The helicopter swung out, across the darkening sea. The journey ahead of her, from the private airfield on the mainland to London, seemed very long and lonely. All she could do was hope that Ben would be there for her when she arrived.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MAYBE HE SHOULDN’T have sent the text. Ben had been considering the matter all night, before dragging himself wearily out of bed to take Jonas to the day-long play date for a friend’s birthday. The other mothers there had taken one look at him and sent him home, telling him to come and pick Jonas up at six. He worked hard all week and he should take a day off.
In truth, a day off was the last thing that Ben wanted, because it gave him even more time to think. Had he worded the text right? Would Arianna understand that he wasn’t expecting her to do anything about his great proposition, but that he just wanted to let her know where he stood? If she did know where he stood, what would she do about it? And if she rejected him, could he accept that decision, or would he just stubbornly keep loving her?
It was a lot more complex than just grabbing a couple of apple cakes. And the only thing that Ben knew for sure was that he’d never give up hope.
Now wasn’t a day for hope, though. Whatever Arianna’s reaction, he wouldn’t be hearing from her just yet. If she deleted the text then he wouldn’t be hearing from her at all, and if she replied she’d probably take a little time to consider what she wanted to say.
The weeds that had started to grow in the garden when he’d been away in Ilaria, and had continued untouched since then, were threatening to take over. He’d work for a while, until he was truly exhausted, and then take a siesta... No, he’d take a nap. Far fewer memories attached to a power nap than there were to a siesta, even if the two were largely similar.
He worked for an hour and then began to carry piles of weeds through to the front garden, tipping them into the garden waste wheelie bin. A limousine was travelling slowly past the house, and he wondered if someone in the street was getting married. If he’d been in Ilaria, then he’d have known exactly what everyone in the street was doing...
The limousine stopped and then backed up. Ben winced as it drew closer to a small blue run-around that belonged to his neighbour, and wondered whether going out into the road and waving his arms around to help the driver park was going to be necessary. But it seemed that not blocking the road wasn’t his first priority, and he got out of the car and opened the back door.
Arianna got out of the car.
Wearing a pair of slim chinos, flat pumps and a striped T-shirt with a wraparound white jacket and standing next to the car, she looked somehow rich. She waved the driver back into his seat and banged impatiently on the front passenger window when he failed to draw away quickly enough, turning to smile and apologise to the driver in the car behind. Then she turned and saw him staring at her.
The car behind her shot forward, almost hitting her, and she jumped out of the way. Ben ran down to where she was standing, in between two parked cars, stopping before he got close enough to touch her.
‘Not much of a rescue, if you’re going to stand in the middle of the road.’ He knew that he was smiling. Whatever she was here to do, whether it was to sink a dagger into his heart or take him into her arms and save him, he’d accept his fate because it would be at Arianna’s hands.
‘No. I could have planned that a lot better.’ Her eyes were that mix of warmth and fire that made Ben hope against hope that she didn’t have any daggers in her handbag.
‘Come in.’ Ben backed away from her so that she could step onto the pavement and kept his distance, leading her around to the back of the house. Arianna gave him a smile, picking her way around the weeds that were piled up on the path.
She stepped through the patio doors into the sitting room, looking around her. ‘I like your house.’
Each one of the books in the bookcase, the toys collected up in a basket by the wide hearth and the chairs, a little faded with wear but still comfortable, took on a new lustre in Ben’s eyes. If Arianna liked his house, then he liked it even more.
‘I got your text.’ She turned on him suddenly. ‘So I came straightaway.’
‘How...?’ She didn’t look like someone who’d been up all night, making her way through a busy airport and then spending five hours on a plane. She looked wonderful, like all of his dreams rolled into one.
‘I called my father and asked for his help. He came to the island with a helicopter to pick me up, and then put me on his private jet to London.’
That was a story that Ben wanted to hear. Later...
‘Do you need to call him to let him know you’ve arrived?’
She shook her head. ‘No, he’ll know that by now. The driver who brought me will be parked up around the corner, reporting back to him.’
Parked around the corner. Ice began to trickle into Ben’s veins. Maybe Arianna wasn’t planning on staying for more than a few minutes. She had a large leather bag over her shoulder that could contain a change of clothes, but on the other hand, it might be full of things to read on the plane home.
‘Arianna. I’m sorry to drop this on you so suddenly. But I love you. Whatever you want to do with that is fine—’
She stepped forward, putting her finger over his lips.
> ‘You made me feel that I’m worth your love, Ben. I want to accept that gift, and love you back.’
She’d changed. Maybe as much as he had. The Arianna who felt that she had no business being saved when her brother hadn’t been was accepting his love. Ben almost fell to his knees as hope tugged violently at his heart.
‘I meant it when I said I needed you to save me. I can’t promise that I won’t want to protect you, because I love you, but Jonas doesn’t need a superhero and neither do you. I’ve hung up my cloak, and all I want is for you to love me...’
‘I always have.’ She smiled. ‘So what do you think? You reckon that we will break each other, or that we’ll be stronger together? I can’t let you go a second time, and so you’ll be stuck with me. We’ll have to face whatever comes, together.’