was heartbroken, so I threw myself into my work. It was the one thing in my life that I felt I was actually not a failure at. It wasn’t until I saw you and found out that you had never remarried and never had a family that I realized what a mistake I had made. What a mess I had made of both our lives. That’s why I knew that if we were to get back together, as I was so hoping we would, I would have no choice but to tell you everything. No more secrets. I am so sorry, Michael. I love you with all my heart. I always have and I always will, no matter where you decide we go from here.”
“Where do you want to go from here?” he asked gently as his chocolate eyes searched her green ones for an answer.
“I want you back in my life. I want your forgiveness. I want to put the last fifteen years behind us and move on. I want us to start a new life together. I feel like we’re at the crossroad and we have to decide which way to turn. It’s now or never. We need to decide which direction in that crossroad we’re going to take, because once we take it, there is no going back. But it won’t work if you cannot forgive me.”
“Last night, I would have said I could never forgive you. But tonight, after much agonizing and a lot of good advice, I realize what it took for you to keep this to yourself. I realize the sacrifice you made for me even though I wouldn’t have asked you to do that. As long as I know that you still love me and that there are no more secrets and never will be again, I actually think there may be a chance for us, Babe. Maybe we just need to take it a little slowly at first.”
Angie rushed into his arms. “Oh, Michael, I will never keep a secret from you again as long as I have you back in my life.”
“Do you need to get back to the ‘Fab Four’ right away, or can you stay awhile and just be with me?” He kissed her forehead and her nose.
“I thought we were taking this slow?” She laughed as she gently caressed his cheek.
“We are. I just want to spend some time with you. We need to just spend some quiet time in each other’s arms. We have had a very heart-wrenching few hours.”
“Let me call Lizzie and tell her not to wait up for me. There is nothing I would like better than to spend the next few hours cuddling with you and discussing our future, Mr. Gray.”
“Um… that sounds good to me, Mrs. Gray. And I think you had better give your mother a call and let her know we are all right. She has already invited me to dinner.”
“Mom will be pleased to hear that we are going to give it another whirl, I’m sure.”
After Angie had made her phone calls, she settled back in Michael’s arms and sighed. “They were both happy for us.”
“I’m glad we had so many people rooting for us. Lizzie and Marianne paid me a friendly little visit this morning.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, the ‘Fab Four’ in action again. I’m really surprised Katy wasn’t beating down your door.”
“You know, we really need to discuss this Mrs. Gray thing. What kind of time frame are you thinking, before we make it official again?” Michael asked, getting back to the subject at hand.
“Well, so much for taking it slow, Mr. Gray. We can discuss that later. Right now, I just want to enjoy the next few hours being with you. We have so much to talk about and so many plans to make. But rest assured I won’t let you drag your feet getting me back to the altar. I am not letting you get away. We have a lot of time to make up for.”
Michael leaned down and kissed Angie. It was the kiss they had both been longing for. And now, at last, the longing was over. The last fifteen years and Angie’s painful secret were behind them. It was time to plan a future. The future they always should have had.
Michael lifted her from the couch and carried her to the bedroom where they spent the next three hours together rediscovering their love for one another. The magic was still there, and