The Game Changer (46 page)

A light knock on her door made her jump. “Yes?”

“It’s me, Aunt Mel,” Ava said, opening the door and peeking her head inside. Ever since Melody returned from the hospital, Ava had been calling her ‘aunt’. It made Melody’s heart soar every time she heard it. Apparently all it took was getting pushed down the stairs and knocked unconscious by a madwoman. “You, um, have a visitor.”

“Okay,” Melody said slowly, pushing herself into a sitting position.

When Julian walked in the door, Melody wondered if she was still asleep, and this was a dream. In the weeks since she’d seen him, he’d lost a bit of weight, and his hair was in need of a cut. The confidence that always surrounded him like invisible armour was gone as he stepped hesitantly into the room, holding a slightly withered bouquet of violet-coloured calla lilies.

Ava hovered in the doorway, looking at Melody with a concern that was far beyond her years. Melody expected that of Olivia, not her ten-year-old niece. “Thanks, honey,” she said, smiling reassuringly at her. “I’ll be out in a bit.”

Ava nodded and closed the door.

Julian stepped further into the room and held up the flowers. “They were fresh when I got them,” he explained, touching the drooping petals. “I guess they got hot in the car while I drove around the block twenty-seven times trying to work up the courage to come see you.”

Unsure how to respond to that odd confession, Melody moved over and patted the edge of the bed. “When did you get back?” she asked.

“About an hour ago. I haven’t even been home yet.” He sat lightly beside her, as if he planned to jump up any moment. “When you stopped answering my texts, I called Olivia to see…I don’t know, to see if maybe you’d given up on me, and if she could help me out somehow. When she told me what happened…” He shook his head and met her eyes for the first time. “Why didn’t
you
tell me what happened?”

Melody sighed. “My phone got damaged when I fell,” she explained. “I know I should have called you, but I didn’t want you coming home just because I got hurt.”

“Just because you got hurt?” Julian repeated incredulously. “Mel, you could have been killed. You didn’t think I’d want to be here for you? To take care of you while you recovered, or at the very least be around if you needed me?”

“To be honest, Julian, I didn’t really give it much thought,” Melody said tiredly.

“I guess I deserve that,” Julian muttered. “But it hurts like hell. I’ve done nothing
but
think of you every moment since you got on that train.”

“I didn’t say I haven’t thought about you, Julian,” Melody said. “I just meant I tried not to think about you being here because it was just a painful reminder every time I wished you were here and you weren’t.”

“God,” Julian groaned, hanging his head. “I’ve really messed things up, haven’t I?” He stared at the flowers in his hands, then set them on the nightstand and angled his body so he faced her. “Let me just get this out, and then if you don’t want to have anything to do with me, I’ll leave.”

She had no intention of making him leave—now, or ever—but some twisted little part of her didn’t want him to know that just yet. She wanted to hear what he had to say…and maybe let him suffer a bit, the way she’d suffered the last couple of weeks without him.

“All those weeks ago when I suggested we should be friends, I had no idea I’d end up feeling this way for you. I had no idea that every time you looked at me, my heart would do this weird palpitation thing, or that every time you smiled or laughed, my gut would twist into knots. I had no idea that I’d want to be with you all the time, and know what you were doing every moment we were apart. I had no idea that you’d end up being my best friend, or that
I’d
end up wanting something more.”

Melody swallowed hard, but didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She was speechless.

Julian sighed and ran his hand through his hair, making the too-long strands stick out at odd angles. Melody resisted the urge to smooth it down.

“I’ve been playing this game for so long, I didn’t know if I’d ever feel anything real. But then you came along, and…well, you know how people say ‘you turned my world upside down’?” He paused, and Melody nodded. “That wasn’t the case for me. You turned my world
right side up
. For years, I was opposed to feeling a connection with anyone, because I saw what love did to people. It made them stupid, made them crazy. But…” He paused and searched her face, his eyes dark and intense. “Maybe being stupid and crazy isn’t so bad.”

Melody bit her lip against the giddy little laugh that wanted to escape her lips.

“I don’t know if your feelings have changed,” Julian continued before Melody could say anything. “I was a total ass in Ottawa, and I wouldn’t blame you if you just wanted to write me off and move on with your life. But…I was kind of hoping you’d like to be crazy and stupid with me.”

Melody’s heart melted at the beseeching look in Julian’s eyes. “I’ve never felt that weird heart palpitation thing, or the twisting knots in my gut,” she told him slowly, watching Julian’s face fall. “Until I met you.”

When he smiled, it left her breathless. She had forgotten what the full force of his smile did to her.

“So…you’ll be crazy and stupid with me?” he asked hopefully. When she nodded, he quickly reached forward to embrace her, but stopped just before touching her. “I just want to say…after all that’s happened the last few weeks, I think we should take things slow—really take our time to make sure this is right. This is completely new for me, and I don’t want to screw it up. I’d never forgive myself if I screwed this up.”

She didn’t think Julian was going to screw it up, but he didn’t necessarily need to know that just yet. They both had a lot to learn about love and relationships, but they had time to learn together. “Slow sounds good,” Melody agreed. “But you know that means no more sex, right?” she asked, her lips twitching into an evil grin.

Julian chuckled and shook his head. “Believe it or not, I can live with that, especially since you’re still healing. But once you’re all better…” He wiggled his eyebrows, that old cocky smile making a return appearance and lighting up his features.

“What am I going to do with you?” Melody asked with an exasperated laugh.

Julian’s grin turned to a warm, affectionate smile, and he leaned forward to kiss her gently on the lips. “Just keep loving me,” he whispered.

EPILOGUE

One month later…

“Last chance to change your mind,” Melody said, sliding the back door of the rental van open and leaning against it.

“And why would I want to do that?” Julian stepped in close, burying his face in Melody’s neck and inhaling deeply.

Melody suppressed a shiver and pushed Julian back with a firm hand to his chest. “Because we said we were going to take things slow, and I don’t really know if a several-week-long vacation is exactly taking it slow.”

Julian chuckled, grabbing Melody’s hand and moving in close to her again. “I’m not going to change my mind.”

“But the six of us in a vehicle for two days, and then a rental cottage for god knows how long? What if you get sick of me?”

“Melody Cartwright, are you trying to talk me out of this vacation?” Julian asked with mock hurt.

“No!” Melody said quickly, then slapped Julian’s shoulder when he laughed. “Of course not. I’m just giving you an out if you’ve changed your mind.”

“This is going to be an epic adventure,” Julian said, leaning in even closer and looking at Melody pointedly. “And I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“You’re insane,” Melody said with a slightly giddy laugh.
And I love you,
she added silently.
I’ve never loved anyone this much in my whole life.

“All set,” Cameron called from the back of the van, lowering the hatch and making sure it locked. “I don’t know how I managed to get everything in, but it’s in. I think we should strap Olivia to the roof since she’s the one who packed so much.”

Olivia appeared from the opposite side of the van with Ava, the two of them holding hands and giggling. Melody loved seeing the two of them together—her niece, and the girl who had always been like a sister to her. It seemed right. Rita rounded the van and stood with them, completing the picture.

“Hold on,” Melody said, pulling her camera from her purse and aiming it at the trio.

“Oh, here we go,” Olivia said. “We haven’t even started out and she’s already busting out the camera.”

“Get used to it,” Melody told her, snapping a picture of the three of them, then managing to catch a candid shot of them smiling at each other as they broke apart. “I don’t want to forget a single moment of this trip.”

“Me either,” Julian said in her ear. This time Melody didn’t even try to stop the shiver that shot through her, making her skin break out into goose bumps despite the heat of the morning sun.

He grinned at her knowingly and took the camera from her, slinging his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close before aiming the lens so he could snap a picture of them together. “Perfect,” he said, glancing at the picture, then handing back the camera.

“Let’s do this,” Olivia said, slipping an arm around Melody’s waist and giving her a squeeze. “Cam’s going to sit up front with Mom for awhile so he can navigate. Ava and I will sit in the far back, and you and Julian can sit in the middle.”

Olivia ushered Ava into the back and followed her inside. Julian held out an arm and gestured for Melody to go in first. “Your chariot awaits,” he told her, smiling broadly. When Melody went to step up into the van, Julian laid a hand on her arm, stopping her. “You know this is going to change everything right? Being together night and day for the next few weeks. It’ll be the ultimate test of our relationship.”

“Do you think we’ll make it?” Melody asked, only half serious.

Julian smiled slowly, his warm brown eyes turning to dark liquid honey as the sun slid out from beneath a cloud and shone down on him like a spotlight. “I know we will,” he said.

Melody felt a happy little thrill race through her at the confidence of his statement. “You always were sure of yourself.”

Julian laughed and gave her a light kiss, then pulled her back for a deeper, more thorough kiss.

“All right, you two,” Olivia called from inside the van, banging her fist on the back of the seat in front of her. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”

“Plenty of time,” Julian echoed in a quiet voice meant for Melody’s ears only.

Melody smiled as she climbed into the van and fastened her seatbelt. Julian did the same, taking her hand and entwining their fingers when they were both settled.

“And we’re off,” Rita announced in an excited voice from the driver’s seat. “East coast, here we come!”

Melody glanced up at her apartment as they pulled out of the parking lot. She didn’t know what would happen when they returned—maybe Olivia would decide to move in with Cameron, and Melody would be alone in the apartment again. Maybe they could turn Olivia’s room into a room for Rita, and she and Ava could live with Melody. Or perhaps Julian’s company would go global, and Melody could travel with him on business, finally getting to see the world as she’d always wanted to.

She might not know what the future would bring, but she did know one thing: she wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t going to let fear hold her back any longer. The future would figure itself out, but she wanted to soak up every glorious moment of the present.

She glanced around the van—Julian beside her, her mother and Cameron in the front, Ava and Olivia behind her, already trying to figure out what road trip games they should play. So much had changed in the last few months, but it hit her suddenly that life didn’t get better than this—being surrounded by the people you loved, and who loved you in return.

Sometimes change wasn’t so bad after all.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For so many reasons, none of this would be possible without my mum—her love, support, encouragement, patience, and never-ending belief in me has brought me to where I am today, and made me the person and the writer I am. Thank you, Mum, for being not only the best mother in the world, but also the best friend in the world.

Thank you to my beta readers and editor for helping me make this book the best it could be: Nancy Landry, Jessica Sankiewicz, Kathy Coleman, and JaimeKristal Lott. You girls rock, and I’m so grateful for your help and support.

Jess, Molli, Katie, and Ray, thank you for distracting me when I needed it, making me laugh, and keeping me sane. To all the amazing book bloggers I’ve met over the last year and a half, thank you for your support, friendship, kindness, and love—I don’t know what I’d do without this community of like-minded people.