Chapter 49
49
Rachel had been right, though. As endlessly enthralling as sex with her was, cabin fever set in around day three. I finally gave in and said I’d like to take a walk. “Maybe you could show me around the neighborhood p>
“There’s not much here. Let’s go to one of the nearby parks instead p>
“Sounds good to me p>
After we showered and dressed, we took a taxi to St. James’s Park. It was across the Thames River, right next to Buckingham Palace.
The park was gorgeous, with beautiful views of the palace across a central lake. The May weather was cool but not cold – around 60 degrees Fahrenheit – and the sun peeked out frequently from behind the ever-present clouds.
As we walked along, I held Rachel close to me, and she snuggled up under my arm.
“I wish you could stay here forever,” she murmured.
I stopped walking, so she was forced to stop, too.
She immediately looked afraid, like she wished she hadn’t said it. “I’m sorry, that was way too early – ”
“It wasn’t too early,” I said gently.
“It was,” she said like she was beating herself up.
I put my finger under her chin and tipped her head up so we were looking into each other’s eyes. “Rachel – ”
She tried to avert her gaze. “Just forget I – ”
“I love you,” I said.
She gasped and stared at me in shock.
“You don’t have to say anything back,” I said quietly. “You don’t even have to feel the same way. But I love you, and I wanted you to know. I fell for you that first night in Afghanistan – and I fell even deeper in love with every word you wrote me over the last three months p>
Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I… I love you, too p>
I leaned down and kissed her soft and slow.
When I finally pulled back, I said with a smile, “See? Not too early p>
She exhaled and smiled. “Okay. Not too early p>
“But are you serious? Would you want me to move here if I could p>
She smiled sadly. “Yes. I would. But you have another three years left in the military, right? And that’s if you even wanted to get out. I assumed you intended to make a career out of it p>
“That was the plan… until I met you p>
There was a hitch in her breathing, and her eyes opened wide.
“Is there any chance you could move to Sweden in the meantime?” I asked. “Maybe, I don’t know, some kind of international branch p>
“As close of allies as our countries are, I doubt Sweden would take kindly to British Intelligence setting up shop in their backyard,” she said wryly.
“Would you ever consider leaving your job p>
She winced. “Please don’t ask me to do that p>
“I won’t. I just wanted to know if it was in the realm of possibility p>
She caressed my beard. “I… probably not p>
“Good to know p>
“I would never ask you to leave your career, either p>
“I know,” I said, and brought her hand to my lips so I could kiss it.
She looked conflicted. “Lars – ”
“We don’t have to figure it out right this instant. Like you said, I’ve got three more years before I even have any options. I love you, and you love me – that’s all we need to know right now. Let’s just enjoy this week and not worry about the future, okay p>
She nodded…
And I pulled her to me and kissed her again.