The Holiday (16 page)

"About time you came to that
decision." Her friend pulled out her cell phone and glanced at the time.
"If you hustle, you can catch the evening flight to Los Angeles."

Leilani grinned. "If I
weren't more secure, I'd say you're happy to see me go."

"Duh. I'll finally get total
control over the gallery." Sam nudged her shoulder. "Of course I'm
not happy that you're leaving us, but I'm thrilled you're going back to your
new life. You belong there. I could tell just by the way you lit up, telling me
about everything and everyone."

She thought of Colin, of his
crooked smile and the way he held her, like she was the most precious thing
he'd ever seen, and nodded. "I do belong there."

"Now that you've made the
decision, how does it feel?" Sam asked.

Smiling brightly, Leilani
squeezed her friend. "Absolutely brilliant."

On the way back to London, what
could go wrong did—completely.

Because she wanted to get back as
quickly as possible, she took her bag, which she hadn't unpacked yet, and
caught the flight Sam mentioned. With three stops, the flight plan was less
than optimal, but she figured it was better than waiting.

Her flight from Maui to Los
Angeles was delayed, which meant she missed the LAX-JFK leg of her trip.
Fortunately, a kind airline agent managed to put her on the next flight.

When she finally arrived in
London she was completely exhausted, but the challenges made her that much more
determined that this was the right decision. Nothing worth having was easy, and
that wasn't an adjective she'd ever attribute to the trip.

Much later than she expected, she
arrived at Heathrow, but her luggage didn't. After way too much time dealing
with one of the airline baggage people, she left Mel's address and phone number
and went to catch a cab. She gave the driver Mel's address and leaned her head
back to rest.

The next thing she knew, the
irritated driver was trying to wake her up. She glanced outside, disoriented,
and realized that she was at Mel's. She dragged herself out of the car, feeling
a tingle of nerves.

It'd all work out.

She nodded in assurance and
strode to the front door. She still had a key—Mel had insisted she take
it—but she didn't want to barge in. So she rang the bell.

A moment later she heard someone
unlocking the door. It swung open to reveal George, wearing light blue tuxedo
pants, a ruffled shirt open all the way to his navel, and shoeless with just
one sock. A black bow tie wreathed his head like a headband.

He blinked sleepily and rubbed
his eyes. Then he reached out and yanked her inside. "I thought it was a
dream, but you appear to be real."

Leilani smiled for the first time
since she'd gotten on the first plane. "Rough night?"

"I accompanied Mel to a
benefit last night. I decided to spend the night here. I must look a fright."

"You look like a 70s version
of the walk-of-shame." She hugged him, ridiculously happy to see him.

"Welcome home,
sweeting." He squeezed her and then gave her a smacking kiss on the mouth.

She laughed.

"George, love," Mel's
elegant voice carried from above, "put the poor woman down and get her
some tea. Can't you see she's absolutely knackered?"

George gave her a sheepish grin.
"Tea it is."

"Thank you," Leilani
murmured, watching Mel glide down the stairs.

Mel's expression was inscrutable.
Leilani had seen the expression many times over the weeks she'd worked with the
woman, always aimed at some unsuspecting soul with whom Mel was negotiating.

"I'm staying," she said
to cut through to the heart of things. "If your offer's still open, I want
to do it. If you're still amenable."

The mask dropped from her
friend's face, and it was replaced with happy relief. She floated down the rest
of the stairs and engulfed Leilani in a big hug. "I'm so happy you came to
your senses. I thought I was going to have to hie my arse over to your island
and bring you back forcibly."

Mel released her, all business
again. "This calls for a celebration. I believe I have a tin of biscuits
in the kitchen."

Arm-in-arm, Mel escorted her to
the kitchen, where George was preparing tea, including the cookies Mel loved
from Fortnum & Mason.

Leilani sat on a chair and toed her
shoes off on a long sigh of relief. "It was such a long flight. Everything
that could go wrong did."

George poured her tea. "But
you arrived."

"Yes." She beamed at
him. "In a funny way, it was perfect, because it made coming back that
much more meaningful."

He shook his head, handing Mel
her cup. "You're an odd duck, sweeting. No wonder Colin loves you."

At Colin's name she went still on
the inside, her breath held. She touched the ring in her pocket and took a deep
breath. "How is he?" she asked as casually as she could.

Reaching for a cookie, Mel rolled
her eyes. "You've only been gone a bit over a week."

"You have no romance left in
your soul, woman." Shaking his head, George turned to Leilani. "He's
suffering. I've never seen him so miserable."

She cheered up. "Really?"

"I told him he should go
fetch you back, but he's a stubborn bugger. Even MacLeod has been sad since
you've been gone."

"Do you think he'll take me
back?"

"MacLeod?"

"Colin, you sod," Mel
said dryly.

"I behaved poorly,"
Leilani continued. "If he rejected me, it'd serve me right. He showered me
with love and I tossed it back at him. I didn't appreciate what he offered me."

"Colin has been a lovesick
fool since you left," Mel assured her. "He'll fall to his knees and
thank all the gods he can think of if you showed up on his doorstep and told
him you wanted him."

George frowned. "You
do
want him, don't you?"

Smiling, she said, "Irrevocably."

They both sighed in relief. George
said, "That's good. Very good."

Leilani faced Mel. "But I'd
like to get something special to wear when I go back to him. The airline lost
my luggage and I have no idea when they'll retrieve it. They think it went to
Frankfort."

Mel pulled out her cell phone.
"We'll go shopping of course. After you've eaten and rested."

Leilani sipped her tea. It was strong
and dark with a slight hint of bergamot. Perfect. She sighed and sat back,
happy to be home.

Colin heard the doorbell, but he
was loath to upset himself from the enjoyment of his pint.

It'd been an eternity since
Leilani had left. Day after day, he waited for her to call, if only just to say
hello. She hadn't.

He hadn't wanted to call himself,
though he'd started to so many times. He knew she needed to make the decision
to be with him herself, free and clear of any coercion or guilt.

It was a calculate risk that he
was willing to take for one reason: she hadn't returned the ring. She wouldn't
keep the ring if she didn't intend to keep him too.

And so he entered a strange
purgatory, dreading to check the mail every day for fear of what the post might
deliver.

Nothing arrived, but neither had
she called.

So each morning he woke more
defeated than the next, until this morning when he finally admitted she was
well and truly gone. Purgatory became hell.

At least the sun had finally come
out. He lifted his face to its warmth. He and MacLeod had come out here to
drink, because it seemed so much less dreary than staying inside.

He scratched his dog's ear.
"Need another pint, old boy?"

MacLeod huffed.

"We're soul mates, you and
I," Colin said as he poured half his beer in MacLeod's dish. "What do
we need anyone for?"

"It's worse than I
suspected," a voice said from the house.

He and the dog looked up. George
strode toward them looking like a reject from 70s disco movie in a blue tux.

MacLeod barked hello and went
back to his beer.

"Is it prom night
tonight?" Colin asked, lifting his pint.

George walked up to him and took
the beer out of his hand, taking a long swig. "Lord that's
delicious."

"Would you like one?"

"I have one." He sat across
from Colin and took another swig.

He really needed to train MacLeod
to fetch him beer. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I've come to save your life
from utter ruination."

Colin smiled without mirth.
"I believe you're late at that."

"Leilani is back."

MacLeod raised his head, ears
perked. Colin felt as though he probably had the same reaction. "Pardon
me? I must have heard you wrong."

"Leilani is back,"
George repeated, enunciating each word. He reclined on the lounge to the left
and slipped his shoes off with a sigh.

He stilled, trying to wrap his
head around it. "How? When? Why?"

"By plane, an hour ago, and
because she wants you."

He sat up. "She said
that?"

"Yes."

"Should I believe you?"

George sipped the beer. "I'd
be offended if I didn't know what a wretched state you're in."

It was true. Even MacLeod glanced
at him with a nod. "Tell me exactly what she said."

"She came back to work with
Mel. She said her flight was long and they lost her luggage—"

"George."

His cousin grinned mischievously.
"Alright then, only because I love you and misery doesn't suit you. She
said she came back to grovel at your feet and beg you to take her back."

"She said
grovel
?"

"I may have sprinkled some
fairy dust, but that's not the point." George pointed at him. "Do you
want her back?"

"Yes," he all but
yelled.

MacLeod added a firm
woof
in solidarity.

George eyed him doubtfully.
"Enough to put your pride aside?"

"Didn't you tell me there's
no such thing as pride in love?"

"Did I? I'm a clever bugger,
aren't I?"

"George."

"Right." He leaned
forward, suddenly focused like a general in the time of war. "She plans on
going shopping."

Colin blinked. "Excuse
me?"

"She has no clothes except
what's on her back, so after a nap, she and Mel are going shopping to buy an
appropriately stunning outfit guaranteed to win you back."

He all but wilted in his chair,
the relief was so strong. She was coming back to him. His gamble had paid off.

"She's going to come here
and woo you back, but I don't think you should allow that." George pointed
the beer at him. "You need to strike first. Go over there and take her
back."

"Yes, I should." He
stood up.

"Do you remember the three
steps to a successful proposal?"

Colin winced. "Do you really
think that's necessary?"

"Yes. You proposed once and
it was unsuccessful. I guarantee if you do it my way she's say yes."

"Didn't she say she was
going to say yes already?"

"No, she said she was going
to ask you back, not that she'd marry you."

That wasn't acceptable. He wanted
her, all or nothing. He wouldn't accept half a commitment—not when it was
so important. So he nodded. He wasn't convinced doing it George's way would
give him a leg up, but what could it hurt? "Will you keep MacLeod?"

"Yes." George looked at
his watch. "Go. She should be up from her nap soon."

Colin dashed out of the house. He
considered driving but didn't want to take the time to park at Mel's, so he
hailed a cab instead.

The cab driver seemed not too
concerned about getting there quickly until Colin offered him a hundred quid if
he sped it up. Minutes later they screamed to a stop in front of Mel's home.

He ran out of the cab after
paying and was about to knock when the front door opened. Mel leaned casually
in the doorway, a cat-and-the-cream expression on her face.

"Where?" he asked
curtly, looking around.

"Her room." Mel picked
up her purse. "I'm going out for the evening. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Thank you," Colin
said, from the bottom of his soul.

"Do me proud, love. And be
happy." She air-kissed his cheek and sauntered out, soundly locking the
door behind her.

He took the stairs two at a time,
running all the way to Leilani's room. He paused outside the closed door to
catch his breath, and then he knocked lightly and let himself in.

She sat up sleepily, in bed, holding
the covers to her body. He froze, taking in her tired eyes, the tumbled mass of
long hair, and her bare shoulders.

Absolutely beautiful
.

He told himself not to swallow
his tongue.

"Colin?" she asked in a
sleep raspy voice. Then she startled awake. "
Colin
. What are you doing here?"

"I came for you, of
course." He walked to the edge of the bed and then got down on just one
knee, the way George told him to. "Are you naked?"

Frowning in confusion, she shook
her head. "I have underwear on."

"Good." He exhaled in
relief. That was clothed—kind of. But he suddenly realized he was missing
the tea. George had assured him the tea was necessary, so he started to get up.

She grabbed his hand. "Where
are you going?"

"To get tea."

"I don't want tea."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She nodded and
pulled him down to the edge of her bed.

"I'm supposed to get down on
one knee," he murmured, brushing her hair from her face. "George said
that's why you didn't say yes the last time."

"I didn't say yes the last
time because I'm daft." She smiled. "That's George's opinion
too."

"It turns out George is
smarter than he looks."

"What else did George tell
you to do? Besides the tea and getting down on a knee."