just a sordid little secret from Ian’s father’s past … ‘
Athan groaned and held her away from him, only the better to talk to her. His hands slipped to her shoulders.
‘I would never have objected to you for that reason alone. Yes, Ian’s mother suffered—but that was not your fault. How could it be? Nothing has been your fault. Only mine.’ His voice was heavy. ‘Only mine.’
She heard the self-accusation in his voice and hated it.
‘No.’ Her negation was fierce. ‘I will not let you say that. I will not let you … or me … look backwards now. I let anger blind me—blind me into rejecting you.’ She clutched him suddenly, clinging to him urgently. ‘Oh, I so nearly let you walk away from me. Don’t ever, ever let me be so blind again!’
‘Every time you look at me,’ he promised her, his voice warm and rich and full of all he felt for her, ‘you’ll see my love for you. It will be your mirror for all time. A true mirror. That I promise you.’
Her gaze was troubled suddenly. ‘It hurt,’ she said. ‘It hurt so much to realise that all the time you knew me in London, all the time we had on holiday, it was just … fake. The whole thing. When I thought it was real … ‘
Now the negation was his—and fiercer.
‘It was—it was real! That was the whole torment of it all! Knowing that if it weren’t for Eva, for what I thought I was doing to save her marriage, I would be spending that time with you without that hanging over my head. That’s why I so arrogantly thought I could get you back again—get that time back again. Oh, God, Marisa, to hold you in my arms again—to have you for myself this time, only myself. With no other reason to get in the way of us.’ He gazed down at her, emotion pouring from him. ‘And now … finally … after all this time … there truly is nothing to part us … to confuse and confound and blind us. Now—oh, my most beloved girl—there really is only this … ‘
He kissed her. Tenderly. Carefully. Lovingly.
‘Only this,’ he murmured.
He eased her away from him, changing his hold on her to put an arm around her shoulder, holding her hand in his across his body as he started to walk her along the path again. Side by side.
Peace filled her. Peace she had not felt for so long. A peace that she knew now would last for ever.
‘What fools we’ve been,’ she said dreamily, leaning her head against his shoulder.
He gave a low laugh. ‘Me more than you.’
She shook her head. ‘No, me more than you.’
He glanced down at her. ‘You’ll have to grant me the privilege of being right this time around.’ He dropped a kiss on her hair.
‘Uh-uh.’
He lanced the quirking smile at her that made her heart turn over—her tumbled, jangled heart that had finally found its resting place.
‘An argumentative woman, are you?’ he teased. ‘Well, there is only one way to settle it. You shall be right, my darling, all the time henceforth. Will that keep you happy?’
She shook her head. ‘Only one thing will keep me happy.’
‘Oh?’ he queried, his smile tugging deeper. ‘And what will that be?’
‘You,’ she said. ‘Only you. For all time.’ Love blazed from her eyes. A fire that could never be quenched.
‘Done,’ he answered. ‘And shall I seal the deal like this?’
Their kiss was long and deep and stronger than time.
Which stood still all around them and always would.
‘READY?’
Athan’s tone was a mix of encouragement and support. His arm, to which Marisa was clinging tightly, was steady as a rock. A rock she knew she could always lean on—all her life. Including this evening.
‘OK, let’s do it,’ he said.
He started forward, opening the door and leading the way into the room beyond. Marisa was conscious of a slight increase in her heart rate, but that was only to be expected. She walked in, Athan at her side. Together they paused on the threshold.
‘Marisa!’ Ian’s voice was warm and welcoming as he hurried up to them. He bestowed his golden smile on her, and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
His smile encompassed Athan as well, and Athan returned it. His regard for his brother-in-law had increased dramatically now that he was assured that nothing of Martin Randall’s faithless nature was in him. Ian had proved increasingly loyal and steadfast, working hard to make his new job a success, and ensuring Eva was the happiest wife in the world.
Almost the happiest, he amended, and his glance down at Marisa at his side was rich and full with love. He felt his heart constrict. How very much he loved her! She was the centre of his world—the other half of his being …
‘Marisa?’
Ian’s voice interrupted Athan’s reverie.
‘This is a moment I have longed for. Will you take my hand?’
Still with an edge of tension inside her, Marisa placed her free hand in Ian’s and he closed his fingers tightly over hers. The three of them walked forward to the figure standing by the ornate fireplace on the far side of the drawing room in Ian’s family house. Though her vision was focussed on the figure standing there Marisa was conscious of Eva, sitting in the armchair beside the fire, smiling encouragingly at her.
For a moment as Marisa approached she thought she saw a tension in the features of the figure’s face that equalled her own. She could understand its cause only too well. Then once more Ian was speaking. Not this time to Marisa, but to the older woman.
‘This is Marisa,’ he said. His voice was level, his gaze steady. ‘My sister.’
For a moment time seemed to hang still. Then, with a little sound in her throat, Sheila Randall broke the tension. She held out her hands to Marisa.
‘My dear,’ she said. Her voice was rich with emotion.
As Marisa took the outstretched hands, dropping her hold on both Athan and her brother, she felt an answering emotion well up in her. In Sheila Randall’s face was nothing but kindness—and the haunting of past sorrows.
Her hands pressed Marisa’s. Her eyes looked deep into hers. ‘I sincerely believe,’ she said, ‘that your poor mother suffered as greatly as I did, and for that reason I know I can never blame her or accuse her.’ There was a choke in her voice now. ‘I can only be glad that Ian found you. So glad that you are part of our family,’ she said. Her gaze went to Athan. ‘I can think of no happier ending,’ she said.
Marisa’s
