Saved by the Cross (Cross 3)

38 - My girl

Being at the table with just Gray felt more awkward than Doyle's first morning with the bruises, and it wasn't just because they were sitting on the same side of the small table. Doyle put her napkin on the table. "I'm done."

He nodded and stood for her. She felt his warmth as he pulled back her chair. Regardless of his bank account, the man had manners.

He followed her to the elevator. This time they were the only ones. He cleared his throat. "Can we talk?"

"Again?"

"Please K."

Doyle closed her eyes hoping to hold back the tears. She felt the one letter name in her battered heart. She sighed. "Fine."

This time he held her hotel room door with his long arm, as she entered. She kicked off her shoes and stood by the window. Ironically, he sat on the bed and pulled on his tie to loosen it.

When he looked up at her his eyes were glossy. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"Mean what?"

He shook his head. "Anything in my text, except for I won't make your family happy."

"Why?"

"Because we'll never work or you'll resent me for ripping you from your family."

"I would have chosen you. I had chosen you."

"I couldn't face the loss again. I thought if I said goodbye it would be different. It wasn't."

Doyle let tears fall. He compared losing her to Beth. "What are you saying?"

"I don't know, but I have something to tell you. I never understood the significance until dinner."

She tilted her head. "What?"

"Can you sit? Here or the chair."

She picked the chair because she didn't think he would love her like she loved him. He moved, so he was at the corner of the mattress closest to the chair.

He ran his hand through his hair. "The night I brought you home you had nightmares."

"So?"

"You were dreaming. Probably about the SOB rocker." She watched his fist clench. "Like I said you were dreaming. Agitated. I held you to calm you and you kissed me."

His words bounced in her brain. "I kissed you," she whispered. It was as if they put the last piece into a thousand piece puzzle. She smiled. "I kissed you, so that means you love me."

"I have tried not to, but now I understand. It's as unbelievable as a magic fountain but I have no other explanation."

She cried. "You love me."

"Please don't cry."

"I have loved you so much it hurts. Every day, I woke up missing a part of myself."

He nodded and reached out his hand. "Come here."

She met his hand, and he pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they held each other for a long time.

He spoke first with a thick voice. "I can't lose you again. It will hurt too much. I have already lost one love, but I couldn't face your family ripping us apart."

"We won't let them. Thank God, I found out the truth. I thought about using the cross to get over you. It would have backfired."

"Why did you have it with you?"

She hid her face against his chest. "Because I was foolish. I thought I wanted him." She looked into Gray's eyes. "I honestly thought I could bring him home to sit in my mother's dining room. It must have been the fever."