Page 473 of Seasons of Love
“I’m sorry,” I said when after ten minutes, he still hadn’t looked up. “I just don’t know what to do. I want to call him, go over there and bang on the door until he sees us.”
Mal shook his head.
“What if he doesn’t? What if he doesn’t want to see us? What if Frank’s company is more important? Could we blame him? That’s his family business, his dream. Could we blame him for wanting to protect his family?”
I shook my head. We couldn’t. No matter how much it hurt, we’d support his decision.
“The question is, am I still enough for you? After having him too. If he doesn’t come back to us. Am I enough? Are we enough?”
“What? Of course you are. Mal, I love you more than life itself. Feeling upset because Jake isn’t here doesn’t mean that if he doesn’t come, I’ll be sad forever. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. I was just doing what I do when I’m stressed.”
I stood up and pushed him back into the sofa until I was straddling him.
“I love you so much, Mal.”
“I love you too. And I miss him so much. It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have in me to not do what you said. Go out there, knock the door off, and claim him like I should have done days ago.”
I used my thumbs to clean the wetness from his cheeks.
“I should have told him then. When he said he loved me, I should have said it back,” he confessed.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I was overwhelmed. I was forty when we met, Griff. I always believed that I’d meet someone in my twenties or early thirties, and that would be it. But when none of my relationships worked, I thought there was something wrong with me. I had accepted that I would be on my own and sticking to casual encounters. Then you came into my life and stole my heart.”
I smiled, recalling the exact moment we’d accidentally bumped into each other on the beach walk.
“Baby, I thought you stole my whole heart. And then Jake came along, and I realized you’d left some behind for him. I went from having no one to having the best husband I could ever wish for to having another man I love as much as I love you.”
“You should tell him that. He needs to know.”
He nodded and smiled.
“He asked for time. We can give him today, then we’ll swoop in and kidnap him.”
“I like that idea. I like it a lot…”
That could be a great plot starter. Regular Joe is kidnapped by a criminal for hire. When the criminal figures out the guy isn’t who was supposed to be kidnapped, he needs to run from the people that hired him for the job. Love on the Run. That would be the title.
“Baby?”
“Hm, what?”
“Are you writing a book in your head?” Mal asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Because I think you should be kissing me instead.”
I laughed. “I can do that.”
Our kiss was interrupted by the doorbell.
“Are we expecting someone?” he asked.
“It’s Sunday, so, no. Unless…” I ran to the door with Mal on my heels.
When I opened the door, I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry.
