through my lawyer and I hoped it was from you.”
“Mother only told me the morning of the party that you would be there. I was sure you wouldn’t remember me.”
“How could you think I wouldn’t remember you?”
“Because we were kids and you’re famous and I’m…well, me.”
Mitch rolls me onto my back and looks down at me. “By that I surmise you mean you’re perfect in every way?”
Tears fill and over spill my eyes. He bends and kisses each one.
“I love you.”
I slap both hands over my mouth.
He stares down at me with one eyebrow raised and a smile lurking at the corner of his mouth. “Say that again, this time without the look of abject horror please.”
When I don’t comply, he tugs my hands away from my mouth and kisses me.
“Fine, we’ll work on that. Let me lead by example.” He kisses me again. “Franny Dawson, I love you. I love every single thing about you. I vowed I was going to make you mine. Nothing was going to stand in my way, not even when you declared you had a crush on someone else. I couldn’t stand the thought of not having you in my life. So, I plotted and hoped to show you the error of your affections. Your kisses nearly burned me alive. Each time I thought you must be feeling a hint of what I was, you dashed off or I’d find you with him. I wanted to drag you out of that restaurant when I spotted you there.”
I turn into a leaky faucet. Tears stream down my cheeks.
“Baby, please tell me those are happy tears.”
I nod and wrap my arms around him.
The tears subside as he holds me in his arms. Wiping my wet cheeks, I meet his gaze. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. It’s always been you, only you.”
“Thank God, because I’ve already told my parents all about you and that you’re the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. They can’t wait to meet you.”
He laughs at the appalled look I am sure my face is showing. He wants me to meet his parents?
Well, of course he does, it is a perfectly logical step. Not that anyone ever accused me of being logical.
“I want to meet your parents. I’m sure they’re lovely.”
“They are and they will love you, I promise.”
I kiss him and nod.
“What do you think of having the wedding at the house once it’s finished?”
Wedding?
I almost ask for whose wedding. The words are right on the tip of my tongue.
“Are you asking me to marry you?”
Mitch kisses me on the tip of my nose and grins. “I suppose that wasn’t very romantic. Say yes, and I’ll make it up to you.”
“I…I can’t.”
Why the hell did I say that?
I scramble to a sitting position dragging the sheet with me.
Mitch frowns and scoots up to lean against the headboard.
“Franny?”
“Just give me a minute to think—please.”
Tears fill my eyes and my chest feels like an elephant has plopped down on it.
I rub my forehead as if I can jump start my brain to help me make sense and explain.
“I love you. I think I’ve always loved you. But how can it last? You’re surrounded by gorgeous women all the time with your job. Hell your supermodel ex is claiming you’ve reconciled. That stupid photographer thought I was your housekeeper.”
Tears course down my face. I swipe the back of my hand under my running nose. “How can a marriage between us ever work? You’re going to break my heart like you did before.”
“Franny…we were kids.”
“I know that damn it! I realize how stupid it must sound to you. How could you possibly understand? I lived for those summers! They were all I had. You weren’t just my best friend—you were my only friend. You kissed me and disappeared. I suffered the whole school year just waiting for summer to arrive and you to return.”
I wipe my cheeks with the heels of my hands and then throw them in the air. “But you never did. I never heard from you again. It devastated me.”
I wrap my fingers around my necklace. “Then my grandmother died and I truly had no one. She was the only one who understood and accepted me.”
I choke on the sobs stuck in my throat.
“I’m just starting to make a life for myself. You have no idea how hard it is for me to trust someone to see the real me. I’ve been putting on this front for you trying so desperately to get you to see me as more than a friend, but the real me is a total disaster. I have anxiety attacks before social events. My instinct is to hide. What kind of wife to a famous director would I make?”
“Franny, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I was a thoughtless kid wrapped up in his own life. I told you about the rough patch my parents went through. I started acting right after that.”
He rubs his hands over his face. “It boils down to trust. You don’t trust me not to hurt you. Do you expect me to give up my career so I’m not around actresses? What’s next? You’ll be jealous of women in town? Do you see how silly that is? As for Margeaux, I already told you it’s you I love and not her. Yes, she’s been calling me saying she wants me back, but it will never happen.”
Mitch stands and walks to the bathroom. He stops in the doorway and stares back at me. “I think it’s you that you really don’t trust. I wish I could make you see yourself the way I see you.”