Read Online The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson - Free Book Online
Authors: Dorothy Koomson
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extraordinary or special had happened to me. Not until Jack.
Not until this man, this man who could have anyone – who by all accounts had had lots of anyones – had begun to pursue me. His interest in me was so unexpected, and yet felt so right. I did not know why, but unlike anyone before him, he made me feel special, he made me feel like I stood out from all the women in the world. And he made me want to do lots of wild and crazy and extraordinary things.
‘I could take the whole day off, instead?’ I suggested.
Jack’s face exploded with a smile that weakened my knees and, as if he didn’t care where we still were, he reached out, pulled me towards him and kissed me all over again.
‘You’re going to go to sleep now, Libby. We’re going to take care of you. Count backwards in your head from ten for me.’
Ten … nine … eight … seven … six …
April, 2009
We were breathless from laughing; wobbly and soaked through from splashing each other in the sea; slightly sick from feeding each other wodge after wodge of candyfloss.
After the kiss at Brighton Station, we were inseparable except we didn’t sleep in the same bed. The last six months had passed in a haze of simple dates, glorious kisses and talking on the phone until the small hours.
Screaming and giggling, we ran and slipped as we made our way back to our blanket, shivering in the April chill.
‘So, are you going to marry me or what?’ he asked as we collapsed onto the shingle, fighting each other for a corner of blanket to dry ourselves off with.
I kept the blanket covering my face as I froze. Had he said what I thought he had said? After he waited for a reply in silence, I cautiously took the blanket away from my face to look at him.
‘Did you just—?’
He nodded.
I licked my lips, the salt from the sea tingling as it dissolved on my tongue. ‘How about we live together first?’
‘How about we live together while we plan the wedding?’
‘Marriage is a big commitment.’
‘I know. And I want to make that commitment to and with you.’
‘We’re having fun, but …’
‘But you’d marry me in a shot if we weren’t having fun?’ Hesmiled that smile that had been making me feel something like drunk these past few months, and I felt all my sensibility and reason start to beat their wings as they prepared to fly away. Again.
‘Marriage is for ever,’ I said.
‘I know that.’
‘Are you serious about this?’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever been as serious about anything in a long time. Possibly in my entire adult life.’
What about Eve?
The thought popped into my head. ‘What about Eve?’ The words popped out of my mouth.
Over the last few months, he’d talked about her, of course. Had mentioned her in passing but nothing major had been discussed, and I hadn’t had the guts to ruin what we had by asking. I could have looked on the Internet to find out about her death, but that felt like violating his privacy and trust in me. If I wanted to know about her I should ask, not sneak around finding things out behind his back.
His gaze was unwavering, direct. ‘I don’t want this moment, this proposal, to be about anyone but you and me. Afterwards, when you’ve said yes or no, we can talk about anything and anyone you want. But not right now – this is about you and me.’
‘And for ever.’
‘And for ever.’
The wind blew across the beach, pushing the chill that had begun to settle upon me from my damp clothes closer to my skin. I shivered. Shivered, but did nothing to dry myself off.
He shivered too, obviously as cooled by the damp and air temperature as I was. ‘I didn’t mean to ask, by the way,’ he said. ‘It just came out, but the moment it did I knew it had because I do want to marry you. Not simply live with you, but make that permanent commitment.’
Something told me to take a leap of faith. To go with the flow and take that leap. It was the voice that had wanted me to run out of Brighton
Not until this man, this man who could have anyone – who by all accounts had had lots of anyones – had begun to pursue me. His interest in me was so unexpected, and yet felt so right. I did not know why, but unlike anyone before him, he made me feel special, he made me feel like I stood out from all the women in the world. And he made me want to do lots of wild and crazy and extraordinary things.
‘I could take the whole day off, instead?’ I suggested.
Jack’s face exploded with a smile that weakened my knees and, as if he didn’t care where we still were, he reached out, pulled me towards him and kissed me all over again.
‘You’re going to go to sleep now, Libby. We’re going to take care of you. Count backwards in your head from ten for me.’
Ten … nine … eight … seven … six …
April, 2009
We were breathless from laughing; wobbly and soaked through from splashing each other in the sea; slightly sick from feeding each other wodge after wodge of candyfloss.
After the kiss at Brighton Station, we were inseparable except we didn’t sleep in the same bed. The last six months had passed in a haze of simple dates, glorious kisses and talking on the phone until the small hours.
Screaming and giggling, we ran and slipped as we made our way back to our blanket, shivering in the April chill.
‘So, are you going to marry me or what?’ he asked as we collapsed onto the shingle, fighting each other for a corner of blanket to dry ourselves off with.
I kept the blanket covering my face as I froze. Had he said what I thought he had said? After he waited for a reply in silence, I cautiously took the blanket away from my face to look at him.
‘Did you just—?’
He nodded.
I licked my lips, the salt from the sea tingling as it dissolved on my tongue. ‘How about we live together first?’
‘How about we live together while we plan the wedding?’
‘Marriage is a big commitment.’
‘I know. And I want to make that commitment to and with you.’
‘We’re having fun, but …’
‘But you’d marry me in a shot if we weren’t having fun?’ Hesmiled that smile that had been making me feel something like drunk these past few months, and I felt all my sensibility and reason start to beat their wings as they prepared to fly away. Again.
‘Marriage is for ever,’ I said.
‘I know that.’
‘Are you serious about this?’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever been as serious about anything in a long time. Possibly in my entire adult life.’
What about Eve?
The thought popped into my head. ‘What about Eve?’ The words popped out of my mouth.
Over the last few months, he’d talked about her, of course. Had mentioned her in passing but nothing major had been discussed, and I hadn’t had the guts to ruin what we had by asking. I could have looked on the Internet to find out about her death, but that felt like violating his privacy and trust in me. If I wanted to know about her I should ask, not sneak around finding things out behind his back.
His gaze was unwavering, direct. ‘I don’t want this moment, this proposal, to be about anyone but you and me. Afterwards, when you’ve said yes or no, we can talk about anything and anyone you want. But not right now – this is about you and me.’
‘And for ever.’
‘And for ever.’
The wind blew across the beach, pushing the chill that had begun to settle upon me from my damp clothes closer to my skin. I shivered. Shivered, but did nothing to dry myself off.
He shivered too, obviously as cooled by the damp and air temperature as I was. ‘I didn’t mean to ask, by the way,’ he said. ‘It just came out, but the moment it did I knew it had because I do want to marry you. Not simply live with you, but make that permanent commitment.’
Something told me to take a leap of faith. To go with the flow and take that leap. It was the voice that had wanted me to run out of Brighton
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