Navy Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Navy Blue: Chapter 37

Finn refused to open his eyes. This time the dream was overwhelming, too good. To wake up would break his heart. This time he wouldn't survive the loss of her.

The weight on his chest moved and his heart seized. His fingers stretched, weaving further into a knot of damp hair. In his dream Emily had been soaked by a rainstorm and he'd teased her wet locks from the tight bun she wore it in as her fingers floated over his chest. His heart jolted and began pumping again.

He had to know. Gritting his teeth he opened his eyes and almost wept at the sight of Emily's delicate nose and swollen lips. Swollen from his kisses. It was real. She had come to the base for him, told him she loved him. He was in her bed.

She lay naked beside him. Except for the chain around her neck holding his anchor. In the palm of his hand, the small charm hardly held any weight. He was surprized the flimsy metal had lasted all these years. His heart skittered at the notion Emily not only still wore the symbol of their love, but protected it.

But why?

The conversation at the party haunted him.

I didn't leave you.

This tarnished, cheap charm supported her case.

"Why Em?" He whispered in the muted light of her bedroom. "Why did you keep this?"

"I promised I'd never take it off." Silver irises tinged with a hint of blue revealed themselves to him. "Because I love you."

In Emily's eyes infinite possibilities blossomed. The future, free of fear, presented itself. Finn saw the woman he loved, loving him back.

Love. Finn closed his eyes, letting the concept of Emily's love coat the jagged edges of his heart. She'd used the present tense. Not I loved you. She still loved him.

A sniffle from Emily and his eyes popped open. Her face was wet with tears again. He hated the site. "More tears of joy?"

More tears streamed down her cheeks and her face crumpled and . "Oh Finn." She lunged at him, locking herself around his neck.

Sharp pangs of fear pricked at him with the sudden change. Finn didn't know what to say or do. His throat seized and his chest ached with Emily's every shaky inhale, and each ragged exhale impaled his heart. He searched for some words to stop this, but his mind came up blank. With no other plan of action, he cradled her to offer comfort while his blood chilled in his veins.

A lifetime later, the earth-shattering tears lessened. She released her grip on his neck slightly, keeping her lips against his neck. "Promise you'll stay with me."

"That's what this is about." This he could fix. With two simple words. "I promise. Not going anywhere." Not tonight. Maybe not ever. He hadn't signed his contract with the Navy. If Emily asked, he'd stay stateside with her. Find something else to do with his life. As long as it involved her.

Emily's head rocked on his shoulder. "Finn...," her voice faltered. "Oh, Finn... my letter... to you. About Japan. There was a second page."

A fissure of cold spiked up his spine. "Another page?"

"Yes." Grey eyes rimmed in red regarded him.

Another page. She'd written more.

All this time, all these years of staring at her words in the dead of night when there was nothing to distract him from his misery, reciting each word as a good luck ritual before a maneuver, in the hospital while recovering, trying to comprehend from the few lines scribbled on a scrap of paper what he'd done wrong, how he'd driven her away. Why she didn't love him?