CHAPTER TEN
THE NEXT MORNING Noah parked outside the Wainwright house and drew a deep breath. Then he climbed out of his four-wheel drive and headed up the path to the front door to knock loudly.
When the door swung open, it took all his willpower not to pull Stacey into his arms and never let go. To beg her for another chance. She looked sad, and dark shadows under her eyes suggested she’d had as little sleep as he had. He’d done that to her. ‘I’m really sorry.’
She blinked. Then nodded. ‘Okay.’
When she made to shut the door, he stepped forward. ‘Wait. I need to talk to you.’
The door stopped moving. ‘I think you said it all yesterday, Noah. Quite bluntly, in fact.’
‘I haven’t come here to make demands.’
‘I’m sure you haven’t. But you will anyway.’ Again the door was being pushed closed.
‘Stacey, give me five minutes and if, after that, you tell me to go, I will.’ Five hours wouldn’t be anywhere long enough to say what was in his head. In his heart. But how else could he get her to listen to him? Going down on bended knee might work, but Stacey would more likely laugh at him.
‘Why, Noah? We are so different it’d be funny if not for Holly.’
‘No, we’re not. We laugh at the same things. We have the same values. And, yes, we have Holly.’
‘Holly can’t be used to get me back on side.’
Stacey was strong and self-contained. She fought for what she believed in. He’d found the woman he’d been searching for most of his life. She was absolutely nothing like Christine in any way, shape or form. Now he had to convince her to give him a chance. The way she was looking at him with impatience in her expression said it wasn’t going to be easy.
‘You’re right. And I had no intention of using her to get you to listen to me.’ He waited, aware that anything else he said might close the door firmly in his face.
Finally Stacey stepped back and held the door wide.
He stepped inside before she could change her mind.
When the latch on the door snapped shut the air around them felt a little warmer, and the tension in his body eased a little. He was nowhere near reaching what he’d set out for when he’d driven off from home, but Stacey was prepared to hear him out. All in five minutes.
With Toby present. His stomach clenched when he saw Stacey’s brother seated at the table with Holly on his knee as they ate breakfast. No sign of her parents. Then he recalled Stacey saying something about them being away for the weekend. Of course he’d known the chances of being alone with Stacey were still remote, but he’d hoped for a miracle, and it hadn’t been forthcoming.
‘Morning, Toby. Hello, Holly.’ Noah brushed a hand over her sweet head and felt his heart lurch. She was gorgeous. She was his and Stacey’s. More Stacey’s than his. So far she’d done all the parenting. Done it well, and with love.
‘Hi, Noah. You’re out early. I hope you’ve come to put a smile on Sis’s face. She’s been in a grump for ever.’
‘Shut up, Toby,’ Stacey snapped as she filled the kettle.
Her brother merely shrugged. ‘See what I mean?’
‘Haven’t you got somewhere to be?’ Stacey glared at him.
Toby grinned. ‘Yep. Holly and I are going to the park to play football, aren’t we, Hols?’
‘Yes, football!’
Stacey looked flustered. ‘No, leave Holly here.’
Did she need to have her girl by her side while he was here? Noah wondered.
‘I want football,’ Holly demanded.
Getting more like her mother every day. ‘I won’t be long,’ Noah said. Though he hoped that wasn’t the case. ‘I’m sure Holly will love getting outside.’
‘Yeah, sis, we’ll be back soon. We need to make the most of the fine day.’
Stacey’s shoulders slumped. ‘Go on, then. I’ll join you shortly.’ Then she looked directly at Noah. ‘This had better be good.’
Noah waited while Toby got Holly into a thick jacket and slipped her tiny feet into pink shoes and tied the laces firmly, all the while watching his daughter and loving her, and trying not to glance at Stacey for fear of seeing anguish in those beautiful eyes. For she’d think he was here to lay down the rules on how they raised Holly. Little did she know what he really wanted to tell her.
Finally they were gone and silence fell, broken only by the sound of coffee being poured from the plunger into mismatched mugs.
Stacey placed them on the table and sat down, then waited.
Five minutes. Would she really hold him to that? Then again, this was Stacey and he couldn’t rely on her to be kind to him. Slowly he sank onto a chair opposite her. Where to start? During the long night he’d worked out how to approach her, and now it had all gone out the door with Holly and Toby. He hadn’t a clue where to start. There was a lot to explain. But only one thing was really important. He gulped.
Sipped the steaming coffee. Looked at Stacey. His Anastasia. Her hands were gripping her mug, her gaze fixed on the table. Could he do this? He had to or lose out for ever. His heart thumped, his belly was in a knot. ‘Stacey...’ He paused, waiting for her to lift her head. When she didn’t, he said, ‘Please look at me.’
Slowly she obliged, wariness in her expression.
‘Stacey, I love you.’
Her eyes widened, but the wariness remained.
Noah reached for her shaking hands and removed the mug before enfolding her fingers in his. ‘I love you, everything about you. Your bravery, laughter, sense of worth and consideration for others, even the way you stand up to me. Your love for our daughter.’
Her fingers tightened under his, loosened. ‘Is that what this is about? Holly?’
Her question didn’t surprise him, and yet it still hurt. ‘Not at all. I’m not making this up. I’ve probably loved you from the night we first met, only I tried to deny it, especially when we met up again a couple of weeks back. You gave me hope that I’d actually find someone I could be happy with, and love and be loved.’
Her hands turned over and she gripped him. ‘Noah, are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you. Neither do I want to find that you’ve changed your mind, and think you’ve got it all wrong.’ She was looking at him with such longing the lump of fear that she might reject him out of self-preservation melted. ‘I don’t wish to be hurt by you either.’
Standing up, he rounded the table and pulled her up into his arms. ‘I am more certain of my love for you than I am about anything else. I would never willingly hurt you. Will you marry me? As in a real marriage filled with love?’
* * *
Noah was asking her to marry him again. Twice in two days. Should she believe him? Or was this another way to get her to compromise on her own needs? Stacey’s heart stopped as she gazed into his eyes. This time there was love in his gaze, his face, in the hands holding her. No hesitation at all. He’d said he loved her before anything else.
She wanted to believe him with everything she had.
‘Stacey, I made a mistake when I married last time. I thought I could change love, make it fit to suit. This time I know I’ve found love, and I don’t want to alter anything. It’s you who’s stolen my heart. You’re all I’ve been hoping for. I love you, Anastasia Stacey Wainwright.’
Relief and love bubbled up as her heart kick-started and sent warmth racing through her chilled body. She clasped his hands. ‘I’ve always loved you, Noah. Right from the moment you took my hand to lead me further onto the dance floor. Don’t ask me how it happened so quickly, or so truly. I have no idea, except it’s right. I love you, too.’ Locking her eyes on his, she drew a breath and said in as firm a voice as the love bubbling through her allowed, ‘Yes, I will marry you.’
Then she was being spun around in his arms as he yelled, ‘I’m getting married.’
‘So am I
.’ Stacey laughed, leaning closer to kiss him. It was a kiss that went on for ever and left her breathless—and so happy she had to pinch herself.
The coffee was cold when they finally sat down, this time side by side, her hand in Noah’s.
‘Who needs coffee anyway?’ Noah grinned. ‘I’ve got you.’