Chapter 30
Peter knew he’d lost his mind, but he didn’t care. As he brought his car to a screeching stop on Foxglove Street, he wondered if he’d just lost his job as well as his mind.
Twenty minutes ago, he’d burst into the headmaster’s office and told him that he had no choice but to abandon his afternoon classes and said he was sorry and hoped someone could cover for him.
And then he’d run out of the school, jumped into his car and driven straight here before he could come to his senses.
Abandoning your post didn’t tend to go down well when you were in charge of teaching a classroom full of kids about how to become responsible young adults. At best, he was probably looking at a disciplinary reprimand.
But he didn’t care about that right now.
Right now, all he cared about was finding out which cruise ship Gaby was sailing from tonight so he could drive to Southampton and find her before she was gone.
All day, Peter had been thinking about those last tormented moments with Gaby and thinking, too, about what his brother had said last night.
There’s always a choice. You just have to keep looking until you find it.
Brad was right. There was always a choice, but Peter had been too stupid to see it—until now.
The light had dawned and he’d realised what he had to do. He only hoped it wasn’t too late.
As Peter leapt out of the car outside Gaby’s aunt’s house, his phone pinged and he saw a message from the headmaster pop up.
Uh-oh. He opened the text and read it.
Consider yourself very lucky, Mr Bailey, because one of your colleagues told me that you running out of school today might have something to do with that nice young woman you invited to talk at the school careers fair last week.
If that’s true, all I can say is—it’s about time.
And good luck—we want you to be happy. P.S.
Don’t ever burst into my office like that again or I’ll take the ruler to the back of your hand, boy.
The headmaster had added a winking emoji at the end of the message. Peter grinned, relieved that his boss understood that some things in life just couldn’t wait and damn the consequences. Perhaps he wasn’t getting fired after all.
But if he was, it didn’t matter—not now that he understood the choice he’d made and what it might mean for the future.
Peter ran to Jill Young’s front door and rang the bell. Impatient, he rang it again.
“I’m coming, hold your horses,” came the voice from inside.
Jill opened the door and looked surprised when she saw him there.
“Peter, hello. What on earth are you doing ringing the doorbell like that?” She held up her walking stick. “I’ve only just come off my crutches and you must know I can’t move fast yet.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I need to know which ship Gaby’s on,” he said, the words pouring out in a rush.
Jill frowned, obviously confused. “What? Why on earth…” Her expression shifted and a smile lifted her lips. “Ah, I think I understand. You’re going to chase after her.” Jill’s smile widened further still. “I thoroughly approve.”
“I just… there’s something I need her to know before she goes, before it’s too late.”
Jill was already pulling her phone from her pocket and scrolling on the screen.
“No need to waste precious minutes explaining it to me. I have her departure information and new work contact details here. She’s sailing on the Diamond Voyager which leaves at six o’clock this evening from the Ocean Terminal at Southampton. ”
Peter grabbed Jill and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you!”
“Good luck!” Jill called after him as he fled back to his car. “I hope you find her!”
He was opening the car door when he heard someone calling out his name.
Heard Gaby calling out his name.
Peter looked up and saw her hurrying along Foxglove Street towards him, pulling a suitcase behind her. Stunned surprise left him gaping as he tried to make sense of it.
“Peter!” she called out again as she drew closer.
“Gaby, what are you doing here?” he said, his voice catching at the sight of her. “I thought you’d gone.”
“I’m not going, Peter,” she said when she reached him. “I’m staying right here.”
He let that sink in. It didn’t. “What?”
“I’m not leaving on the cruise ship. I’m not taking the job on the cruise ship. I’m staying here. Because I want to be with you.”
Peter stared at her for a long moment. She looked so beautiful with her auburn hair flying in the cool breeze, her cheeks flushed from hurrying along the street. The light of the afternoon November sunshine reflected in her emerald eyes, bewitching him.
“I love you, Peter,” she said. “If I stay, maybe we can—”
He cut off whatever she was about to say with a kiss, pulling her into his arms and holding her so close she let out a gasp of air and a squeal.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t. You never could.”
Now she was the one grabbing him and kissing him as if their lives depended on it. She flung her arms around him, ran her fingers through his hair, pressed her mouth to his and sent what was left of his brains into outer space.
When they pulled apart, eventually, he saw stars.
“You came back to me,” he said.
“I came back to you. You told me yesterday that you loved me. I wish I’d said it back. I almost ruined everything when I pushed you out the door.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t ruin anything. You’re here now. That’s all that matters. But what about your job and your contract? You didn’t want to let them down. What about the amazing ocean voyage you wanted?”
“I realised, almost too late, that I wanted this—us—more than I wanted that. And as for the contract? That didn’t matter if it meant I might never see you again.”
“But you can’t risk your career reputation for me, Gaby. I’ll wait until you come back. I’ll wait for however long it takes for us to be together.”
She smiled. “The fact that you said that means more than you could know. But here’s the funny thing. When I turned up to start the job, they didn’t need me after all. It’s a long story. But what matters is that I’m here, where I want to be, with you.”
He hugged her again, still struggling to believe she was really here in his arms when he thought he’d lost her.
“Wait, what are you doing here outside my aunt’s house?” Gaby asked with a surprised laugh. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”
“I ditched my afternoon classes to drive to Southampton and find you. I just spoke to your aunt to find out which ship you were leaving on tonight. I was coming to tell you that if you wanted to be with me again once you’d finished your cruise ship job, then I’d take a leave of absence from school and follow you wherever you wanted to go. ”
Her eyes grew wide. “You’d do that for me?”
“In a heartbeat. If it was what you wanted. Wherever you wanted to travel to next, I’d follow you and find a job there. I could work as a private tutor teaching maths. It wouldn’t be hard to find work. We’d have an adventure, together.”
“But you love your school. You love your life here.”
“I love you more. After only a week back together again, I already know I’ll never love anyone the way I love you. I’d turn my whole life upside down if it meant I could be with you. Because my life doesn’t mean anything if you’re not in it.”
He watched as tears filled her eyes and a smile lit up her face. “What if I want to stay here?”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Is that what you want?”
“Yes. At least, I’d like to stay long enough to find out for sure.”
Peter felt joy rush through him unlike anything he’d ever experienced before in his life. He took her hand and brushed a kiss across the back of it, the feel of her skin against his lips making his heart sing.
“We can figure it out as we go,” he said. “All that matters is you’re here.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “All that matters is that we’re together. After all these years apart, we’re together again. For now, that’s enough.”
Peter smiled. She was right. This was enough. More than enough.
It was all he’d ever wanted.