In Love with a Stranger (6 page)

My mind was a mess, as different things fought to be remembered.  Suddenly, my memory was bombarded, as everything came rushing back.

“We’ll get a flat in London. It’ll have your own little room to write in, one that overlooks the garden.”

“Do flats have gardens?” I was sure they didn’t.

“Some do, and I’ll make sure ours does.” He picked up my passport papers. “You’ll have to get dual citizenship, so our babies will be little English chaps.”

“I thought we were having a daughter?”

“Yes, one who looks just like you.” He kissed me, pulling me into his lap, and the papers were forgotten.

I looked up at William and lunged at him, my lips finding his immediately. He was mine, he’d always been mine. I pulled away to breathe, and his eyes were full of tears and relief. “I’ve missed you so much. Please don’t ever forget me again,” he pleaded.

“Never,” I promised. I couldn’t believe I’d ever forgotten him in the first place.

Chapter 7 – Recollections

WILLIAM

I finally had her back. After all these years, she was back in my arms, and I swore I’d never let her go again. She kissed me with a passion I remembered clearly, and I hoped she did, too. When we both pulled back for air, we started to cry. I hugged her so tight, I was sure it hurt. I was scared this was another dream, that I’d wake up and she’d still be lost to me. “I missed you so much, so very much.  Please don’t ever disappear on me again.”

“You know where my bookshop is, and you know I live above it. You should be able to find me.”

“I knew where you lived the first time,” I worried, hiding my face in her neck.

“Ophelia and Carter would never let my father interfere with you finding me again.”

“You promise?” I felt like a toddler asking for a trip to the play park.

“I swear it.”

We heard Penelope let out a shrieking giggle, and my heart clinched, wondering if she’d let our daughter know I was her dad. “She’s beautiful, can I…?”

She cupped my cheek. “Yeah, we’ll find a way to tell her. She’s your baby girl.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.”

“You’re here now.”

“I was so scared, Hannah, when they told me you were attacked and that you were pregnant.  I was afraid…”

“I was worried about the same thing when I woke up. I wasn’t, the doctor said I wasn’t. I was fully-clothed when Ophelia found me.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Just because my daughter was mine, didn’t mean someone hadn’t hurt Hannah after the fact. I pulled her back tight into my arms. I needed to hold her to me. I needed to keep her next to me. I didn’t know if I could leave her and go to my hotel room tonight. I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle being away from her again. I lay down on the seat, holding her in my arms, hoping she’d be willing to let me sleep here if I asked.

We were quiet for a moment, as I took in our surroundings. She owned a little bookshop, and it suited her. Before, she’d had nothing to hold her in the states, but now with her shop, and I was sure my daughter’s schooling, I had to find a way to make it in the U.S. My parents would be furious, but there was no way I was leaving my family behind.

“I wonder how long it’d take to get a work visa?” I spoke softly to myself, but she heard and looked up at me worried.

“I don’t think I can just up and leave, William. I’ve been running my own little shop for three years now, to leave it all behind…”

I cut her off with a kiss. “I was talking about me. I’ll need the work visa, because I’m not leaving you.”

She let out a breath and jumped on top of me, kissing me soundly. She looked me hard in the eyes. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course I would. I’m never leaving your side again. I’m not losing you, and by God, when I go to wrap up my affairs, I’m sure as hell taking you with me. I’m never going to risk losing you again.” I hugged her tightly and whispered, “Never again.”

My grip on her didn’t loosen, and when she shifted, I had to admit that I whimpered. Her sad eyes met mine.  “I’m here.” Her fingers ran through my hair, trying to calm me.

“Can I sleep down here on this?  I…I…”

She frowned and took my face in both of her hands.  “We have so much to talk about, and there’s still a lot I need to remember. I can recall bits and pieces. Can you help me put them together?”

I nodded yes eagerly.

We heard the low hum of a TV show over our heads. “Penny’s asleep, we can send Shawna home and talk some more.”

I heard her stomach growl. “I didn’t get to take you out.”

“We’ll order in.” She kissed my cheek before getting up and pulling me off the chaise. She didn’t let go of my hand, and I kept hold of hers tightly and let my other hover on her hip as we walked upstairs.

“Well, that was fast,” Shawna looked concerned at our serious expressions.

“We didn’t make it out the door. We’re going to order in. You can go home early. Thanks for watching her for me.”

“Anytime, Hannah. Let me know if you need anything.” She gave me a worried glance, like she wasn’t sure if she trusted me, but then she saw Hannah squeeze my hand, and she left without another word.

HANNAH

I tried to make sense of the jumbled mess in my head, as I finished my food. I remembered him. I did, and the one thing I remembered the most was not wanting to be away from him. I recognized it now for what it was. I’d felt it the moment we’d met again in England. I wanted him then, but I didn’t know why. Even with his odd staring and obsessive behavior, there was always this undertow of needing to be near him.  It’d scared me then, and it did now, but not as bad.  I didn’t want to get hurt. I didn’t want him to hurt my daughter, either, but my heart was pleading with me to trust him.

It was ridiculous, really, how quickly our relationship had progressed when we’d first met. Even with what I had remembered, and with what he’d told me, we’d only known each other for three weeks, and in that short time, we’d made plans to live together in England. The intensity had been so strong then, and it still was. My body knew exactly who he was from day one.

The bits and pieces that’d been popping up and getting worse since I’d visited England were turning into a full-blown avalanche.  “Can we start from the beginning, at the café?” I clarified.

“Yes, of course.” He pulled me closer to him, pressing his face into my shoulder. “I had stopped there, wanting to try some real American food, not any chain stuff, but the real stuff.”

“That’s why you stopped at Dottie’s Café.”  That made sense.

“Yes, I had ten hours to kill. I thought walking around Carson City and seeing the sights would be fun. I didn’t take into account that in the U.S., everything is far apart. There was no walking from place to place. I was in good shape, but not that good of shape.  I didn’t want to get lost, and there was no way I was hiring a car and attempting to drive on the wrong side of the road.”

“It’s the right side,” I teased.

“You said that the first time, too.” He was wistful, and I was hoping the memories would come faster. “I ended up at Dottie’s, because the cab driver insisted it was good. I found that hard to believe, because there were only three people in the diner besides the workers, you being one of them. I don’t know what happened, but I felt it as soon as my eyes landed on you. It was lightening, I was jolted forward, and before I knew what I was doing, I was asking to sit with you.”

“The Café is usually full of college students. It was empty because it was summer. I realized halfway through that you didn’t have to sit with me. Strangers would often share tables, because the place was usually packed. I didn’t think anything of it when you asked. After my burger came, I looked around and saw there was plenty of room.” I was eager to voice what I was remembering. “You blushed!” I pointed straight at his face, and that cute blush that’d first caught my eye and encouraged me to let down my defenses appeared on his cheeks. “You were so sweet and nervous. You knocked over my luggage.  You confessed later that night that you considered leaving the table when it happened, but you just couldn’t pull yourself away from me.”

His smile grew, as he nodded in agreement, asking me to go on.

“We talked about Silver Springs and my dad. You asked so many questions, you were really interested. I thought you were crazy for even caring, but you did. You had to know everything. I asked about your life, and you told me you lived in London, that you had an annoying little sister and overbearing parents. You had to go back by the end of the month, but were stopping in New York for a few weeks to wrap up some business deals. You hated traveling, but didn’t have the excuse of a family to keep you home. The way you looked at me when you said that, I knew then I wanted to be the one you stayed home for. I wanted to be your family.” I blushed at my confession, remembering exactly how I’d felt and let it wash over me.

“We touched. It was time for me to go. When we stood, we both tripped on my boxes, but you were steadier and caught me in your arms. I’ve never felt anything like this, William…this feeling between us,” I said, running my hand up his arm.

“Only with you. I couldn’t let you go. I followed you to Silver Springs.”

“You carried my boxes and put them under the bus. When you looked at me after loading them, I could swear you were going to cry, and I felt the same way. I didn’t understand it, but the moment you asked me to go with you to New York, I knew I couldn’t say no. I couldn’t be away from you. It was too late, something had happened between us, and it couldn’t be undone, I was yours.” I looked up into his eyes, knowing the truth of my words.

He nodded his head with watery eyes. “I was yours, too.”

“You came to Silver Springs with me…” I paused, these memories were harder to recall. He looked like he was about to say something, but I put my hand up to stop him. He took it and kissed it, waiting patiently, making me smile. “The bus stop is only two blocks from my dad’s house…you bought tickets back to Carson City as soon as we arrived, so we wouldn’t miss the flight. We had an hour at best to drop off the boxes. They weren’t packed well enough to fly.”

He bit his lip worried, and I knew why, as soon as images of my father came to mind. My dad had been happy to see me for all of ten seconds. He didn’t know who William was, and as soon as he’d opened his mouth, my father had hated him and his foreign accent.
“You can’t trust foreigners, Hannah,”
I repeated the words I recalled, and William’s grip on my hand tightened. “He hated you the moment you introduced yourself to him. I was so angry with him. You were scared. I could see it in your eyes, you were scared I’d walk away from you, and stay with my father. You’d set the boxes down in the front yard to shake his hand, and that was where we left them. I wouldn’t let him speak to me like a child. I wouldn’t let him treat you the way he did. I was ashamed of him and embarrassed. I expected him to see what I saw in you, what we had, but he didn’t.”

He squeezed me, hiding his face in my hair.

“On the bus ride back, you could tell I was upset, and I ended up crying for most of it. You told me you’d do anything to make it better, to please tell you what I needed, and my answer was you.”

He sat me in his lap, we both needed to be closer together. “You were giving up your father for me. I wanted you to make amends with him. I thought with time, he’d warm up to me, after he saw how happy you were.” He cupped my face. I knew it was true. I could now remember three distinct conversations, where he’d been pushing me to speak with my father. My irritation had always made him back down, though it didn’t stop him from prodding and hinting about it. It’d made me furious with him and love him at the same time.

I rested my head on his shoulder for a while, letting what I could remember fall into place. I could now clearly recall all the details of when we’d first met, and I hoped to keep the memories coming. “I slept on the plane. We flew in first class. I remember being embarrassed about being up in the front of the plane and wondering if I’d ever be able to pay you back. That was the first time it ever crossed my mind that you’d send me home. We hadn’t spoken of me going to London with you, just to New York.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. I knew he hadn’t known that.

“Your room only had one bed,” I smirked.

“You were a virgin.”

“You stayed on the couch that first night, and I woke up to you asleep on the floor.” I giggled at the memory. “I led you to the bed, sure you weren’t even coherent at the time.”

He awoke looking worried. “I’m so sorry, beautiful. I don’t know how I got here. I swear I didn’t mean to…” I cut him off with a kiss and told him it was me.

“That was the first time you called me beautiful. That was the first time we kissed.”

It was chaste, but perfect. His ears turned red with his adorable blush. I laid down on him, my head on his shoulder, and that was the end of it. He slept in the bed the rest of the time we were together. Things progressed painfully slowly between us. He held me at night and kissed me, but never once tried to grope me. It made me insecure, and I wanted to know if I affected him at all. So when we were kissing on the couch after dinner, I just reached down and grabbed him. He fell off the couch shocked, his eyes wide. He was definitely hard, but wasn’t expecting me to be so forward. He looked so confused at me, but I was having none of that. I joined him on the floor, straddling him for the first time, taking our relationship from sweet kisses to so much more.

It was me who’d wanted more and decided it was right to lose my virginity.

He’d brought home the papers for me to get my passport two days before. I hadn’t filled them out, afraid he’d take me there and would abandon me, but over dinner, he asked me to look at some flats online with him. He needed to know what I wanted in a place. He made it very clear I was coming with him to stay. I saw no reason to wait anymore, he was mine, and I was his. Nothing was ever going to change that.