Was she ready for another leap? She held her breath and thought about Walker in Scotland. How he’d faced his childhood demons to move on with his life. Yes, absolutely, she was ready for a new phase. And to do that, she had to make peace with her past.
She checked the date on her phone. The next message wasn’t due to arrive from Papà for another week. But it was her turn to reach out. She’d kept him on the sidelines for too long already. Her fingers trembled as she typed.
Gabi: Hi, Papà, are you there?
She pressed send and stared hard at the screen, wondering what he might be doing at this exact second. The second that she realised she wanted to let him in. She wanted to be part of his life and for him to be part of hers. Please, she thought, don’t let it be too late. Her phone went off, and she held her breath as she opened her messages.
Papà: I’m always here, Gabi. Are you okay?
Gabi felt the tears stream down her cheeks but laughed out loud. Walker had been right. Through blurry vision, she typed a reply. The first proper reply she had extended in years.
Gabi: I’m fine, Papà. I’m at the airport on the way to America for a new job.
Papà: Wow, Gabi. That’s amazing. I’m very proud of you!
Gabi hiccupped in surprise. It was as though he’d been waiting all along.
Gabi: I’ll give you a call when I’m settled the other side, and we can catch up?
Papà: Can’t wait. xx
She typed three kisses and pressed send, before clutching the phone to her chest. She realised now just how changed she was, and why it felt so hard to leave Honeybridge. Because she now wanted to surround herself with people she cared about. And more than anyone, that meant Walker. Leaving Walker was more painful than any broken bone she’d ever had. And she finally realised that was because it was breaking her heart.
She stood quickly and approached the floor-to-ceiling windows in front of her. A plane taxied on the runway, getting ready to depart. Soon that would be her, jetting off to her old life when all she really wanted was a new life. A rising sense of panic made her put her hand to the glass, steadying herself as the plane started its engines and moved down the runway. Steadily picking up speed, it soon nosed into the air and a moment later was just a speck in the sky.
An announcement over the tannoy interrupted her thoughts. They were calling her flight. It was time to board.
Gabi gasped. She had to act. She had to talk to Walker now. Even if it was just to tell him how she felt. She could not leave him like this. Not with him thinking he was just a holiday romance when he was much, much more than that. She lifted her phone, ready to dial, when she heard a voice– a very soft, Scottish voice– gently say her name.
She spun in disbelief, and hope, and there he was. Walker.
She made a sound, unable to speak, and they crashed into each other’s arms. She held on, never wanting to let go, feeling the strength in his arms, the safety of his chest.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked as they broke apart.
‘I realised I couldn’t let you go,’ he said simply. ‘Not like this.’
Gabi’s stomach flipped.
‘What I mean is, I know you and I come from different worlds, but sometimes worlds collide. I don’t want to do six months without you, but I know how much your job means to you. And I know how independent you are. And I would never stand in your way with that. It’s one of the things that I love most about you.’
Gabi nodded, her breath catching at the word love, but Walker took hold of her hands between them and continued.
‘But what about if we broke the six months down? Say, I come out on holiday in six weeks’ time? And then we separate again for six weeks, and then I come out again?’
Gabi blinked in surprise.
‘I don’t want to get in your way,’ Walker reassured her. ‘I know it’s your career, your life. But I don’t want to lose you, Gabi. I want us to be together, whatever that looks like.’ He held her hands against his chest, and she could feel his heart banging. ‘And then, when the film is finished. . .’ He cleared his throat and all she could do was hold her breath. ‘I’ll transfer with the fire service to London so that I can be near you all the time.’
Her lips parted and she made a small sound of shock.
Walker’s eyes bored into her, searching for an answer. His jaw tightened in anticipation of her response, a tiny muscle twitching deep in his cheek. She could see what this meant to him, it played out on his gorgeous face.
But he couldn’t see what it meant to her, because it was so deep inside her as she’d never felt it before. She cleared her throat.
‘But when you come out on holiday, I’d be working all day.’
Walker shrugged. ‘I can sightsee while you’re busy. And then I can be waiting for you when you’re finished.’
