Thirty-Eight Days (39 page)

Noel stood in the elevator as it made its way towards the sixth floor. He leant on the steel wall as he opened the envelope and sifted through the photos he printed. He smiled at the last one. It made him believe a relationship was possible for them.

Looking at the wallet-size photo, he reached into the pocket of his rain-drenched jacket and took out his wallet. Placing the envelope under his arm, he glanced at the photo of Clara kissing his cheek while at the beach. With a content smile, he placed the photo in a free card slot in his wallet as the elevator opened. He returned his wallet back in his pocket. All the photos had him hoping that the glimmer in Clara’s eyes was love and adoration directed towards him.

Stepping on to Clara’s floor, he made his way to her apartment. Noel had met up with Rob and Max at PJ’s before he took a detour to the printing shop. Things between Rob and Max didn’t seem to change even though they were keeping his secret. He reached Clara’s apartment and opened the door, aware she’d leave it open until he came home.

Placing Clara’s car keys and the photo envelope on the hallway table, he ran a hand through his wet hair. The smell of vanilla hit his nose. He walked into the lounge to see Clara sitting on the window seat with a recipe book in her hands. Her curls tucked behind her ear as she continued to read intently. Clara’s natural beauty always struck him as pure perfection. The way she studied the pages with a content smile on her face had his stomach forming knots. Noel walked over and knelt in front of her. The way she looked down at him was disarmingly beautiful. The sight of her angelic smile and those shiny brown eyes always made his heart clench; she was someone he didn’t deserve. But he’d prove to her and to Alex that he was worthy of Clara.

“How were drinks with the guys?” Clara placed the recipe book down next to a plush toucan and a plush penguin. He had never noticed them sitting there before. He was the one that showed her toucans when they were kids.

“It’s PJ’s, nothing but banter and Guinness. What’s with the vanilla smell?” Noel asked as he looked around the apartment for some sort of candle being lit.

“Vanilla and lavender cupcakes are baking. Thought I’d try my take on them. You’re wet.” Clara inspected his wet hair and jacket. It was in that moment that an idea sparked into his thoughts.

This would be undeniably stupid, but it’s something she wanted to do.

“We should do something unbelievably cliché,” he suggested and Clara let out a laugh.

“Cliché? I’m pretty sure
we’re
a cliché.”

“Come on, you said you wanted to do something cliché. Remember when we were in bed the other night. Let me quote you: ‘I want to do something cliché. Like out of a movie or a good old romance novel.’ Does that sound familiar?”

“Yes. I did say that. I thought you weren’t listening!” Clara grinned.

“Baby, I listen to every single word that comes from those pretty lips of yours. So let’s do something cliché!” Noel said proudly as he rose to his feet.

“Like?” she asked unsurely.

“Like dance in the rain,” Noel stated as he looked out the window. The summer rain continued, but didn’t roar like it did before. Clara looked out the window before she burst out into laughter.

“You’re not serious?”

“Very. Now, come on!” He took Clara’s warm hands in his and hoisted her up from the window seat. Clara smoothed her dark blue pleated dress before slipping her hand back into his.

“This is stupidity at its finest!” she whined, and Noel faced her.

“It’s not! I’m trying to be romantic here!” he stated, and that’s when Clara burst into a fit of giggles.

“Like how Romeo
romantically
kills himself over Juliet?”

“If you’re going to start comparing us to any literary couple then I’d rather we be more like Elizabeth and Darcy,” Noel clarified.

Clara’s jaw dropped. “It surprises me that you know Austen. I’m impressed.”

Noel smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead.

He led Clara to the balcony doors and let go of her hand. He reached over and placed his phone in the dock on the glass table next to the doors. Noel searched through the Lady Antebellum playlist he asked from Josie. It was easy to be romantic when he had Clara’s friends helping him out. Not that he wouldn’t be romantic without their help; it just took out all the guesswork for him. He pressed play when he saw the song Josie highly recommended, Lady Antebellum’s
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
. The soft sounds of drums and a guitar started to play. Noel walked over to the double doors and opened them. The smell of fresh rain hit him and he smiled. He turned to Clara; she recognised the song.

“My dear Lady Lawrence, would you care to do me the honour of accompanying me on this spontaneous and unbelievably cliché dance?” Noel bowed and held out his hands. Clara let out a laugh and placed her hand in his. The heat that radiated off her had his heart yearning.

“Why, Mr Parker, I do believe the honour is all mine.” Clara curtsied effortlessly.

He led her out on the balcony, away from the patio setting and placed his left hand on the small of her back. His right hand was held out as he started to slowly waltz with Clara under the drizzle of the rain. With each drop that hit her skin, Clara laughed and looked up at the clouds. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. The life in her caused him to fall in love with her, and her beauty struck him speechless.

A particular line from the song caused him to stop their dance. The rain hit them harder than when they first came out. Noel let go of Clara’s hand and looked at her; concern filled her eyes.

I can’t keep my love for her unspoken. This would be my heart’s Romeo moment, but at least Clara would finally know that I love only her.

He breathed out. His heart beating erratically, the rain covered his sweat and the nerves setting in. Noel could only hope she returned his love. Closing his eyes, he let the cold drops of water calm him. Noel opened his eyes to see Clara had taken a step back. He closed the distance and placed both hands on either side of her cheeks. Noel held her there for a good moment, remembering each feature of her wet face. His heart beat so fast and so hard he was sure that Clara could hear it. He took in one more breath before he uttered the words he’d been dying to confess.

“I love you, Clara Lawrence.” Shock filled Clara’s eyes and her body tensed at his words. They stood there as the rain pelted them with droplets, Noel’s anxiety rising as Clara’s gaze searched his.

“You love me?” The shock never left her face, and it started to worry him.

“Yes. I’m dead set, with every piece of me, completely and utterly in love with you, Clara. I think it was the moment I laid eyes on you again, after all these years that I started to fall in love with you. But the stupid idiot in me tried to deny myself of this feeling. This
is
real, Clara. Everything I feel for you is real. No one has ever made me feel this real before. Every day I fell further in love with you until I just knew without a doubt that I was.

“I did stupid things to stop it from happening—I know that now. I couldn’t understand the feelings I had for you, but I can’t deny them anymore. They feel right when I say them out loud, and even if you don’t feel the same, I just have to say it. It’s been killing me to hold you each night and make love to you without telling you how I truly feel. The amount of times I’ve come close to telling you has been unbelievable. Every time I made love to you and as I came apart in your arms had me close to confessing my love to you. I love you and only you, Clara. With every beat that’s in me and for the rest of my days, I’ll love you.”

Her silence tore a hole in his chest. Maybe it was too soon, but he was done lying to himself and hiding how he felt. He loved her, and that wouldn’t change. Staring at Clara, he knew his confession would never be a regret. To love Clara would be the single greatest honour any man could ever have.

Clara’s now-cold hands covered his. She didn’t remove his hands from her cheek; she simply covered his with hers. Noel searched her eyes for an answer, but instead her eyes brimmed with tears. She squeezed his hands softly, but nothing in her face changed. Her silence was like a bullet to his already shattering heart, his Romeo moment. A love unreciprocated.

“You really do love me?” she asked one more time.

“I’ll always love you.”

Clara let out a small, but confusing smile. The rain started to lighten up; the break of the sunlight added warmth in her almost golden eyes before she closed them and breathed in. Clara opened her eyes and let out the breath of air she took.

“I love you, too, Nolan Parker,” Clara confessed. And in that instance his heart stopped. It was no longer his Romeo moment, but instead his Darcy moment. Clara’s eyes softened, and for the first time he saw a new kind of smile on Clara’s face. One that told him that she felt the love she declared. He let that beautiful smile sear itself in his memory to treasure forever.

“You love me?” he asked in disbelief, and Clara let out a soft laugh.

“Yes, I
really
do love you. I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you longer.”

“Impossible, because I loved you first, and I’ll always love you more than you could comprehend, Clara.” He watched her blink as tears ran down her cheeks.

“Then what are you waiting for? Kiss me already!” Clara removed her hands from his and placed them on his waist. He brushed her cheekbones and looked into those brown eyes. She loved him and that made his heart swell; it filled and it made him content.

“I love you,” he whispered as his inched his lips closer to Clara’s. She closed her eyes and tightened her hold on his waist.

“Then love me forever,” she breathed.

“I intend on doing so,” he promised softly before their lips met and sparked an emotional tidal wave that submerged him. Loving Clara was a risk he’d always take again and again if it meant she whispered those three simple words.

N
oel loves me.

The thought replayed in her mind over and over again. He declared his love for her. There was no uncertainty or denial on his face when he said it. There was not a single hint of fear in his voice as he spoke those three words. It drove her heart to fill with such joy that she’d shed tears at his declaration. After everything they went through to come out loving each other was unbelievable, but she couldn’t deny her feelings towards him.

I love Nolan Parker for every imperfection he has and for every bit of perfection he is.

The sun’s rays blinded her eyes from the small gap in her curtains. She lifted her arm up, covered her eyes, and smiled. Being in love made her feel alive. Clara removed her arm from over her eyes and breathed out. She looked up to see her alarm clock hit 6:20 a.m. She needed to be at the bakery by 7:30 to start the new vanilla and peach cupcakes she was working on last night.

Gently lifting Noel’s draped arm off her waist, she slid out of bed, placing his arm on the warm spot she vacated. Clara looked to see she didn’t wake him. She loved the peaceful smile on his face as he slept. She had never seen anyone more beautiful. Noel’s sculpted naked body against her sheets was something she wouldn’t get over. It had been almost a month since he walked back into her life, and now they were in love. It was funny how the universe worked.

Clara tucked her hair behind her ear and walked towards her bathroom. She was tempted to wake him to join her, but that wasn’t going to happen. If it were anything like last night, she wouldn’t be making it to work. As they made love, it felt different, stronger, more emotional. The connection between them intensified, and she knew he loved her just by the way he looked at her.

If anything, we are like Romeo and Juliet.

The thought caused Clara to stop just outside of her en-suite bathroom. She turned and looked at Noel and realised just how wrong he was. They weren’t like Elizabeth and Mr Darcy. In fact, they resembled the tragedy of Shakespeare’s work more than Austen’s. Their love was in secret for fear of their own families—Clara’s brother more than Noel’s family. They were everything that Romeo and Juliet stood for, but unlike the star-crossed lovers, death wasn’t an option. She was hopeful, that in time, Alex would be happy for them. That her brother would see a side of Noel she knew and fell in love with.

I’ll make sure we have Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s ending. The one where Alex gives us his blessing.

Clara looked frantically around her room until she found her hair tie on the bookcase. She pulled through and tied it around her still damp hair. She was thankful that in her rush to get dressed for work she didn’t wake up Noel. Looking at the bookcase, she saw a frame still face down. She picked it up to see the picture of her and Darren from when they first started dating. Clara didn’t recognise the girl around Darren’s arms.

She didn’t know what love really was.

Tucking the frame under her arm, she walked over to her dresser. She took out her small notepad and grabbed a pen. She walked over to her side of the bed and sat down with a smile. She scribbled the words she would’ve said if she didn’t have to work.