He let out a long, shaky breath. ‘I suppose I was jealous. I’m sorry I hurt you, and sorry I messed things up between us. I was an idiot, and I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted nothing to do with me but…’
His face softened as he took a step towards her, and a deep, golden fire glowed in his eyes. ‘Whatever you decide, whatever happens now, I want you to know that I’m sorry I caused you pain. I hope you can forgive me one day… and I love you.’ He paused and repeated, ‘I love you, Cassie Bell.’
She held her breath. ‘You do?’
He nodded, extended his hand and stroked the tips of her fingers in a timid and heart-warming caress. Happiness bubbled inside her. With a shriek of delight, she closed the gap between them, and linked her arms around his neck. ‘Of course, I forgive you!’
He wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘Just like that?’
She laughed. ‘Just like that! I was never able to hold a grudge, even if that makes me a complete pushover.’
His eyes softened and a slow, tender smile formed on his lips. ‘It doesn’t make you a pushover at all. It makes you a beautiful person – and the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met.’
This time she had nothing to say. She could only look at him. Her eyes filled with tears, and her heart felt almost too full of love, hope and joy as she took in the intense heat in his eyes, the line of his lips, the broken nose and fine scars lining his now clean-shaven face. How could this strong, brave and selfless man believe he was inferior to the likes of Piers or Nathan?
He pulled her closer. ‘I want to kiss you.’
‘Then why don’t you?’ she asked.
Holding her tightly she could hardly breathe, and covered her mouth with his.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
How he had missed her! Missed holding her, kissing her. Missed the feel of her body in his arms, the taste of her lips, and her scent surrounding him and warming him like sunshine. More than anything else, he had missed the joy, the fun, and the kindness she radiated onto everyone she touched. When she said she hadn’t spent the night with Hardman and had no intention of leaving Red Moss with him, something in his chest had loosened and expanded – like a window opening onto glorious blue sky.
‘Will you ever forgive me for doubting you, for believing even for one second Hardy’s slimy lies?’ His throat tightened. ‘The thing is that I couldn’t see how you could ever fancy someone like me.’
She looked up. ‘I don’t just fancy you, Stefan. I love you.’
His hands stilled. ‘But I let everybody down. People died because of me.’
Her fingers stroked the back of his neck in a soft, feathery caress. ‘It wasn’t you who trapped these poor people in the dispensary. It wasn’t you who launched the rocket attack on the helicopter. You did your best, and it’s about time you forgave yourself.’
She rose on her tiptoes, and looked into his eyes. ‘I love you, Stefan, and nothing you can say will change how I feel. When you left I felt like I was dying inside, and I never, ever, want to feel like that again.’
He looked into her eyes, and his heart felt too big for his chest. He was about to kiss her again when the door to the office slammed open, and Patrick walked in, holding three glasses.
He froze in the doorway. ‘Ah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.’
Cassie blushed and pulled away from Stefan’s embrace, but still held on to his hand.
‘I got us a tipple to keep us going,’ Patrick said, putting three glasses on the desk. ‘By the way, the police just phoned. They haven’t located Darren yet but got a search warrant for his father’s house in Manchester and found pieces of jewellery that match the description of several stolen items. It looks like Morse senior was helping sell off the stuff his son had stolen.’
‘What I don’t understand is why he made such a mess of this place,’ Stefan remarked. ‘He must have known you would alert the police straight away… Why didn’t he just hand in his notice and slip away quietly? He didn’t know I was about to expose him, so why attract attention on himself like this?’
He gestured to the mess in the room. ‘This looks like the action of somebody irrational and in a panic – someone who’s lost their grip on things.’
‘He was a little odd yesterday, now that you mention it,’ Patrick said. ‘His hand was swollen and seemed to be causing him pain, and he looked feverish. I even asked him if he needed to see the doctor.’
Cassie gasped. ‘He said he’d been scratched by a cat… Doris had to have antibiotics when Fluffy scratched her hand the other day. Fluffy must have scratched him too. He does have a bit of a temper.’
‘Like its owner,’ Stefan remarked. He sighed. ‘Right, we’d better make a move or we’ll never get this place tidied up.’
An hour later, the office was almost back to normal.
‘You two should go home now,’ Patrick said. ‘I can manage on my own.’
‘Are you sure?’ Stefan asked.
‘Positive. Off you go.’
As soon as they were outside and Patrick closed the door, Stefan took Cassie in his arms. ‘It’s late. Do you want to go back to the pub? It may still be open. Or would you rather go home, to Bluebell Cottage?’
She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.
‘I’d rather go back to Belthorn with you,’ she replied.
He tightened his grip around her waist and bent down to kiss her again, and again. ‘That’s the answer I was hoping for.’
She drove ahead and Stefan followed, and it wasn’t long before they arrived at Belthorn.
‘Shall I make a fire?’ he asked as they walked into the drawing room.
She switched on the fairy lights along the mantelpiece. ‘Good idea. I’ll get us a hot drink and warm up some stew for you. I made a batch last week and froze it and—’
He grabbed hold of her, and pulled her to him. ‘Will you stop this?’
‘Stop what?’
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. ‘Stop your Bluebell Cleaning Fairy antics. I don’t need food, or drink. I only need you.’
He cupped her face between his hands, and bent down, teasing her mouth until her lips parted, and kissed her. She let out a muffled whimper, and curled her fingers in the lapels of his parka.
‘I missed you,’ he said, in a hoarse whisper before raking his fingers in her hair, and taking a deep breath. ‘God, I missed you.’
It was very late when she snuggled in his arms with a contented sigh. They had made it to bed eventually, feasted on toast dripping with jam and a mug of tea for her and a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches and black coffee for him.
‘I didn’t even ask you if your granddad retained his Comedy King title at the pub,’ he asked.
‘He didn’t, but he seemed all right about it. I think he was relieved to find out that the reason why he was so drowsy and confused all the time these past few weeks was that Darren mixed his medicine with sleeping tablets.’
‘In the places I visited, people told me how the elderly people Morse seemingly helped with DIY became suddenly ill and confused.’