“I did. I called you the next day and in a roundabout way I asked how your classes were going. You sounded stressed and said you were fed up and ready to quit.”
She frowned, trying to recall that time and suddenly it did occur to her that she had spoken with him a couple of days before they had broken up. She had been studying for finals and she had told him that she was frustrated. “I remember you calling and saying that, Myles, but I hadn’t meant it.”
“Well, I didn’t know that. I was thinking about what your parents said and then hearing you confirm their words made me realize that I couldn’t let you quit school just to be with me.”
Lisa was silent for a brief moment and then asked softly, “You bought me a ring?” She had expected one, was hoping to get one, but what she’d gotten instead was his goodbye.
“Yes. I bought it four months before. In fact, you almost came across it when you spent the night at my place and were going through my gear. You never looked in my gear for anything and I figured it was safe there.”
She remembered that morning when she had sneaked into town from Gainesville and spent the night with him. She had been looking in his gear for more condoms. “So, you figured you were doing me a favor by leaving?”
* * *
MYLES WASN’T SURE she was asking a question or making a statement but decided to treat it as a question. “Yes. I loved you just that much, Lisa.”
He watched as she wiped a tear from her eye and, knowing he wanted to hold her in his arms and could only do just so much with bucket seats, he released his seat belt, opened his car door and walked in front of the car to the other side. He then opened her door, leaned down and unbuckled her seat belt. “Come here for a minute.”
Desire inched its way up his spine as he stood back to give her room to get out, appreciating the fit of her jeans and blouse. The moment she was out of the car he took her hand and pulled her into his arms, both wanting and needing to kiss her. He captured her mouth with his.
And she kissed him back.
The moment she did, years of denying himself the one and only woman he had ever loved came crashing down on him and he deepened the kiss. Every cell in his body seemed to light up, heat up, and send shivers through every single pore.
He tightened his arms around her, thinking the memories of their kiss didn’t come close to doing justice to the real thing. And he also knew that he would never let her parents or anyone come between them again. No matter how many races he won, or how popular in life he became, he could only be complete with one woman by his side. The one he was holding in his arms. The one he had intended on asking to be his wife five years ago.
“I’m going to confront your parents about the lie they told me, Lisa,” he murmured against her lips, glorying in the taste of her.
“We both are,” she whispered, pulling in a deep breath.
He nodded. “And just so you’ll know, so you won’t have any doubt, I never stopped loving you.” And then he gathered her into his arms and held her. He released her when he realized they were getting unwanted attention.
He pulled back and looked at her. “Do you want to continue on to Ocala or turn around now?”
“I was looking forward to the drive with you. Now that we know what happened, we shouldn’t let anyone ruin any more days for us. And just so you know, I never stopped loving you, either,” she said.
Because he couldn’t resist, he pulled her into his arms for another kiss.
* * *
IT WAS LATE afternoon before they returned to Chiefland and drove straight to her parents’ home. Lisa was glad she had suggested they wait before confronting her parents. Her time with him in Ocala had been priceless, definitely special. It was as if now that their true feelings were out there, she felt renewed inner joy, a sense of peace.
Although they had yet to discuss where they would go from there, she knew they would have a future together. Each time he had found the opportune time and private spot, he had kissed her, awakening more and more desires within her, making her feel wanted and loved.
“Looks like your parents have company.”
His voice intruded into her thoughts and she noticed the cars parked in front of her parents’ home. “Just my sisters. It seems they are back from shopping.”
She was glad they were there, since she intended to find out if they’d known what their parents had done and had hidden it from her. A part of her wanted to believe they hadn’t known, but she couldn’t be certain until she questioned them. As far as she was concerned, her entire family had a lot of explaining to do.
* * *
“WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?” George St. Claire asked in an angry tone the moment Lisa and Myles walked through the door. Everyone was gathered in the living room around the big-screen television George had gotten from his daughters for Christmas.
“Myles and I are here so we can talk. There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding as to why he left town, Dad.” She glanced in the direction of her mother, saw the guilty look on her mother’s face, and then said, “And Mom.” She then turned to her sisters and the expressions on their faces let her know they didn’t have a clue as to what she was talking about.
“There wasn’t any misunderstanding. Your mom and I did what we felt needed to be done under the circumstances. You were making a mistake with him and it had gone on long enough.”
“So you thought going to Myles and telling him a lie about my dropping out of college, blaming him as the reason for it and playing on his love for me to get him to leave Chiefland was the solution?”
The look on her father’s face held no regret. “Yes, but it was only after your mom and I found that pregnancy kit by accident in your luggage when you came home from college.”
Lisa felt Myles’s surprised gaze on her and she turned toward him. She saw the questions in his eyes and knew what he wanted to know, especially since they had never made love without using some sort of protection. She shook her head before turning back to her parents.
“That pregnancy kit was not mine,” she said, drawing in a shaky yet furious breath. “It belonged to a friend. There was never a time that I thought I was pregnant with Myles’s child.”
She didn’t feel a need to go into any details and tell her parents that she had gotten a frantic call from Sheila one evening asking that she pick one up and drop it off at Ronald’s place for her. Luckily it had been a false alarm. “Even if you thought it was mine, you should have asked me about it and not assumed anything. Not to mention the fact that you went through my luggage by accident.”
No one said anything for the longest moment and then Myles spoke, wrapping his arms around Lisa’s waist and pulling her to him while he faced her parents. “I told the both of you how much I loved your daughter and that I intended to make something of myself for her. Lisa has always been the driving force behind my desire to succeed, mainly because she was one of the few people who believed in me. No man or woman can ask for more than that in the person they choose to be their lifelong mate.”
He then tilted his head and met Lisa’s gaze. “I love you just as much now as I did then, Lisa. If anything, I love you even more because you never stopped loving me—like I never stopped loving you. I still want a future with you if you want one with me.”