Page 143 of The Man Upstairs

Hers were barely legible with her wrists bound.

M I…

N…

E

MINE

I looked down as she cast the marker to the side, lowering her head to kiss every letter.

Tingles flourished through me, behind each delicate kiss.

Tingles of love and adoration.

And she was right. It was true. I was hers.

And she was mine.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Rosie

The air seemed somuch lighter when we pulled back into Crenham, still in the dick sprayed car. We were all loving life as we unloaded the cases and went upstairs to the apartment. Peter was smiling at Lola, as though some kind of cloud had been lifted, and it was great to see.

“We’ll do it again,” Julian said as he brought the coffees out from the kitchen. “Maybe we could head to the coast next time? A paddle in the sea. Ice creams. Perfection.”

“That would be epic.” Lola grinned. “We’d have to get buckets and spades.”

Julian laughed. “Yes. Although I have to say I’m not much of a sand sculptor. I’ll dig the moat as you three build the turrets, how about that?”

The idea made me smile. I’d love to be building a crazy castle on the beach. It had been years since I’d been near the sea.

Lola and Peter stayed for their coffees then got a cab back to Dine’s Green. Julian didn’t think delivering them back to their front door in apervertsprayed car would help convince Peter’s neighbours to stop being assholes about him, but at least now we were all laughing about it, and Peter wasn’t hanging his head in dismay. I just hoped it would continue. As they hugged us goodbye, I got the feeling that would be true. Peter’s shame seemed to have eased away. And with it, so had my boyfriend’s.

Boyfriend.

Seemed an odd word for the man nearly old enough to be my grandad. Manfriend maybe?

Nah, if anything, he looked ten years younger than when I first set eyes on the man upstairs. Boyfriend would do nicely.

“Thanks again,” Peter said at the door. “You’ve no idea how much you’ve helped me and Lola.”

He hugged Lola tight before they walked out the door.

My boyfriend hugged me tight once we’d waved them off, letting out a long, contented sigh.

“Thank you for saving me, sweetheart. You’ve given me a new sense of life I never expected to be feeling.”

“In what way?” I asked, even though I knew full well. Julian was a new man, no longer gaunt and haunted, confidence sky high.

“Hmm, one word…emboldened,” he said.

“I think it’s called love,” I said, running my fingers down his shirt. “True love gives you that. I feel the same.”

“Emboldened by love,” he said. “I like the sound of that.”

“And I like the feeling,” I said, “yougive me that, Julian. Confidence to… I dunno, be myself.”