Remi stumbled into her flat in the wee hours of the morning, totally exhausted. Who knew how difficult it was to stop tears from falling in public? She’d spent the hours between leaving the hotel to the taxi ride home biting her lip and sniffling.
Glad to be able to relax, she took a long shower and washed off her new look, from the fancy fluffed up hairdo to the expensive body lotion she’d applied all over. Donning her flannel pajama bottoms with the goofy monkeys and her floppy top to match, she filled the kettle, grabbed another handful of tissues to help stem the continuous stream of tears, and headed for her room.
Except that the doorbell rang before she got there. Who in the world…?
Carefully, opening the door only as far as the chain allowed, she peeked out and got the shock of her life. Standing there abjectly, Eadan, still in his tux minus the tie, his bloodstained eyes brightening when he saw she was at home, started to speak. “Thank goodness—you did come here.”
Trembling uncontrollably, Remi hid herself behind the door and showed only a portion of her face and one glaring eye. “Eadan, what do you want?”
“You!” He spoke quickly and stepped really close to the small opening as if he could squeeze through to get to her before she shut him out. “I want you. I want a replay on the evening, so when you step from the elevator looking like a goddess, I can bow at your feet and thank the gods you came to see me.”
“It’s too late for that. And it’s too late for this conversation. Go away!” Gathering the strength of will she’d gained after acknowledging her blame in letting herself be treated so abominably, she shut the door in his face. Only to open it again for her final rebuke. “You’re not a nice man!” This time she slammed the door harder. Then she ran to sit in the armchair and hugged herself hard.
What had she done? He’d come to apologize. Was she being a fool to treat him so harshly? He must have followed her. My goodness he appeared tired. Oh, lawdy, now look what he’d made her go and do. Being rude didn’t sit well with her or her conscience.
She slid down in her chair and laid her head on her arms. No matter what, don’t let him in. He’ll talk you out of being angry, you know he will. Why should he have it that easy? Don’t do it…
Her eyes closed for only a few seconds, she thought. When her head flopped back over the arm of the chair, it woke her and she checked her watch. She’d passed out for over an hour.
Eadan! Quickly, she ran to the door and peeked through the peephole. No one! He’d left. Feeling abandoned, she leaned back and pushed her tangled mass of curls away from her face. That’s when she heard the rumbling noise. And it was close by.
Unlocking the chain, she slowly opened the door, only for it to push itself inward from the weight of the body that had been using it as a backrest.
Once his head bounced on the floor, Eadan opened his tired eyes and looked up into her face. He smiled, and that one-sided grin that had yanked at her heartstrings the first time she’d met him did its job. Her heart melted.
“Oh, for pity’s sake, come inside, you silly man. Why didn’t you go upstairs to your place?”
He slowly rolled to his feet groaning a little too loud, no doubt trying to win more sympathy. “I wanted to see it with you for the first time.” Again with the grin… only this time he added a sheepish look, and she felt all her righteous anger shrivel up and die.
“So you slept on the floor. More than likely passed out while waiting for me to open the door.”
“How did you know? I was so sure you’d let me in and you didn’t.” Accusation rang in his stunned voice.
Remi decided then and there that she’d never tell him that the only reason she hadn’t let him in was because she’d fallen asleep. Let him believe she was hardhearted; it would do him no harm.
“You didn’t deserve to come in. No man gets away with treating me the way you did tonight—last night—ever. I won’t put up with it, do you hear me?”
“God, yes! So does the neighbour two doors down. Look, sweetheart. I came to grovel, so give it your best shot. Just promise that I have a chance to get back into your good graces. I know that there’s no justification for the way I treated you tonight.”
“No. There isn’t.”
“But there are reasons. And now that you look like the woman I love again, I can tell them to you.”
Stunned right out of her pique, Remi stuttered. “You love m-me?”
“Yes. I do. Terribly. Then you went and changed everything. My God, Remi. Tonight, you looked so different from the girl I’d been envisioning. So incredibly beautiful, that I was shocked and worried silly. I had such plans to share so much with you and I’d envisioned the whole evening in my mind. How we’d leave the dinner early and be alone.”
“You wanted to get me alone?”
“Yes, of course. I couldn’t wait. But it wasn’t you who stepped out of the elevator and I didn’t know how to handle the change. So rather than trying, I sulked. I’m so sorry, love. Please forgive me.”
Knowing that she needed to hear those words before letting go of her own sulks, she eagle-eyed him and watched his discomfort build. Once she thought he’d suffered enough, she smiled and reached out her hand to caress his cheek.
That’s all it took.