He stared at her, confused and frustrated. It was clear to him that she knew exactly what he wanted to ask, and yes, that had been fear in her expression. But what did it mean?
“Yes, of course we can.” He felt the tension in his body ease. He did want to walk with her. He did want the moments they shared to last as long as they could. If that meant waiting a little longer to ask his question, then he would.
But he knew before the sun rose, he would have his answer, whether it was what he wanted to hear or not.
Chapter 7
Her heart ached for him as she thought about his loss. Frank had found love, had a family with her, and then he’d had to watch her fade away.
Gina knew what it was like to watch someone she loved die. It had been the most difficult thing she’d ever experienced.
Though she still felt a little guilty holding his hand, she knew that he needed her comfort more than anything. If he had called, she would have picked up the phone and done her best to support him.
But he hadn’t. He’d endured it, all alone, with a young daughter to guide through the grieving process as well.
She couldn’t help but admire him. He’d always been strong. That was one thing she noticed about him, even when they were kids. If there ever was a problem, he would be the first to attempt to solve it, and when things didn’t go right the first time, he wouldn’t get frustrated or angry. He’d just try again. He had the kind of determination that lasted forever.
As they continued to walk along the edge of the lake, she knew exactly what question he wanted answered. But she wasn’t ready to answer it. She wasn’t sure whether she would be brave enough to tell him the truth, or how he would react if she did.
Though they were silent for some time as they strolled, there wasn’t an ounce of emptiness between them. It was filled with the warmth and spark of years of distance erased in just a few hours of being reunited.
Of course, he had to feel differently about her now. He’d lost the love of his life and she certainly wasn’t beautiful enough to distract him from that.
No, they’d had their time—that was in the past—but it was nice to see him again.
“How has your mother been?”
The question shocked her out of her thoughts. She glanced over at him, then took a breath.
“She passed away.”
“I’m so sorry, Gina.” He turned to face her. “I know how close you two were. I had no idea; I would have come back for the funeral—”
“It was more than twenty-five years ago now.” She smiled some. “It was a beautiful service.”
“Twenty-five years ago?” His eyes widened. “I wish I had known. I would have been here in a second.”
“She didn’t want a big fuss. She planned it out herself. When the doctor told her she only had a few months, she spent them planning her funeral, as if it would be her last great memory.” Gina smiled at the memory. “She loved every minute of it. I wish I could be as joyful as she was.”
“I remember.” He smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “She always had something to laugh about. She always said that you were too serious.”
“Yes, she did.” Gina laughed and nodded. “She would tell me to dance more. Do you know that she even encouraged me to sneak out at night to see you? She always tried to teach me that there were no limits in life.”
“But you stayed here. Why?” He looked into her eyes. “What held you back?”
“I wouldn’t say exactly that I was held back.” She shrugged and smiled. “I guess I just did things my own way.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” His smile spread. Then it faded, as he looked back at her. “It was someone else, wasn’t it?”
“Someone else?” She paused beside the water and took off her shoes.
As she sunk her toes into the cool liquid, he stepped up just behind her. She could feel how close he was, and the headiness of his proximity combined with the moonlight splashed across the water made her treasure the moment. Maybe it was just a fantasy in many ways, but it was hers. Frank was really there with her. That part she hadn’t imagined.
“When you told me to go, it was because you were in love with someone else.”
His words crashed down around her. Suddenly the water was icy and the moonlight far too bright as it glared off the water. She spun around to face him, and before she could catch herself, anger flowed through her.
“How could you even say such a thing to me?” She stared at him, her eyes narrowed. “How could you think it?”
“How could I think it?” He took a slight step back as his own voice spiked with anger. “It’s all I’ve thought about for thirty years, Gina. I thought about what he had that I didn’t. Did you see him while we were still together? I thought about what made him so much better than me, how it was that you didn’t love me the way I loved you—”
“Stop!” She gasped the word as her heart pounded. Never once had she imagined what he must have thought. Never once had she put herself in his shoes on the day that she made the hardest decision of her life. “Frank, there was never anyone else. There hasn’t been anyone else. Not anyone that mattered anyway.” She sighed.
“Then it was just me you didn’t love?” He clenched his jaw, then nodded. “I know that I should let it go. It’s been so long. You probably think I’m pathetic for even bringing it up. I’m sorry, Gina, but I have to know. Why did you end things? I thought we were about to start our lives together. I thought you were excited to travel with me and then the day we were supposed to leave, you told me to go without you.”
“Frank.” She struggled to keep her emotions under control as she recalled that day. Seeing the heartbreak in his eyes was something that she would never forget. “I did a terrible thing.”
“You let me believe that you loved me.” He nodded slowly.
“No.” She caught his hand with hers. “I let you believe that I didn’t.”
Chapter 8
Frank felt as if the sand beneath his feet shifted in that moment. Had it become quicksand? He clung to her hand and looked into her eyes. Could she be telling the truth?
“Why, then? Please tell me.” He moved closer to her as she tried to pull away. “No, don’t.” He tightened his grasp on her hand. “We’ve both moved on, I understand that. I’m not asking for anything more from you, Gina, but I think— after everything we’ve shared, the promises we’ve made—I think I deserve to know why. One moment we were in love, and the next it was over. It didn’t make sense to me then and it still doesn’t now. I just need to understand. Then I’ll leave you alone. You’ll never have to see me again.”
“You think that’s what I want?” She smiled through the tears that had begun to slip down her cheeks. “Frank, seeing you again has meant so much to me. I’m sorry that I hurt you. I’ve carried that guilt with me for so long. But now I know that you did just fine. You fell in love again, you had a family, you’ve had a good life. I’m so happy for you.” She took a deep breath, then licked her lips. “I suppose it’s only fair that I be honest. But I need you to understand. At the time, I made the choice I did because of how much I loved you.”
“How is that possible?” He frowned. “You broke my heart, Gina. Yes, I moved on, because I had no choice. And yes, my wife was a wonderful woman and having our daughter is something I will never regret, but for years it was nearly impossible not to think of you. How could breaking up with me have been out of love for me?”
“I found out the day before you left that my mother was sick.” She held his gaze. “She would need someone to care for her, to help her recover after surgeries, to help her with her medicine. She didn’t want to tell me, because she knew I’d planned to leave with you. But the doctor made a mistake when I answered the phone. He thought I was her. When I confronted her about it, she told me the truth. I knew then that I couldn’t leave Love Isle. I wouldn’t. And I knew that if I told you the truth, you would stay with me. I knew that you loved me that mu
ch.” Her voice trembled, but she continued to look into his eyes. “Getting that promotion meant everything to you. You were so excited to embark on a new phase of your career. I couldn’t let you give that up for me.”
“I would have.” He caught her free hand and pressed it against his chest. “Gina, I would have done anything for you if you had just told me.”
“I know.” She whispered as another tear trailed down her cheek. “But I couldn’t let you, Frank. I took care of her for five years and I don’t regret a single moment. I’m sorry that I hurt you, I really am—you have no idea how sorry.” She pulled her hand free and stroked his cheek. “The look in your eyes that day—I knew I had done something terrible to you. But it was for the best.”
“That wasn’t for you to decide.” He winced as she touched him and tears built in his own eyes. “Gina, you should have told me.”
“I couldn’t.” She let her hand fall back to her side. “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I thought if we were meant to be, fate would bring us back together. I thought we would find our way back into one another’s arms. But it didn’t work out that way, did it?”
“Gina.” He touched her cheek and stared into her eyes.
He wanted to be angry. He wanted to be furious that she had lied, that she had ended things when they could have been together. But he wasn’t.
He was relieved to know the truth, that she had loved him so much that she wasn’t willing to keep him from his dreams. Maybe things could have been different, maybe there would have been a way to make it work, but she was right, she had made the choice out of love for him. He could see that now.
“I’m here now.” He whispered the words as he leaned close and lightly touched his lips to hers.
In that moment, the sky began to glow with the first colors of the sunrise.
When he felt her arms slide around his neck and the caress of her lips as she returned the kiss, his entire body flushed with heat. His heart pounded as he pulled her against him with the intention of never letting her go again. His chest tightened with joy and he deepened the kiss. Years of pent-up passion began to unfurl. It became hard for him to breathe.
“Frank?” She pulled away and looked into his eyes. “Frank, what’s wrong?”
He winced as his chest continued to tighten and suddenly the colorful sky began to swirl above him.
“Gina.” He gulped out her name.
“Frank!” She slid her arm around his waist and began to lead him back up the trail. “We have to get you to the doctor.”
“No, I’m fine. I’m sorry, I guess I just got a little out of breath.” He tried to straighten up, but his chest tightened again. Confused and frustrated, he wondered how his body could betray him. “Gina, forget the doctor, I just want to spend some time with you.”
“Not until you get checked out.” She looked into his eyes with concern and determination.
He knew better than to fight.
It was the same look she’d had in her eyes when he’d pleaded with her not to end things. Now he knew why. It wasn’t because she didn’t care, or because she’d fallen in love with someone else. It was because she wanted him to have the best life that he could, even if that meant she wasn’t to be a part of it.
It was both the kindest and most terrible thing that anyone had ever done for him.
Chapter 9
Fear rushed through Gina as she witnessed the shift in his expression—from elation to confusion. She could tell that something wasn’t right. As she urged him along the trail in the direction of the doctor’s house, she wondered what might be wrong.
“Are you sick, Frank? Do you have trouble with your heart?” She coaxed him for information that the doctor might need.
“Not at all. After my wife passed away, I focused on my health. According to my doctor, I’m in good condition. I’m sure it’s nothing.” He pulled away from her and smiled. “I’m fine, really.”
“You’re going to get looked at. You’ve been up all night. I never should have agreed to a walk with you.” She frowned as she led him up the driveway of the doctor’s house. There were lights on inside. He had a small office in the center of the island, but he also made home visits. Since the closest hospital was a ferry ride away, he truly saved lives on the island and he never turned anyone away. “Dr. Cooper will figure out what’s going on with you.”
“Gina, wait.” Frank tugged at her hand and drew her attention. “You don’t really regret our walk or what happened by the lake, do you?”
“Don’t be silly, Frank, that doesn’t matter now.” She knocked on the door. “Dr. Cooper? It’s Gina!”
“Gina—” Frank was interrupted by the opening of the door.
“Gina, is everything okay?” Dr. Cooper looked between the two of them with concern.
“It’s my friend, Frank. He’s having some difficulty breathing and he looked pretty faint.” She gripped Frank’s arm firmly. She could sense that he wanted to walk away. He never did like anyone to make a fuss over him.
“I just overdid it a little—it’s nothing, really.” Frank waved his hand.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Dr. Cooper ushered him into the house with Gina right behind him.
The two disappeared into a room that Dr. Cooper used to see patients after hours.
Gina sat down on the edge of the sofa in his pristine living room and finally began to think about the kiss. Why had she let that happen?
Frank had come there for a visit, not to rekindle things. Even if he had, what could there be to rekindle? Sure, in the moment things had become quite passionate. But she wasn’t the same person she was thirty years ago. Neither was he. How could he possibly still want her?
She guessed he was there to get closure. She needed to make sure she gave that to him. It was the least she could do.
When Dr. Cooper emerged from the room, she stood up. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.” He smiled and looked at her for a moment. “I hear you two were out all night.”
“Just talking.” She blushed. Dr. Cooper was only in his thirties. He hadn’t lived on the island when she and Frank were together. How could he possibly understand? “Is that what made him ill?”
“I’m not ill.” Frank stepped out of the room while buttoning the top buttons of his shirt. “Dr. Cooper says I’m perfectly healthy.”
“No, that’s not exactly what I said.” Dr. Cooper wagged a finger at Frank. “I said that he had an unusual heartbeat, which could indicate a bigger problem. I want to keep an eye on him for a few days.”
“And I told Dr. Cooper that my flight leaves tomorrow.” He tried to meet Gina’s eyes.
She looked at Dr. Cooper instead. “Is it okay for him to travel?”
“I’ve advised against it. Heart issues can be a little unpredictable. It may be nothing or it may be something. The stress of flying could turn it into something far worse than it is right now.” He locked eyes with Frank. “It is my recommendation that you stay put until that heart has calmed down a bit.”
“I’ll think about it, Doc.” Frank nodded at him, then offered his hand. “Thank you for your help.”
“Anytime.” He took it in a firm shake. “Any friend of Gina’s is a friend of mine.”
“Is that so?” Frank smiled as he looked over at Gina. “I hope I can be counted in that group.”
“Of course.” Gina smiled in return. She was relieved to call him friend again. “You need some rest, Frank.”
“I think the last ferry leaves in an hour.” He glanced at his watch as they stepped through the door and out onto the driveway. “I’ve still got a little time.”
“Nonsense, you can stay with me. Take the ferry tomorrow.” She took his hand. Instantly her heart fluttered, but she did her best to ignore it. “You can’t stay in some hotel. Who is going to look after you?”
“I can take care of myself, Gina.” He stroked his thumb along the back of her hand. “I wouldn’t want to put you out.
”
“It’s no trouble.” She met his eyes. “If you’re willing to stay with me, I’d love to have you.”
“It would give us a chance to catch up.” He leaned toward her for a kiss, but she turned her cheek.
As his lips grazed her skin, she closed her eyes and tried not to recall the way her entire world shifted when he’d kissed her by the lake. She longed for that again, but it wasn’t right. Their time had passed and that was something she needed to accept.
“Yes, it would be nice to be able to do that. I don’t live far from here. Are you okay walking?” She looked into his eyes.
“Yes, I’m fine. Like the doctor said, it is most likely nothing.”
“That’s not exactly what he said.” She raised an eyebrow.
“I’m fine, Gina, I promise.” He drew her hand to his lips and placed a light kiss on the back of it. “I’m better than I have been in a very long time.”
Chapter 10
As he sought her eyes, Frank couldn’t help but wonder why Gina had turned away from his kiss.
Not long before, by the lake, he was certain that she had met his desire with mirrored passion. He’d felt it in her touch, in the insistence of her lips, and the way she shivered in his grasp.
Was he wrong? Did he interpret things the way he wanted them to be instead of how they really were?
The doctor’s concern about his heart barely registered in his mind. He knew he was healthy and the only thing wrong with his heart was the years that he had missed with his first love. Now that he knew that Gina hadn’t rejected him for the sake of another all those years ago, he could see how their lives could have unfolded together.
No, he didn’t regret meeting or marrying Michelle—and especially not having a child with her—but that didn’t change the longing in him now for the life he had once expected to share with Gina.
Confused, he took a breath and decided to focus on Gina instead of himself.
“It must have been difficult for you to take care of your mother for all those years. Is that why you didn’t end up traveling as you’d hoped?” He tried to casually grasp her hand as they walked, but she slipped her hands into her pockets.
Never Too Late: A Sweet Romance (The Magic of Love Isle Book 4) Page 3
