“Did you speak to her?”
She nodded. “She spoke highly of you.”
He bit his lip. “And do you agree with her assessment?”
Her thumb rubbed against the back of his hand where she still held on to it. “I do, but I don’t know if we can make it work. You’ve hurt all of my friends.”
“Darcy, Ed and Matt brought my things into town,” he said in a rush, trying to stop her from rejecting him. “Tess and Georgie have already forgiven me, and I’ve been invited out to the Ridge for dinner tomorrow night.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Really?”
“Really. Perhaps they realised how much I love you.”
Her eyes glistened with tears and she sighed, long and heartfelt. “I love you too.”
Elation filled him and he shifted to the couch, pulling her gently into his arms, and sealed the declaration with a kiss.
“You captured my heart the day of our date as well,” she admitted when they pulled apart. “I’ve hated the thought you were manipulating me. My taste in men has always been terrible.”
“I’m so sorry, Nhi. I’ll never give you pause to doubt me again.” He kissed her again.
She nodded. “We’ll make it work.”
“Yes, we will.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Weshouldbegoing.”Nhiari stretched languorously on the bed next to him.
Lee ran a hand down her naked side as the nerves pinched inside him. He kissed her shoulder rather than ask whether they had to go. This was his chance to start making amends, to prove to Nhiari’s friends he loved her and was truly sorry for everything he had done. He pulled away. “All right. Let’s shower.”
They’d both been at the police station most of the day; Lee filling in any blanks Organised Crime wanted to know, and Nhiari catching up on all the work she’d missed while she’d been with Lee. The moment they’d crossed her threshold at home, they’d been in each other’s arms as if they’d been apart for weeks.
He smiled as he ran the shower and she stepped in naked. She was glorious, and they hadn’t showered together yet. Thankfully, all his dressings were waterproof.
Gently he traced the bruise which was already starting to fade, before he pulled her into his arms.
“We’ll be late if you keep this up.”
Reluctantly he let her go. “We don’t want that.”
As Nhiari handed him a towel, she asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Nervous,” he admitted. “More nervous than the last time I saw them. This time I know my future, and I don’t want to stuff this up.” He didn’t want Nhiari to have to choose between him and her friends, because he wasn’t certain she would choose him.
She hugged him. “It will be fine.” She tugged on the end of her braid as she dressed.
Yeah, she was worried too. He would do everything he could to make sure this went well.
On the drive out to the Ridge they discussed Stonefish, filling each other in on where Organised Crime was at. The files Andrew had stolen had been helpful in building the case and there’d been a synchronised raid on all known Stonefish properties, both in Australia and Singapore.
“Have you heard from your aunt?” Nhiari asked.
The nausea in his stomach flared. “Yeah.”
She glanced at him. “How did it go?”
“About as well as expected.” His voice was flat, but he didn’t have it in him to pretend.
