My head dropped to my hands and I began to cry. I heard Oliver move from his chair and sit beside me, wrapping me in his arms. It felt good to be held again, but I missed Romeo and his arms were bigger, more protective. Romeo’s chest was broader and although Oliver smelled nice, of some expensive aftershave, it wasn’t soap or mint.
Oliver wasn’t my Romeo.
“Shh, Molly. Don’t cry. Nothing’s so bad that it can’t be fixed.”
I lifted my head. “It just went so wrong. We were put through too much and… and… I ran… again, just like I ran from you. I hate myself for leaving, but I just couldn’t stay.”
“Shh… calm, Molly.”
But I couldn’t calm down. I’d finally let myself feel and regret was flowing out of me with the strength of a geyser. “Something we both loved dearly was taken away, stolen, and I just left him to deal with it on his own. He has the most important game of his life coming up and all I do is miss him, think of him, but I’ve majorly messed up. I left him when he needed me most. How can I go back after doing that?”
Oliver shuffled back in his seat, his lips pursed in confusion. “What game?”
“He plays American football.”
“Oh, right. Is he any good?”
I couldn’t help it, but I laughed. “Yeah, he’s pretty amazing.”
Oliver shook his head in astonishment. “Molly Shakespeare with an American football player? Well, I never saw that coming. It’s not polo or cricket, but I’m a big believer that all sportsmen are good men. Your man most probably is too.”
I play-punched his slim arm. “He’s not just a football player. He’s the bravest, most caring person I’ve ever met. He understands me like no one before. He’s my soul mate—he’s my everything.”
“Molly, a footballer’s girlfriend.” Oliver shook his head, smiling in disbelief.
“It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen, Olly. The entire state worships the team, worships him. The stadium alone holds over a hundred thousand people. It’s crazy. Games are televised. They’re sponsored by international brands, and I ended up falling in love with the most revered player in the entire country.”
Oliver took my hand gently and looked straight into my eyes. “Well, the question is, Molly, why the hell are you sitting in this bloody coffee shop with me instead of with your soul mate superstar in Alabama?”
I stared back at him as his words rattled in my brain.
Why the hell was I here?
I jumped from the chair. “Olly…”
“Go, Molly. I understand.” He stood, like a true English gent, and kissed both my cheeks. “You left me a hollow man when you left last year without a word, but I realise now that you were never mine to keep. Your new chap is lucky to have you.”
“No, I’m the one who’s lucky to have Romeo.”
“Romeo?”
“Yeah, his name’s Romeo Prince.”
Oliver rubbed his forehead and chuckled. “Well, Miss Molly Juliet Shakespeare—how very fateful. But you’d better get to your Romeo as soon as possible. If I remember rightly, he has a nasty habit of getting himself into lots of bother in your absence.”
I smiled at his teasing, pressing a thankful kiss to his smooth cheek. “Good-bye, Oliver. Thank you for… everything.”
“Thank you, Molly. Good luck with your new life in America.”
With a new determination, I ran to the university guest accommodation as fast as my legs would take me.
I rushed into my room and began throwing my things in my bag. I’d almost fully packed when there was light tap on my door.
“May I come in, Molly?”
It was Suzy.
I let her in and she glanced at me in panic after she’d taken in my empty room. “Are you going somewhere again? Where to now, Molly? This has to stop—”
“I’m going back,” I interrupted.
Her frown smoothed and a flicker of hope lit in her milky grey eyes. “To?”
“Alabama. Oh, no, actually…” I checked the date on the calendar on the wall. “I’m going to Pasadena, California, Rose Bowl Stadium.”
A huge smile pulled on Suzy’s crepe-thin skin. “Molly. Thank goodness. What made you change your mind?”
“An old friend made me confront just how much I miss and love Romeo. He needs me and I just left. I need to go and make it right.” I played with my hands. “It will be difficult going back there, after… after… you know, but I have to, for him.”