Page 73 of All Mine (The All Mine #1)

Isabella

Daniel was snoring when Isabella woke up.

She must have passed out, because she couldn’t remember falling asleep. But after the excitement of the day and then the emotion of the night, plus a couple of large glasses of wine while they were talking, it was hardly surprising.

But now, hearing him snoring through the wall from his bed on the sofa, she wanted him up and out as soon as possible. He wouldn’t have had to stay at all if he’d not sunk a couple of bottles of wine and then told her he was driving home.

Still wearing her shortie pyjamas, she pulled her hair into a sort-of bun and padded through to the living room to wake Daniel up.

She had things to do. In fact, she had people to do.

A thrill ran through her like a current at the thought.

Having to postpone Etienne last night was the last thing she wanted to do, but it would have been impossible to relax with her ex-husband on the sofa.

She hoped he’d understand. She’d call him as soon as Daniel had left.

Daniel rubbed his eyes like a small boy and stretched and Isabella felt nothing apart from impatient for him to leave. He scratched at his chin, and she couldn’t help but compare his patchy attempts to Etienne’s gorgeous stubble.

Eventually, he was ready and she escorted him to the door, to hurry him up more than anything.

The square was quiet and empty, as usual on a Sunday morning. The only sound was from the church bells in the distance. November air nipped her skin and she shivered on the doorstep.

‘Thanks again, Issy,’ he said. His eyes were bloodshot, and his floppy fringe looked lank. ‘It was good to clear the air.’

She exhaled. He was right. It had probably been a part of the process of moving on.

‘It was,’ she agreed.

‘And it was good of you to put me up.’

She nodded again. ‘It was,’ she agreed.

Daniel laughed and she felt her face relax until she laughed too.

He put his arms out with a hopeful expression on his face and she stepped in for a hug.

Let’s face it, after this, she would probably never see him again.

He was starting a whole new life. And she was doing the same.

They hugged for a moment, a strange recognition passing between them that they used to love each other and now they didn’t.

Over his shoulder, Isabella saw Etienne standing in the doorway of The Bistro, his face crumpling in disbelief as he watched them.

She pulled back from Daniel and put a hand up to Etienne, as if to hold him, as if to tell him to wait, she’d be right there.

But his face hardened and he stamped back into the restaurant, slamming the door behind him.

Isabella flinched. What had happened? He looked hurt, horrified.

It was just a hug, why would he react like that?

‘I have to go,’ she said to Daniel and began to run, not caring she was barefoot and in pink shortie PJs.

‘Take care, Issy,’ Daniel called after her but she didn’t reply. Her focus was on her future, and he was her past.

Etienne wasn’t in the restaurant dining room, or in the manager’s office. She called through and heard banging in the kitchen and pushed through the swing door. There he was, cracking eggs into a bowl with more force than was strictly necessary.

‘Etienne,’ she said. He flashed his eyes towards her and they were dark, hurt.

‘Etienne,’ she said again, moving close enough to put a hand on his arm, but something held her back. They had to talk. She had to reach him. ‘What’s wrong?’

He spun towards her, an incredulous look on his face. ‘I’ve just watched you hugging a man goodbye after he obviously spent the night and you’re asking me what’s wrong?’ He was searching her face, looking for answers. Isabella frowned in confusion.

‘But it wasn’t — ’ she started, trying to keep calm.

‘You didn’t even try to hide it,’ he said and she heard the surprise in his voice.

‘Because there’s nothing to hide,’ she cut in.

‘So, you’re not denying it?’ he asked.

‘No,’ she said. ‘I told you what was happening. . .’

His mystified face stared back at her.

‘I sent you a message?’

He continued to look at her blankly.

She pulled her phone from the pocket of her short shorts and opened her messages, frantic fingers now wanting to prove to him it was all above board. She found what she was looking for. A message to Etienne, last night at 12.14 a.m.

So sorry but have to raincheck tonight. Dan has shown up drunk and will be sleeping on the sofa. But I promise to make it up to you tomorrow. Xxxx

She was just about to turn the phone to him to show him when she saw the tiny word next to it on screen.

Unsent. She started. Unsent . It hadn’t gone through.

Her mouth fell open. She must have pressed send and then pretty much passed out; she’d been so worn out.

Especially after getting a drunk Daniel up the stairs, manhandling him onto the sofa and throwing a blanket over him.

Turning the screen slowly to him, she showed him the message.

‘I’m so sorry. It didn’t send.’ Isabella hardly dared breathe as she imagined him waiting for her to text last night.

What would he have been thinking? And then seeing her this morning in these stupid shorts, hugging a man goodbye on the doorstep?

Poor Etienne. She couldn’t imagine what had been going through his mind.

Etienne took the phone from her and seemed to be having trouble taking the message in. He stared at it for several seconds before raising his face to her.

‘He was drunk?’ he asked.

‘He couldn’t drive, so I said he could sleep on the sofa.’

Etienne half smiled and shook his head, as though at himself. His shoulders dropped an inch or two.

‘That’s such a you thing to do,’ he said, closing his eyes for a moment. She could almost feel his relief.

‘I might not love him any more, but I don’t want him to kill himself drunk driving,’ Isabella said with a shrug and he let out a short laugh, before asking, ‘Why did he come?’

She shook a long, slow breath and let it go.

‘To apologise,’ she said simply. ‘He wanted to apologise for everything he’d done to me. He wanted to put right past mistakes so that he could move on.’

Etienne breathed out and she could see that it resonated with him. He knew what it was like to feel like you’d let someone down.

‘Did you accept?’ he said, tilting his head to one side, green eyes reading hers.

‘I did. Because I want to move on too.’ She swallowed. This was it. The truth. ‘I want to move on with you.’

His eyes flashed and she saw the quirk of a smile lifting his lips again.

‘And what was that?’ Etienne gestured out towards the square. ‘This morning?’

‘That was goodbye,’ she said, holding her hand out towards him, seeing it tremble in the space between them. Her chest hurt with the need to touch him now, to close the gap between them. She heard her jagged gasp as his fingers found hers and they twined together. It was now or never.

‘And this is hello.’ She tugged his hand and they moved towards each other, wrapping their arms around each other.

She held his head, pushed her fingers through his hair.

Held him tight, pressed herself to him. And he pulled her close so that there was no space between them, his body meeting hers at every point, as he inhaled the scent in her hair.

Eventually he loosened his grip and she looked up into his face.

‘I love you, Etienne,’ she said and her voice was certain and sure.

‘I love you, Bella,’ he replied and she could see the jut of his jaw as he spoke.

The honesty behind the words he’d never said to a woman before.

She felt the tears seeping out of the corner of her eyes before she could stop them, but she was laughing and smiling and crying all at once as he brushed them away with his thumb.

‘What you making?’ She nodded to the eggs he’d been cracking.

‘Pancakes,’ he said with a grin.

She licked her dry lips and felt the ache inside. The anticipation that had built since that day when he licked the batter from her arm, his eyes never leaving hers as his tongue met her skin, was prickling at her.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asked.

She ran her hands across his chest, spanning the muscles, wanting to feel his skin beneath the shirt.

‘Starving,’ she said, holding his gaze. His eyes were the darkest green she’d ever seen. They sparked under his heavy lids as he took her hand and led her out of the kitchen.

‘Then let’s eat,’ he said.