He would be here.
Unable to bear the way her heart was aching, she started to run, trying to look for any sign of Angelo.
Her guards called out to her, but Lane ignored them.
He would be here.
She only had to find him.
Her vision blurred, but she no longer knew if it was rain or her tears blinding her. Still, she kept running, unwilling to stop because she knew the moment she did, she would be forced to—
A discarded box that she saw too late made her trip, and she started to lose her balance.
Nooooo—
But it was as if fate was forcing her to accept the truth, and as she fell to her knees, it was like the sky had fallen to its knees with Lane, raindrops mingling with the tears trailing down her cheeks.
But still, she refused to believe he would not come.
He’s going to see me now, she thought feverishly, and he’s going to come out and tell me I’m such a fool. He’s going to tell me he was just joking and—
Fico and Umberto reached her. “Signorina, let us help you.” They tried placing Lane under their umbrellas but she shook her head. “No, p-please.”
“But signorina, you’re getting soaked—”
“No, please.”
How to explain that she had a feeling Angelo wanted her at her lowest before he’d come out to rescue her?
“Just p-please take a step back. Please?”
“But signorina, it’s raining harder—”
She choked out, “Please.”
Her two guards reluctantly stepped away.
And she stayed on her knees.
“Signorina, we have to go.”
“No, I have to wait. I think he’s c-coming out any second—”
But this time, the guards wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I’m sorry, signorina, but we—”
She shook her head quickly at them. “Don’t say it.” Because if they did, then all hope would be lost.
Lane would just be like everyone else, waiting and hoping for the impossible.
And that was for Angelo Valencia to forget his first love.
A shiver threaded through her body, but she forced herself to ignore the cold.
He would come out anytime now.
Anytime.
And so she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
She would wait here forever until he came.
And he would, wouldn’t he?
Her eyes closed, and Lane’s teeth sank deep into her lower lip as she fought the urge to sob her heart out. Dimly, she heard heavy footsteps make splashing sounds against the wet ground and wondered numbly if Fico and Umberto had also left—
“Tesoro.”
The rain stopped just as fear trapped the air inside her lungs.
“Open your eyes, tesoro.”
Ah.
She whispered, “I want to. But I’m s-scared. That if I o-open my eyes, I’d r-realize I’m just dreami—”
A kiss cut the flow of her words.
Lips that felt as cold as hers.
Lips that were so achingly familiar—
She knew these lips.
It was him.
She pulled away and opened her eyes.
It was him.
Angelo, down on one knee, holding an umbrella over the both of them with one hand, and in his other hand he held a crumpled bouquet of flowers.
He said hoarsely, “I was waiting for you at home, my Lane. I had this whole plan of teasing you then groveling at your feet—” A crooked smile formed on his lips. “I never thought you’d insist on waiting for me here…”
His eyes were pained as he gazed at Lane.
“I came as soon as I got Fico’s call. I just wish…” Angelo’s tone became unnaturally even. “I just wish I had come sooner—”
He stopped speaking.
Lane had started to cry again.
Dropping the umbrella and the flowers with a groan, he crushed her to him, and she curled against her chest, sobbing, “I thought you would never come.”
Ah.
No recriminations, no questions about the past, just Lane being true to herself the way he never had the courage to.
Just Lane, saying words that he could easily twist and throw at her face if he wanted to.
She truly was his perfect match.
He pressed trembling lips on her forehead, his chest tightening at the thought of how last night could have so easily made her leave him.
But she hadn’t.
She was still here, and now he could no longer hold the words back.
“I love you, Lane.” He felt her shudder in his arms, and Angelo tightened his hold on her. “I never thought a girl…like you could exist.”
Someone who would crave the kind of pain he desired to inflict—
Someone who could play this game that had made all other women leave him and hate him—
Someone who embraced this side of his that he hadn’t been able to risk revealing even…to the other girl—
And from here on, Angelo realized it would be like that.