‘And you’d move to London?’
He smiled nervously and nodded. ‘I’d go wherever you are.’
It hit her then. Walker was ready for a new life too. Everything he knew, loved and lived by. He’d change it all for a life with her.
And it was right then and there that Gabi knew what she felt, just as Isabella had told her. Love. Epic, action-packed and technicolour love. Her heart filled with a surge so strong that it took her breath away. It bloomed and filled her chest. It sparked into every cell and made her fingers tingle and her eyes brim with tears. Isabella had told her she would know when she felt love and there was no denying this. She let it pour through her, overcome with emotion. Walker slumped onto the chairs beside them.
‘You hate the idea,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t want to look like I was taking over your life.’
She sank beside him, grasped his hand and lifted it to her lips. She pressed her mouth against his knuckles, hard, kissing each one before lowering it again. She wanted to kiss every inch of him, make him feel the depth of her love.
‘I love the idea,’ she said, ‘Nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever put me first in that way before. Nobody has ever made so much effort and offered so much of themselves.’ She put her hand to his face, smoothed his sandy hair back from his forehead. ‘Nobody has ever impacted me like you. Hell, I just messaged my papà!’ She saw the whites of his eyes as they widened, the tiniest lift of his lips. The flicker of hope. She took a deep breath and felt the same adrenaline rush as she felt flying through the air on a swing at fifty feet.
‘I’ve been such a fool, Walker, because I want to be with you too.’ She grinned as she said it out loud. ‘I am an independent woman, you’re right. But I want to share my life with you, whenever I can. And if, for the next six months, that means a week here or there, then that would be more than I ever dreamed of.’
His eyebrows rose and a laugh broke through.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and showed him the group photo. All that happiness caught in one second.
‘But when I come home from this job, I want to come home to Honeybridge, not London,’ she said. ‘To you, and this gorgeous gang of people. I’m going to sell my apartment and buy something in Honeybridge.’ Walker punched the air and this time she laughed.
The trapeze she was on felt fantastic. It was higher than anything she’d attempted before in her life, but she knew she had a safety net. It gave her courage to keep climbing, to go higher, to try harder, to let people in.
‘There are lots of shorter jobs I can do in the future,’ Gabi said. ‘Ones that don’t take me away so far or for so long.’
‘But I thought that was half the attraction,’ he said.
‘It used to be,’ she agreed. ‘But things change. Now you’re the main attraction, Walker. I want to be where you are.’
He exhaled slowly and she could see the excitement in his eyes. An announcement sounded. They were calling her name. She needed to go to the gate. Her flight was about to depart. They shared a long look as they listened. This was it. But suddenly she wasn’t afraid of leaving, because she knew what, and who, she was coming back to. And it was the best feeling in the world.
Walker pulled her to standing and wrapped his arms around her.
‘So, I’ll see you in six weeks?’ she said and felt the kiss he pressed to the top of her head.
‘And we’ll speak every day,’ he confirmed.
‘And luckily I already know you’re good at phone sex,’ Gabi said, and he laughed out loud.
She had never felt so excited, so happy, so sure. It was the same feeling she got on the high diving board. She leaned back in his arms and got ready to take the leap from the very top platform.
His face was gentle as he looked down at her, his hair falling onto his forehead, his eyes soft.
‘I love you, Walker,’ she said. ‘You’re the biggest thrill I’ve ever had in my life.’
He tipped her chin with his finger and thumb, holding her face still.
‘And I love you, Gabi,’ he said. ‘With a burning passion.’
He lowered his mouth to hers and she finally let herself freefall into the love of her life.
Epilogue
Gabi
Gabi heaved the one remaining box to the doors of the van where Walker waited, shoulders nicely stretching out the T-shirt he wore. She shielded her eyes against the spring sun to appreciate his body and the fact that he was all hers. Finally. Walker caught her looking.
‘Stay focused there, Gabi.’ He winked. ‘We’ve got work to do.’
