LOT NUMBER FIFTEEN, a week’s holiday on Aliana Island, donated by Pascha and Emily Plushenko, went for a hundred thousand euros—but that was by no means the highest-selling lot of the evening. That honour went to lot number twenty-one, a portrait by the artist Grace Mastrangelo, which sold for a quarter of a million. Those of an artistic bent nodded wisely and said the winning bidder had got themselves a bargain.
The numbers were enough to make Charley dizzy. In one evening, they had raised over a million euros, and that was without adding the ticket sales. Looking at the dazed faces of Seve and the other Poco Rio staff, she could tell they were having trouble processing the figures too.
Now the auction was over and everyone was free to do as they pleased, be it head to the nightclub to dance or go to the casino to gamble or to make their way to the theatre where a top musical was being shown with the original cast...or they could head outside as she had done and stand at the railings looking out at Barcelona in the distance, a mountainous city illuminated magically under the black sky. She squinted, trying to remember where on the shoreline their old home had been. When she looked up, a million stars twinkled down at her.
She inhaled the salty air and tried to capture her thoughts. What she wanted, more than anything, was to find Raul and talk to him. She’d planned it all out, everything she wanted to say, but the look on his face after she’d raised the toast to him had stopped her in her tracks. He’d looked furious.
Doubt and her old friend fear had crept back in.
What if he rejected her? What if...?
What ifs didn’t matter. She would speak to him before the night was out. She had to.
‘May I join you?’
She turned her head with a jolt, her heart immediately racing off at a canter to find him standing there behind her, dazzling in his black tuxedo, carrying two glasses of champagne.
He held one out to her. ‘I thought you might be thirsty after all that talking,’ he said drily.
‘Thank you.’ As she took it from him her fingers brushed against his and her stomach somersaulted.
He stood level with her, his body almost touching hers, and gazed out at the same view.
‘You were wrong, you know,’ he said.
‘About what?’
‘That speech you made, toasting me. I didn’t deserve that. You did.’
‘No...’
‘Yes. Without you none of it would have happened. This was your vision, your passion. All I did was put your hard work into motion.’
‘But without you doing that it wouldn’t have happened.’
‘Without you doing all the hard stuff at the beginning there wouldn’t have been anything for me to do.’
‘We can argue over who should receive the praise all night,’ she said softly. ‘How about we accept it needed both of us to make it happen?’
A faint smile crossed his face and he raised his champagne flute. ‘To teamwork.’
‘Teamwork,’ she echoed, chinking her flute to his. She didn’t drink any of it.
‘You look beautiful.’
‘Thank you.’ She made her voice sound cheerful. ‘I couldn’t go back to dressing up every day but it’s nice to do it for special occasions.’
‘You always look beautiful, no matter what you wear.’
A lump formed in her throat.
‘I want you to know I’ve signed the deeds for Poco Rio over to you.’
‘But the renovations aren’t complete yet.’
He dropped his head with a sigh. ‘I should never have done what I did. It was a nasty stunt that I pulled and one I am deeply ashamed of. I just hope you can one day find it in your heart to forgive me.’
‘You had your reasons,’ she murmured, her head swimming.
‘No, I didn’t—not any reason that makes sense now I think back on them.’ He breathed heavily. ‘All it needs is your signature to make it official. You can either drop by the office to sign it or I can arrange for it to be delivered to you, whatever makes your life easier.’
‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
He shrugged, turning his face back out to the illuminated city in the distance. ‘I’ve been thinking. With the amount of money raised tonight, there’s more than enough to fund another Poco Rio. How would you feel about scouting out suitable premises in Barcelona for me?’
‘For you?’ she asked, confused at the turn of direction.
‘I’ll pay for the building and any renovations that need doing. The funds raised can pay towards staffing and day-to-day running costs.’ He must have caught her dumb silence. ‘I’m happy to pay outright for it all, staff costs, upkeep, everything. The money raised tonight has been earmarked for the centre and it’s only right it be spent on it, but it can also be used to help other children in the same position. If we keep fundraising we can raise more awareness of what these children are living with and help even more of them.’
‘And you want me to help you?’
‘I want you to run it all for me. I’ll pay you a salary—’
‘I don’t want a salary.’
‘I know but I’ll pay it anyway. That’s if you choose to accept my offer.’
She opened her mouth, not sure what to say, but he spoke forcefully before she could make a sound.
‘Don’t make a decision now. Think it over. Let me know when you come to a decision.’
If Charley had felt dazed before, that was nothing to how she felt at that precise moment.
He really did trust her. He truly did believe in her.
‘I wish I could turn the clock back.’
Her heart skipped.
Sadness had spread over his handsome features. ‘It’s that bubble we spoke of before—I’m used to living in it but I never thought of how it would be for someone like you, because you’re right, it is a different world from the one you knew. I just thought you would adapt and fit in, not thinking that I needed to adapt too. It put—I put—so much pressure on you it’s no wonder the weight of it was too much. I see you now, living back outside the bubble just as you did when we were apart for those two years, thriving.’
Charley stayed silent, letting him say what was on his mind.
‘I know my standards are high. Too high,’ he admitted ruefully. ‘I spent my whole life having every fault picked over by my father. I was always striving for perfection in the hope of making him proud and getting one word—that’s all I wanted, one word—of praise from him.’
‘Being less than perfect doesn’t diminish you,’ she said. ‘It just makes you human.’
‘I know. Being with you has taught me that.’ He bent his head and forked his fingers through his hair. ‘That’s what I hate the most about myself. I swore I would never be like him but in my pathetic attempt to punish you for not wanting my child and having the nerve to leave me, I became the very thing I despise the most. Because you were right—that marriage was no place to raise a child. Can you ever forgive me?’
She smiled wanly. ‘I already have.’
He straightened and brushed a finger down her cheek. ‘I used punishing you as an excuse. The truth was I’d missed you so much that when the opportunity came to have you back in my life I grabbed it.’ Leaning down, he brushed his lips to her ear and whispered, ‘You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Charley Cazorla. Whatever you decide to do in the future, be happy.’
With one last brush of his lips to her own, he stepped back and turned, placed his champagne flute on a small fixed table, and walked away.
‘I lied,’ she blurted out to his retreating figure, shoving her flute next to his.
He stopped mid-step.
‘When you asked if I could be happy with you, I lied. The truth is the two months we just spent together were the happiest of my life. The past fortnight without you has been the most miserable.’
He didn’t move, standing as still as the marble statues that encircled the atrium.
Her confidence almost deserted her but she was determined to plough on to the bitter end. He’d put his heart on the line two weeks ago and she’d rejected him. Even if he rejected her, she needed to say it. She would not spend the rest of her life regretting that she’d let this one chance of happiness slip through her fingers.
‘I’ve been a scared, stupid idiot. I’ve left you twice now and I wouldn’t blame you if you told me to get lost but, Raul...’ She took what felt like the deepest breath of her entire life. ‘I love you. I love you so much it hurts and I know I don’t deserve it but if you ever wonder if it could be third time lucky for us...’
She got no further. Raul spun round and in the blink of an eye had her up in his arms kissing her as if there were no tomorrow.
Joy and relief filling her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and burrowed herself into him.
For an age they stood there, Raul holding her securely, his mouth hot on hers, until he gently placed her back on her feet and clasped her cheeks in his hands to gaze intently into her eyes.
‘I thought that was it for us.’
She shook her head and clutched at his tuxedo jacket. ‘Never.’
‘I thought I’d lost you.’
‘Never. My heart has been yours since the day I met you.’
‘Cariño...’ Now Raul was the one to shake his head.
‘I love you. Totally.’ She smiled and traced her fingers across his jawline. ‘That bubble you were talking about? Do you think it’s possible to live straddling it? One foot in your world, one foot in mine?’
He laughed, a big, deep roar that filled her with such happiness she just had to kiss him again.
Disentangling himself, he stuck his hand into his trouser pocket and pulled out a small square box. ‘This is for you. It was supposed to be your birthday present.’
‘What is it?’
‘Open it and see.’
She flipped the lid open and immediately her heart jumped into her mouth. Nestled in the box was a white-gold and diamond eternity ring.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispered.
‘I bought it to show you that my love for you is for ever,’ he said, taking it out of the box and sliding it onto her empty ring finger.
It fitted perfectly.
‘See—now you are mine again.’
She beamed, happiness radiating through her.
‘Cariño, we will build our own bubble to live in,’ he said, placing a reverential kiss to her hand, ‘and we will love and celebrate all our imperfections in it.’
‘You, me and our babies?’
The laughter died, a serious expression forming in his eyes. ‘We will have children when you’re ready and not a day sooner. I don’t care for the perfect family any more—perfect is boring,’ he added with a crooked grin. ‘Our children will be an expression of our love and commitment, nothing else.’
‘How does seven months from now sound to you?’
The shock ringing from him was so palpable that Charley was the one to burst into laughter. ‘Yes, you wonderful man, you’re going to be a father.’
His eyes were so wide she feared they would pop out. ‘How?’
‘Do you remember that time in your office...?’ She laughed again at the widening of his eyes, relieved to have it out in the open, unable to keep the excitement and joy contained. ‘I didn’t even think about using contraception then.’
‘Nor did I,’ he admitted, looking completely dazed.
‘I took the test yesterday so it’s early days. I can’t tell you how happy I am...’ Her happiness dimmed a fraction. ‘You are happy too, aren’t you?’
‘Happy? Charley, I’ve just got the woman I love more than anything in the world back and I’ve learned I’m going to be a father. Happy doesn’t even come close.’
And there they stood on the deck of the ship, smothered in each other’s arms and kisses, oblivious to the passengers milling around them, oblivious to the envious smiles at their obvious, deep love for each other.