by Shales, Mia
Was he mad? She didn't know what to think. But that didn't change matters. She took the last step.
"Daniel!" she said in metallic voice.
He turned to her and Nicole, with all the strength her hatred and humiliation could command, landed a ringing slap on his cheek.
The very second he swayed and fell to the floor she understood what a terrible mistake she had made.
The woman, shocked, froze in her place. Nicole ran to the other side of the daybed and kneeled beside the man who was rubbing his reddened cheek with his palm.
"I... I'm so sorry. Are you all right?"
"Are you crazy?! What got into you, woman?"
Still sitting in her place on the sofa, the woman quickly slipped on the sweater lying beside her. She looked at Nicole and then at the man on the floor and said in astonishment, "she thought you were Daniel. You've been complimented."
"Very funny." The man touched his aching cheek
The woman swiftly regained her composure. "You must be Nicole."
Nicole nodded.
A strange expression crossed the woman's face. "I know you. I've seen you before. This isn't the first time we've met." Her eyes bored into Nicole who began to feel disconsolate.
"I know!" the woman caught her breath. "I know where we met. You were the sad girl who stood in the doorway of that dump Daniel used to live in eight years ago. Don't you remember Marcello? The apartment we used to borrow whenever we wanted to be alone for a while?" She didn't take her dark eyes off Nicole. "I was sure you were one of his roommate's friends. You disappeared so quickly. I didn't even tell Daniel."
"What didn't you tell me Alexia?" Daniel inquired as he walked into the room.
"Nicole, Marcello, what are you doing on the floor? And why is your cheek so red? I hope Alexia decided to beat some sense into you at last."
"I'm sorry to disillusion you, brother. But it isn't Alexia who put me in my place but your fragile fiancée. Some greeting she prepared for me." Despite his words he sounded amused.
"What a mix-up." Alexia got to her feet. She approached Nicole, helping her up from the floor and sat her down on the sofa. "I can't believe it. You thought Marcello was Daniel then as well, and all those years there was no one to set you straight. It must have been awful."
"I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm sorry, Marcello. I've made a mess of things, haven't I?"
They all looked with affection at her miserable expression. She wrung her hands nervously. What would Daniel think of her now?
"It's strange that all this time you should think it was Daniel," said Alexia. "When he came back from Australia he didn't stop talking about you. He told all of us how much he loved you and how he planned to marry you as soon as he could afford it. He didn't look at another woman, very unlike his behavior before he left for Australia. When he heard you were married he almost went out of his mind. I never saw him so shaken. He was like a madman."
"Enough, Alexia," Daniel cut off the flow of words, "Nicole is liable to change her mind and refuse to marry me." He looked at Nicole, a smile on his lips, but his eyes were serious.
"Marcello, let's go. It's time to leave these two alone."
Marcello finally pulled himself up from the floor. "We invaded your apartment without warning. You gave me the impression nobody would be here today. Anyway, we're on our way to the movies. I gather you don't want to join us?"
"Come on, already." Alexia pulled him to the door. "We'll see you later."
"What are you doing here?" was all Nicole could think to ask.
"The meeting went so well that by noon all the problems were ironed out and I decided to return."
Daniel went down on bended knee before the sofa, where Nicole was seated. His hand encircled her waist and he lay his head on her beating heart.
"I can't live without you. Don't leave me, ever."
"I will never leave you." He straightened up and she took both his hands in hers. "All this time I was afraid you would leave me, that I was just a challenge, another mountain to conquer. I couldn't bear the thought that you were not truly in love with me."
"Not love you?" He laughed shortly. "Look at me," he demanded.
She met his deep, gleaming eyes, the same concentrated mix of orchid, lavender and lilac she had seen only once before.
"I worship the ground you walk on. I love your smile, your silky skin, the intoxicating scent of your body. I could drown in the shining meadow green reflected in your eyes. I can spend hours recalling your honey colored hair falling over my face as we make love. Your innocence charms me and your strength and courage arouse my admiration. My love for you can't be measured and it has no bounds. My love is infinite, Nicole, like the stars and the sand."
Her heart skipped a beat. "I love you, Daniel. I want to live with you forever as your wife," she hesitated a moment, "and I want to have children with you."
He rose, lifting her in his arms as he strode to the bedroom. He lay her down on the wide bed and embraced her.
"In that case, why don't we start the dynasty right here and now," he murmured as his lips met hers.
THE END
