Isaac took her by the arm and guided her into the room next door, a little canteen with soft chairs and tea and coffee making facilities. He encouraged her to sit down then he grabbed some kitchen towel from the roll, wet it and knelt down to dab at her cut while she sobbed so hard she could barely breathe.

‘What happened Bella; are you hurt?’

‘I needed to see you and I took the ferry to St Mary’s yesterday and I’d missed the last flight out and had to take the boat to the mainland and the sea was really rough and then I had to take the sleeper train to London and I ended up sharing a cabin with some lady called Brenda who glared at me the whole time and I was too scared to fall asleep. I got into London at five and I sat in a café where no one spoke to me and then I tried to find your office and I got lost and then ended up at the wrong office and then came here and got mowed down by some idiot with a giant suitcase and landed in a puddle. Then the lady at reception wouldn’t let me up here to see you and I had to lie and say I was Graham Miller’s assistant and I never lie and I called you several times and you never answered and…’ she trailed off, knowing she sounded like a blubbering idiot. Isaac was staring at her in shock but he still hadn’t done or said anything that gave her any hope and the big romantic reunion Bella had had in her mind had clearly fallen by the wayside.

Isaac grabbed the small first aid kit off the wall and pulled out a plaster which he placed with great care over the cut on her knee. ‘I think my phone is still at your house, it must have fallen out when I was there.’ He looked up at her. ‘What are you doing here, Bella?’

Just then Claudia walked into the room. ‘Sorry to interrupt but they need you back in the meeting, Isaac.’

Isaac stood up and pushed his hand through his hair, clearly torn. Was this it? She’d had her one minute of time with him and instead of grabbing him and telling him she loved him she had spent the time crying and blathering on about her ridiculous journey. Clearly the tiredness was getting the better of her.

‘Claudia, can you ask Marcus to take Bella back to my hotel.’ He fished his wallet out of his pocket and handed Bella a black key card. ‘I’m in the Lunar Suite. Order room service, have a shower, I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

Bella nodded numbly and Isaac moved to walk out the room.

‘Wait.’ She quickly stood up, grabbed a fistful of his shirt and kissed him. He didn’t kiss her back and tears welled up in her eyes again. She pulled back slightly. ‘I love you; I came to tell you that I love you.’

He nodded. ‘I’ll see you soon; we can talk about it then.’

With that he walked out of the room and Claudia went with him.

This wasn’t what was supposed to happen at all.

A few minutes later Claudia reappeared. ‘I’ve just called Marcus, Isaac’s driver. He’s waiting for you outside. I’ll escort you down.’

She numbly followed Claudia back to the lifts and Claudia walked in with her. They were alone so as soon as the doors closed, Bella turned to her.

‘Did Isaac tell you what happened?’

Claudia nodded. ‘He was heartbroken. I told you before that he has problems with trust. He trusted you with his heart and I don’t know if there’s any way back from this.’

Bella had no words. Had she really ruined everything between them?

The lift doors pinged open and Claudia escorted her out. She walked up to a large black car that was waiting outside and a man got out and opened the back door.

‘Good luck, Bella,’ Claudia said, softly.

Bella nodded her thanks, feeling empty inside. She climbed in and the man shut the door. She saw him talking to Claudia for a moment before Claudia walked away and Marcus climbed into the driver’s seat.

He didn’t say a word as he drove through the busy city streets to a tall building next to the Thames. Once at the hotel, he opened the door for her and escorted her inside. One of the porters came rushing over and Marcus spoke to him.

‘This is Bella Roussel, a good friend of Mr Scott’s. Can you escort her up to the Lunar Suite? She already has a key.’

‘Of course, Miss, if you’d like to come this way,’ the porter said.

Bella turned to Marcus. ‘Thank you.’

He nodded and flashed her a brief smile before walking away.

The porter escorted her into a lift and up to the top floor where there were only four doors. He directed her to the one in the corner clearly labelled the Lunar Suite and then left her alone.

She used the key and let herself in and immediately Rocket came tearing across the room to greet her, leaping up and barking excitedly. At least someone was pleased to see her. The room had a large seating area and even a large kitchen off to one side. There was a bedroom leading off the lounge and a wonderful view of the Thames and the city beyond which dominated the room. She scooped Rocket up in her arms and sank down onto the sofa, staring out on the view. Claudia’s words echoed in her head. I don’t know if there’s any way back from this.

She hugged Rocket to her chest and closed her eyes. What was she going to do now?

* * *

Isaac pressed the button on the lift to take him up to his suite and as the doors closed he leaned back against the wall and sighed.

Bella was here.

There was a huge part of him that wanted to cheer and shout with joy that she had come back to him when all hope seemed lost, but the cautious part of him that was protective over his heart was saying he shouldn’t just welcome her back with open arms. It was that cautious part that had him frozen to the ground when she turned up in his office; that had him standing in shock when she kissed him when all he’d really wanted to do was grab her, pin her to the wall and kiss her back.

He needed some answers from her and most of all he needed some reassurance that this wouldn’t happen again. It was OK if she got upset about her parents, it was OK if her worry of rejection caused her to get scared, but it was not OK if that fear meant she would finish with him every few weeks. If this was to work she needed to trust him and he knew he needed to trust her too. He had been through hell in the last forty-eight hours and he couldn’t take her back only for it to happen all over again in a few weeks’ time.

The doors pinged open and he took a deep breath and walked out. He opened the door to his suite and Rocket came tearing across the room to greet him. He scooped up the dog and looked around for Bella and his heart dropped when there was no sign of her anywhere. Had she left? Had his lack of reaction at the office caused her to run away again? He had rejected her, which was what she feared the most.

He moved quickly into the bedroom and stopped when he saw her lying on his bed, fast asleep. She was dressed in his t-shirt and, judging by the amount of leg that was peeping out from under the covers, not a lot else. Her hair was slightly damp, splayed out in gorgeous glossy red curls across the pillow.

Every bone in his body was screaming at him to climb into bed with her and just forget about everything. But he couldn’t.

He threw his jacket over the chair, loosened his tie and sat down, unable to take his eyes off her. She didn’t stir and he didn’t know whether to wake her or not, because he still had no idea what to say to her.

For want of something to do, he clicked open his briefcase and pulled out a new blurb they were working on for the Umbrella Foundation. It needed a lot of work but he wanted to get the basic message right before he passed it on to a professional team.

He read it through but his eyes caught on one paragraph in particular.

He read it again and then looked over at Bella. His heart filled with love for her. She had travelled all this way into London, which he knew she hated, to tell him she loved him. She must have been scared of him rejecting her and she came anyway. She wanted a second chance with him and he knew he had to give it to her. He loved her and she loved him, it really was as simple as that. All the rest they could figure out later but as long as they were together that was all that mattered.

He noticed her breathing was getting heavy and accelerated as if she was running and in her dreams she frantically called out his name.

He moved quickly to the bed, kneeling beside her and stroking her arm. ‘Bella, I’m here.’

She gave a little sob, obviously she was still dreaming. And he knew he had to show her that real love meant not running away when things got tough. He had to show her that one silly row was not going to break them. Love meant sticking by her always. Rocket had taken a long time to trust him and he’d never given up on her; he wasn’t about to give up on Bella either. And while he knew he still needed to talk to her to get some reassurance that this wouldn’t happen again, he knew her travelling across the country to a place she hated and was scared of just to fight for him told him more than words ever could. She wanted forever with him too.

He rolled her onto her back and stroked her hair, trying to stir her from her dreams. ‘Bella, I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.’

* * *

Bella blinked a few times and realised she was in Isaac’s hotel room and he was kneeling next to her on the bed. Outside the sun was just setting, casting a scarlet blanket across the clouds and painting the room with a rosy glow.

When Isaac saw she was awake he lay down next to her. While her mind cleared itself of sleep, the nightmares drifting away, he gathered her to him, pulling her onto his chest.

He was here. And he was holding her as if everything was OK between them. Her heart soared with complete joy.

Maybe they would be OK after all.

‘I need to talk to you. I need to explain,’ Bella said.

‘The fact that you’re here says everything I need to know.’

‘I love you, you need to know that.’

‘I love you too. There will be bad times and you will get scared but we will get through it because we love each other.’

Her heart roared in her chest. He didn’t hate her. She hadn’t pushed him away. Regardless of all her craziness and insecurities he still loved her.

She leaned up to kiss him and when he didn’t hesitate to kiss her back this time she nearly cried with relief. They really were going to be OK.

‘I’m not scared any more. I was scared that I wasn’t enough for you—’

‘You are always enough. Don’t ever doubt that.’

She ran her hand through his stubble and, safe in his arms, she explained everything about her childhood, her aunt and uncle trying to adopt her when she was only three and the fact that the man she thought was her dad actually wasn’t related to her at all and hated her because of it.

Isaac didn’t speak for the longest time, obviously trying to take it all in but eventually he spoke.

‘How do you feel finding out that your dad wasn’t actually your dad? That must have been such a shock.’

‘It was but to be honest it was such a relief. I understand now why he hated me so much. It wasn’t anything to do with me at all; it was all down to the very messed-up relationship my parents had and the fact that I wasn’t his. I never grew up with him around anyway so it’s not like I’ve suddenly lost this great father of the year. Finn was my dad in every way that mattered. But all this time I lived with this fear that I was unlovable, that there was something wrong with me. I was scared of love, of falling in love and being rejected all over again. I built these walls around me and you came along and knocked them all down. I fell so hard and so fast for you and it terrified me. I kept thinking if I denied that I was in love, then I’d be safe, I could protect my heart, but denying it didn’t mean that I didn’t feel for you what I have never felt for anyone before.’

She held him tighter. ‘I was so stupid pushing you away so I wouldn’t get hurt in the future because watching you walk out the door was more painful than I could possibly imagine. And the worst thing was knowing how much I had hurt you too. I saw how heartbroken you were when I was pushing you away and that tore me up inside. But I couldn’t stop it. I was losing the only man I’ve ever loved and I was so paralysed by fear that I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I’m so sorry. When I came here, I didn’t know if you’d forgive me but I still needed to tell you that I loved you – even if it all ended between us, you deserved to know what this was for me. It was never just a bit of fun.’

Isaac nodded. ‘I knew that – despite your denials I could see that it meant as much to you as it did for me. I knew I was in love with you the first time we made love, although if I’m honest I think those feelings were there even before that. I strongly suspected you felt the same. I was prepared to wait until you realised it too.’

‘You’ve been so endlessly patient with me. Why do you put up with me?’

He grinned, kissing her forehead. ‘Because I love you and I’m not going to walk away from you just because you have a few insecurity issues. We all have baggage.’

She looked up at him. ‘What’s yours?’

‘I never trust anyone. I’ve been burned a few times by so-called friends trying to get close to me only to find out that it was because of money or wanting a job. I can count on one hand the people I truly trust: Dougie, Claudia, there’s not many others I could name. I keep people at arm’s length; it’s really hard to spot if people genuinely want to get to know me because of me or because of how much money I have.’

‘But you trusted me straight away.’

‘I did. I guess it was the circumstances under which we met. You kissed me when you thought I had nothing. I was homeless and you didn’t care. I never had any doubts about your intentions. You gave me this feeling of being home which I haven’t had since I left Hope Island all those years ago.’

‘I feel the same too. I’m not running away any more. This is where I belong.’

He kissed her sweetly.

‘This is forever for me, Bella.’

Tears filled her eyes. ‘Me too. I promise, no more rows.’

‘Don’t make promises you can’t keep. We will fight and argue and then we will have amazing make-up sex,’ Isaac said, rolling on top of her.

She giggled. ‘I love the idea of make-up sex.’

‘Me too.’

She stared up into his eyes filled with absolute love and knew, even though she was miles from Hope Island, right here in his arms, she had found home.