“Wait. Stop!”
At her enquiring look he muttered, “I can’t do this.”
“Sure you can, caro,” murmured Christina, ignoring him and continued slipping her hand down his pants. Surprised at the lacklustre response she glanced up. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. I think I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life.”
“Me?” Christina looked confused.
“No, not you,” he said. “Her.”
“Her?” Christina repeated. “You mean the tall English girl?”
Rafael didn’t hear her. All he could think about was how wrong this felt. He took a step away from Christina. “Anna. I must find Anna.”
Leaving a bewildered Christina in his hallway, Rafael grabbed his boat keys and ran out of the house into the night. By the time he reached the harbour he was almost sober and thinking much clearer. He must find Anna and talk to her. He had no idea where she lived, but he knew someone who did.
Driving with one hand and punching numbers into his cell phone with the other, Rafael called Rico. His friend was delighted to help and eagerly gave Rafael the information he wanted.
“Good luck, amigo,” he called into the phone.
“Thanks. I owe you,” Rafael hung up. Docking in Naples was difficult since it was almost midnight. The marina was closed so Rafael parked alongside the jetty of a friend. He’d call him in the morning to explain.
Flagging down a taxi, Rafael asked to be taken to the airport. At the driver’s odd look he urged, “Hurry!” With any luck he might still be able to catch a late flight.
After a long shift and another one looming, Anna decided to go to the hospital canteen for some sustenance. Her appetite had deserted her, but she knew she had to eat. How else would she cope with the gruelling nursing schedule she’d inflicted on herself since she’d got back?
Anything to take her mind off Rafael.
About to bite into her cheese sandwich, Anna thought she was seeing things when a scruffy Rafael walked in through the hospital entrance. She blinked and stared in amazement. Yes, it really was him!
“Rafael?”
He looked over and she waved, too stunned to speak.
“Thank God I’ve found you,” he growled, easing his tall frame into the chair opposite her. “I was expecting to have to search the entire hospital, and it isn’t small either.”
“What are you doing here?” stammered Anna, finally finding her tongue. She drank him in lovingly with her eyes. His stubble was dark and his hair untidy, he had dark rings under his eyes, and looked tired, but to her he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
“I came to find you,” he confessed, gazing at her hungrily. When Anna didn’t say anything he asked, “Did I interrupt your lunch?”
“I wasn’t hungry anyway,” she murmured, pushing the sandwich away. She couldn’t stop staring at him. Rafael, here in London... Looking for her... It was too much to comprehend.
“Is this a good time to talk?” asked Rafael hopefully.
Anna consulted her watch. “Sure, I’m due on my next shift in forty-five minutes, but until then I’m free.”
“So this is where you work?” Rafael looked around him at the vast entrance hall with the central reception desk manned by at least six staff members, all talking with patients or on the phone.
Anna nodded. “Welcome to Paddington Hospital.”
“Is it always this busy?”
“Always,” chuckled Anna. “You should see the wards. It’s like rush hour traffic in there.”
Rafael shook his head.
“But you didn’t come all this way to see where I worked.”
“No.” Rafael took a deep breath. “Anna, I came because I realised I’d made a terrible mistake.”
“Oh, what was that?”
“I should never have let you go.”
Barely capable of breathing, let alone anything else, Anna stared at him.
“I had to talk to you,” he went on, reaching for her hand. Anna realised it was shaking. “I had to tell you that...I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t say it when you needed me to. Will you come back to Capri and live with me? I never want to let you go again.”
The look he gave her was so tender that Anna dropped her eyes, fearing she was hallucinating.
“Do-Do you really mean that?” she stammered. “What about you not believing in love?”
“I’ve been an idiot,” confessed Rafael. “I was in love with you all the time, I just didn’t know it. You see I’ve never been in love before so I didn’t realise it until you left and it was too late.”
Anna covered her face with her hands. This couldn’t be happening. “I don’t believe this.”
“Believe it,” he whispered. “When you left everything lost its sparkle. I couldn’t sleep without you beside me. I couldn’t concentrate at work. I didn’t even want to go home because you weren’t there.” He took her hands in his. “I realised I missed you hopelessly, so I came to take you back with me.”
He smiled lightly. “So what do you say?”
Anna struggled to find the words. She was so happy she felt her chest might explode, but at the same time she was terrified it wouldn’t last.
“Are you sure, Rafael? It’s a big decision. What if I come all the way over there and you decide you’ve made a mistake? Where would that leave me? I’d have given up my job, my room in the house, my whole life in fact, on a gamble. I don’t know if I can take that chance.”
“I understand your hesitation and, based on my past behaviour, I don’t blame you. All I can say is that I love you enough to take that chance. You could decide you don’t love me or don’t want to live in Italy, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Anna took his hand in hers. “That’s a big step for someone who, up until a few weeks ago, didn’t believe in love.”
“I know,” he admitted. “And I’m terrified. But I still want to do it. I love you so much it hurts.”
Anna blinked back tears. Finally Rafael was saying the words she’d longed to hear, yet she still hesitated. He loved her. He wanted her. Why couldn’t she just say yes?
“I thought you might need a little extra persuading,” Rafael admitted, meeting her uncertain gaze. He reached into his trouser pocket. “So I got you this...”
He opened a little black box and laid it on the table in front of her, next to her cheese sandwich. Inside glittered the most beautiful pear-shaped diamond ring Anna had ever seen.
“It’s exquisite,” she gasped, tentatively reaching for it.
“Here, let me,” said Rafael and slipped the ring out of its midnight-blue pillow. He slid off the canteen chair and down on one knee, oblivious to the knowing grins of the canteen onlookers.
“Anna, will you marry me?”
Anna looked at his eyes, bright with love and hope. Her resistance crumbled. This man loved her and wanted to look after her. He made her feel things nobody else ever had before and he’d come all the way to London to get her back.
“Of course I will,” she gasped, tears of happiness pouring down her face. Then she got unsteadily to her feet and put her arms round his neck and kissed him. They were so engrossed that it was only when they heard the clapping and cheering around them that they broke apart.
“Some things are worth fighting for,” whispered Rafael, as he led her outside for some privacy.
“Absolutely,” confirmed Anna, happily. “Nothing worth having ever comes easily.”
Rafael looked at her tenderly. “And you, my gorgeous fiancé, are definitely worth having.”
LOUISE ROSE-INNESAntarctic Affair
Lessons in Love
To contact Louise Rose-Innes or to be placed on a mailing list to receive updates about new releases, visit her website: http://LouiseRoseInnes.com.
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