Page 103 of Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake
“Can we talk?” he asked, wringing his hands together in an awkward little knot in front of him.
Lizzie tamped down the impulse to throw herself into his arms. Searching for composure, she gave a haughty sniff. “Not sure why I would subject myself to that. It’s a well-known fact that the Australian accent is the vilest sound to penetrate the ear,” Lizzie lied. She was obsessed with his accent.
Rake’s serious expression slowly morphed into a smile. “God, I’ve missed you,” he said, letting out a small laugh. “I made this for you,” he added, turning to grab something on the counter behind him.
When he faced her, he was holding a large, wonky-looking cake.
“It’s supposed to be a heart,” he said, staring down at the lumpy mess. “I asked Bernadette and Indira for help, but they both told me if I wasn’t prepared to take on this labor of love solo, I didn’t deserve you.”
Lizzie glanced over Rake’s shoulder and saw the telltale curls of both Bernadette and Indira duck below the kitchen window.
Lizzie stepped closer, looking at the splotchy pink icing, trying to make out the words written in terrible cursive on the top.
She realized it saidRake♥s Lizzie, and she sucked in a breath.
“It’s really ugly,” she said, tears pricking her eyes as she dragged her gaze up to him. “I love it.”
Rake’s eyes glistened. “I, uh, I have something else for you,” he said, setting the cake down. He reached into his back pocket, pulling out an envelope. He handed it to Lizzie.
With shaking fingers, she took it, tearing open the seal. It took her a moment to comprehend what she was seeing.
“Plane tickets?” she asked, looking up at him.
“Flight vouchers,” he said. “Three of them.”
“For…?”
“It’s… well, it’s a promise of sorts. Obviously, I’m a clueless idiot and have no idea when babies can fly and the practicality of it, but I want to take you to Australia someday. You and the little one.”
Lizzie continued to blink at him. “Why?” she asked, unable to form more than one word at a time.
Rake dragged his hand across the back of his neck as he looked up at the ceiling and smiled.
“Because I want to show you where I grew up,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Take you to a new corner of the world to explore. I want you to meet my nan and I want my mum to babysit our child. I want to introduce my friends from uni to the girl of my dreams, so they can see what a lovesick idiot you’ve made me. I want to show you off and hold your hand. I want to take you to the beach and ogle you in a bikini. I want to take you camping and make love to you under the stars. I want to hand over all my old memories because I only want new ones with you.”
She blinked, trying to breathe past the lump in her throat. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and looked around like she wasn’t sure he was talking to her.
“I have… I’ll probably have to work,” she said at last.
Rake nodded, his face looking solemn. “For what it’s worth, Bernadette said she’s fine running the shop any time we decided to go. If you want to go, of course.”
“And you expect Dominic to give you time off your job?”
“I told Dominic to go to hell.”
Lizzie’s eyes snapped to his face, confused and wary. “You did?”
Rake nodded. “I told him that no one gets to disrespect you like that. I told him he could shove the stupid job up his arse because I don’t want it.”
“I…” She trailed off, not sure what to say. Lizzie looked at him. Really looked, taking in the beauty of his face, the sincerity of his eyes. Her heart felt stretched by the flood of emotions, like he had captured every star in the night sky into his cupped palms, enhanced them with whispered words of love, then let them float into her chest. Fill every inch of her.
He reached out, softly tracing his fingers across her cheek. Lizzie’s eyes fluttered closed at the touch.
“Why?” she finally asked, looking at him.
“Why?” The question made Rake laugh. “Because I love you. Because life was a shadow before, but you’re the sun. And I want the world to know that I’m an absolute fool for you and nothing makes me happier.”
“You love me?” A small burst of fear shot across her nerves.