“Why are you here, Ava?” Bastian's voice was low, but I could hear the quiet anguish in his voice. His hands tightened on the railing making his knuckles turn white.
“I'm here for you.” My voice shook. My whole body was shaking. I felt naked even with the beautiful dress and perfect makeup.
He forcibly relaxed his hands from the railing and turned sharply, his eyes catching the moonlight. “Why?”
I swallowed down the fear and turmoil roiling up in my throat. This wasn't exactly the greeting I had been promised by Charlotte.
“I had to see you,” I whispered, taking a step forward. He retreated slightly.
“You said that when you left, you were gone.” His beautiful eyes were like stars in the night sky: distant and cold. “I was told you were seeing someone. That you had been seeing someone when you came here.”
“What?” I shook my head confused. “I wasn't with anyone but you. I don't want anyone but you.”
His hard expression flashed with hope for the briefest second before his brows came together again like storm clouds. “Please explain, then.”
The breeze off the ocean tugged the loose strand of hair across my face and I carefully tucked it back where it belonged before starting. I was surprised I could talk at all my stomach was so tangled up in knots, yet the words came smoothly.
“When I left, I was sure I didn't deserve you,” I started. I looked at his hands, remembering how they felt against my skin. So strong and safe. “I still don't think that I do, but I can't be without you.”
I glanced up from his hands. His face was still hard, his expression unreadable. I smoothed the fabric of my dress.
“I'm not worthy of a billionaire. I'm still a little broken and I'm not used to any of this,” I motioned to the party behind me, but I looked up and into his eyes. “But, I was wrong to leave. I was wrong to push you away because I was afraid. I guess if anything, it just shows how much I don't deserve you.”
My voice failed me at the
end and I had to look away.
“And you didn't go home to be with someone else?” he asked. He sounded far more calm than I was. Almost business like. I looked up and into his beautiful, sad eyes and realized that he was using his business voice and face to keep from crumbling.
“No,” I replied emphatically. “Who ever told you that was a liar.”
“Chad. One of the auctioneers,” he said quietly. “He said that the two of you were engaged.”
If Chad had been on the balcony I would have thrown him off it and fed him to the sharks.
“Bastard,” I hissed. “Dirty, rotten, lying bastard!”
Bastian's eyebrows raised and the hint of a hopeful smile crossed his lips. “So, it's not true?”
“No,” I nearly shouted. I wanted to scream and cry. “Not even remotely close.”
“That's good to hear.” Bastian's shoulders relaxed slightly and he lost a little of the guarded look in his eyes. “I was afraid I really had lost you forever if that was the case.”
I took another step toward him and this time he didn't shy away. “No, you haven't lost me. I just took a wrong turn for a little bit. You've always had me.”
“Why are you here, Ava?” he asked again, but this time his voice thrummed with hope. I was now close enough to touch him.
I touched his cheek, shaking as I traced the scar from his cheek bone to the tip of his lips. The words came simply and more easily than I ever could have expected. They flowed because they were true.
“I'm here, because I had to tell you I love you.” I smiled, my heart pounding like a drum. “I love you, Bastian.”
His body stiffened and then melted as he reached for me, delicately placing his big hand on the back of my neck, and being careful not to mess up my hair. His blue-gray eyes met mine and sparkled, making me lose my mind with love.
He smiled. It was the smile he reserved for the dawn, and now it was my smile. He pulled me to him and kissed me like he hadn't seen me in months rather than just days. He kissed me like he needed the kiss to survive.
My heart soared on golden wings. Songs would be written about this moment and scholars would look back and say that this kiss was one for the books. It was heaven. Pure and absolute heaven.
He kept his forehead pressed against mine as he pulled away, both of us breathless and shaking.