He stood. “I don’t accept your apology, Monica, since there’s no need for you to make one. You followed your heart. Unfortunately, doing so took you away from me. Goodbye.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
WHEN LANDON TURNED TO walk out the door, Monica knew she had lost him, truly lost him. The raw emotion in his voice sent a wave of sorrow rushing through to her soul because she knew his pain. She’d felt it. But his pain was pain she’d caused.
Although she wanted to fight for him, to hold on to his love, she didn’t really know how. No man had ever told her he loved her the way he had, not just in words but in deeds.
Still, she had to do something to win him back. She believed he still loved her, but evidently, he thought she didn’t love him back. She had to get through to him. She had to.
“I do love you, Landon.”
Her words stopped him. It took a moment, but he slowly turned around. The angry look on his face surprised her. “I don’t think you know what love is, Monica. If you did, you would have realized that when two people love each other, they can work out any issues that might come up between them. I never told you to give up your dreams for me, nor do I recall demanding that you have my baby before you were thirty-five. You told me more than once that you didn’t give a damn about any biological clock ticking and I got that. Yet, I fell in love with you anyway.”
“And I fell in love with you, too! I was just confused that last night on the cruise, Landon. I honestly didn’t believe you could love me, not really. But I’ve had some time to think this past week and you know what I’ve come to realize?”
He threw his head back and looked up at the ceiling a moment before looking back at her. “No, what?”
“I realized that getting my PhD means nothing if you’re not there cheering me on, telling me how proud you are of me for achieving it. And you are wrong about the cruise. It meant much more to me than getting my next orgasm. You made the cruise special. You will never know how much I looked forward to spending every day—and night—with you.”
Monica swallowed hard, feeling tears gather in her eyes. “I do love you, Landon, but I was scared. I saw how my biological father treated my mother and I didn’t want that. So I was very cautious about who I gave my love to. I wanted to make sure I was prepared to look after myself just in case the man I chose wasn’t who I thought he was, leaving me high and dry. I wanted to be an educated woman who had it together. A woman who didn’t need a man, even if she might want one.”
She swiped at her tears. “What I didn’t realize at the time was that I’d never have to worry about those things with you. To you, forever actually means forever. I don’t want to lose that, Landon. I don’t want to lose you. I love you so much. Please believe that.”
A part of Landon wanted to turn around and continue walking out the door, but something was happening to him. Love was thawing out his heart. She’d been right when she said he still loved her. He hadn’t been able to deny it. Another thing he couldn’t deny was the fact that he had missed her. He had missed being with her—sharing time, sharing thoughts and ideas. And during those times when they’d made love, he had shared himself as well as sharing passion.
“Landon, please give me another chance. The only way I can be happy is if I have you in my life.”
He stared into her eyes, needing to see if her words were sincere. In her dark eyes, he saw it—love. She had meant every single thing she’d said. The tears streaming down her cheeks, unheeded, sealed the deal for him. She loved him. Now what was he going to do about it?
Landon took a couple steps toward her, then stopped. Because she was suddenly moving toward him, racing across the room to throw herself in his arms. And he caught her, held her. Then he whispered, “I love you.”
His words made her cry harder and he pulled her in tight to his body. When moments passed, and her crying hadn’t yet let up, he leaned back and bracketed her face in his hands. “Why all the tears, sweetheart?”
“Because I thought I had lost you. I wanted to believe that you still loved me, but I didn’t know for sure. I was afraid you wouldn’t forgive me.”
“I’m sorry, too, Monica. I am sorry for expecting too much from you. Just because I fell in love with you on the cruise, that didn’t mean you’d feel the same way.”
“But I did feel the same way, Landon. I just didn’t know how much you meant to me until I returned home. I couldn’t sleep at night, and I could barely eat. All I could think about were the times we had spent together, how you’d made each and every day I spent with you special. Then I knew for certain that I loved you.”
She swiped at her tears. “I figured something out, too. Loving you doesn’t mean I have to give up my dreams. I still plan on resigning from the Tribune and moving back to Atlanta. Because you’ll be there. So I don’t have to choose between loving you and getting my PhD.”
“No, you don’t.”
And then he leaned in and kissed her. His tongue tangled hungrily with hers and she returned the kiss the way he’d shown her. He finally broke off the kiss and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. Needing to touch her, his hands roamed over her body—shoulders and back, and especially her backside. “Just so you know, I had changed my mind about remaining in Vegas until Monday. I thought I’d fly out tomorrow to North Carolina to be with my family on Christmas. Will you fly out there with me to meet them?”
The smile she gave him at that moment almost broke his heart. “Yes, and I want to introduce you to my relatives at our family reunion, the day after Christmas. They’re going to love you.”
He tenderly caressed her cheek with his fingers. “And I know my family will love you, too.”
Landon paused. “And just so you know, I have dreams too, Monica. Mine revolve around making sure that your dreams come true. I want to be a part of your life forever. I want marriage, babies, a partnership with you that will last a lifetime. But I won’t rush you into anything. I got to know you on vacation. Now I want to give us a chance to get to know each other day to day. And don’t worry about the fact that you live in St. Paul for now, and I live in Atlanta. I have a lot of frequent flyer miles.”
She smiled up at him. “That’s good to know. And whenever you do come to visit me, I will welcome you with open arms.”
He chuckled. “That’s good to know, too.”
And then he swept her into his arms. “I want to make up for the days I missed not being with you,” he said, heading for the bedroom. “What do you think?”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Landon Chestnut. Simply wonderful.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
SEBRINA WOKE THE NEXT morning to find daylight shining on her face and Parker’s arms wrapped around her. She was pressed against his chest and the manly scent of him filled her nostrils. Snuggling closer to him beneath the warm covers, she enjoyed the feeling of having his leg slung over her thigh. She wasn’t ready to open her eyes yet. For now, she was content to just lay there in Parker’s embrace, savoring his heat as well as memories of last night.