Falling for Mr Wrong (18 page)

The idea of migrating here exhilarated and terrified her. She would have to make new friends and learn a new language. But if she returned home, she would most certainly do the same thing. Work and earn enough money to travel and experience life away from the small town she grew up in. Here, she had somewhere to live, someone to rely on.

Her parents would have kittens thinking her aunty had convinced her to stay. But this decision was hers and hers alone. Her heart warmed at the idea of starting a new life and finding true love one day.

In the short time she had been with her aunt, she realised that she loved working with her, taking tours and sharing history with tourists. But that was long term. There were two issues of residency and studying which needed to be addressed sooner rather than later.

At least she had somewhere to live. Her aunt’s apartment was big enough for the two of them and she could earn money by babysitting. Lifting her hand and seeing the prune like look of her fingers reminded her of how long she had been in the water. Reluctantly heading out, she sat on her towel and shrugged on a long sleeve shirt to protect her skin. With her hat on, she allowed the sun to warm and dry her skin. The decision to stay comforted her as warmly as the sun raining down on her.

The decision was made. She would shortly return to Jerusalem, but in the meantime, there were churches to visit, hiking trails to be explored and ancient sites to reflect upon.

Nate was sure his head was going to combust. When he had chased Tilly to Israel, he had a lead, but when she left him in Jerusalem, he had none.

Standing in the doorway to Maude’s apartment, he looked down at Tilly’s pint-sized aunt who had her arms crossed tightly across her chest and wore a menacing frown. If the situation were not so dire, he would have laughed at her attempts to block him from entering her apartment.

“You’re just expecting me to tell you where Tilly is.” Maude looked at him as if he had grown a second head, unable to believe he expected her to help him.

Couldn’t she see he was begging? Begging did not come easily to him. “I need to talk to her.” He would even get on his knees if it would help.

“Try calling,” she sniffed in derision.

“She’s not answering her phone.” He saw Maude’s face soften. She knew Tilly was avoiding him. Hope sprang in his chest that he may be able to win her aunt over. “I’ve looked everywhere, except for Australia. Can you help me, please?”

She pointed a bony finger at him. “You lied to me
and
to Tilly. Why should I?”

“Because I’m crazy for her.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I know we’ve only known each other for a few days but I want to be with her, protect her, care for her. I can’t wait to show her the sights of London and make her happy.”

He caught Maude swallowing a smile before coughing and speaking in a stern voice. “But the blog post. I read it. How can you be true to her when you treated her in such an awful way?” Pain stretched across her forehead reminding him that the exposé his editor had printed, about him and Tilly’s relationship, had hurt not only Tilly but her aunt too.

“I need to explain to her what happened but I need you to trust me. I did not write it. Please, Mrs Winters, I need you to trust me.” He caught her hand and her gaze, in the hope she would believe him.

“How can I trust you?” Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

“Apart from the blog post, I’ve treated her with respect. I got her away from the reporters, brought her to you, put her in a secure hotel and organised security in London for her,” he answered with a flourish, certain his actions would back up his credentials. Surely she would believe him now.

She shrugged, unwilling to accept what he was saying. “I promise you that I will not hurt Tilly. I want to apologise to her and beg for her forgiveness.” He paused. “If she tells me to leave, I will, you have my word.”

Maude stared at the wall, reflecting on his words before turning to look at him with a cool stare. “If she was really important to you, I’d expect you to walk on water for her.”

He scratched his head. Thinking, thinking. He blew out an exasperated breath. A clue? He clicked his fingers in anticipation that he would make a correct assertion. “Is that a reference to where Jesus walked on water? It’s at, um, it’s—”

“The Sea of Galilee.” She completed his sentence while giving him a look that told him she could not believe he did not know that.

He squirmed in his shoes, reminding him of being back at school and not knowing the twelve disciples. “That’s a pretty big place, can you be more specific?”

“Not really. I didn’t ask her exactly where she was staying. I suggested a couple of kibbutzim but there are plenty of places to stay at.” She waved her hand in a dismissive way which made his teeth clench.

He ran his fingers through his hair. He had a clue, even if it was vague. He could work with it.

“I don’t expect she’ll visit the springs as she’s just come back from the Dead Sea. So that leaves you with Tiberias, the ancient ruins in Bethsaida or one of the beaches,” she added.

At least he had a starting point. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, can I call you Aunt Maude?”

“Perhaps.” She said before turning into her apartment and shutting the door.

With a whoop, he headed to his rental car and started on the two hour drive to Galilee.

His hands tightened around the steering wheel of his car rental as he searched for Tilly in Galilee. There were a number of towns to search, plus, she could be staying at any of the kibbutzim dotted around the area.

He raked his fingers through his hair as his GPS directed him from Capernaum to Tiberias. Despite the air conditioning blasting with icy coldness, his skin burned hot. His shirt clung to his skin, sticky with sweat and sullen sulkiness. Swiping the back of his hand across his forehead, he followed the directions until he arrived in Tiberias.

Now what? After parking the car, he walked around aimlessly. She could be anywhere, hiking in the hills, unwinding in the hot springs, visiting the ancient ruins in Bethsaida, picnicking on the beach.

Looking out over the large body of water before him, he considered a number of options and decided to target the ancient sites first. Tugging his phone from his pocket, he opened the internet and searched for a tourist page on Tiberias.

A few hours later, cranky and irritable with the heat and humidity, he downed most of the water from his bottle before tipping the rest over his head, giving him momentary relief from the intense heat.

His lips pinched. He was not anywhere closer than he was this morning. If only he could get another lead. Just something. A family strolled past, their elated voices filled the air of excited excursions. He swivelled sharply, catching their Australian accent. Had they met Tilly? His heart raced – there was only one way to find out.

In a few long strides, he caught up with the family and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Nate and hope you don’t mind me interrupting your walk.”

Of course, they didn’t. They were on holidays, relaxing.

He went onto explain, “I caught up with an Aussie girl in Jerusalem and we clicked.”

The older woman smiled warmly and he continued. “She gave me her number but I lost it. I’m trying to find her.”

“That’s so sweet,” the woman gushed.

He held up his phone with a picture of Tilly. The couple examined the photo while the children started pinching each other, obviously bored. The parents separated the children before turning to him.

The husband said, “Sorry, we haven’t seen her but you could try the YMCA—”.

“We’re staying there and there’s a number of Aussies, so perhaps your girl is staying there?” she interrupted. Her husband rewarded her with a scowl which she ignored.

Not wanting to waste a minute, he thanked them profusely and sprinted to his car. With trembling fingers, it took a couple of turns before he was able to punch in the details into his GPS. He started the car, welcoming the air conditioner as he followed the directions to the YMCA.

He found it easily enough and after parking, literally sprinted to the reception, where he repeated his story.

She
was
staying here!

Punching the air, he smiled at the helpful Israeli. “That’s great, that’s great. Is she here now? I need to see her.”

The older man shrugged. “I don’t know.” He pointed to a couple of chairs. “You can wait for her there.”

His insides were vibrating with anticipation. He had found her, well sort of. If he waited long enough she would be here. He could not wait to see her. Unable to sit, he paced around the lobby area until the man at reception gave him an exasperated look. He sat, then stood, then sat again. How could he sit still when he had found Tilly? He ached to hold her, apologise to her and beg her to forgive him.

Tilly decided the best thing about travelling was meeting people. Today, she had met three women in their early twenties from America, all of whom encouraged her to join them. Instead of being alone, she had a wonderful day doing touristy things and when they invited her to join them for an early dinner, she was happy to oblige. As she walked through the doors of the YMCA, her spirit was elated with the new found joy of friendship.

After being on the run from the media and now Nate, she relished these moments of freedom, a stark contrast to the constant stress of being discovered. The joy ended and her feet froze immobilised to the ground seeing Nate. Nate was slumped on a chair, asleep. It was not that late but he must have been waiting long enough. Her heart quickened and she scraped her fingers through her hair. She could slip past him and leave him asleep, she could find somewhere else to stay or she could wake him and demand to know what he was doing here.

Chewing on her fingernail, her toe tapped on the tiled floor, she deliberated and finally decided to go with option three.

On shaky legs, she made her way to the man who had broken her heart, publicly humiliated her and tried to make up in a clumsy, yet humble way. He was here, so she would have to give him credit for that. Whether for the story or to talk to her, she was impressed that he had found her. Her fingers fluttered to her throat while she stood over him, watching the calm, rhythmic beating of his chest. One arm rested on his upper torso, whilst the other dangled by his side. Taking in his crumbled clothes, unshaven and un-kept appearance, she guessed he had not showered or rested since the morning. It was late and the air was still humid and warm. Used to the heat, Tilly had enjoyed the balmy evenings but the same could not be said for Nate.

Leaning over, she touched his shoulder and her hand jerked back as though burning herself on a hot stove. The feel of his warm skin and the hardness of his muscles reminded her of their passionate night and then his betrayal. Rubbing the back of her neck, she took a deep breath before leaning over and shaking his arm. “Nate, wake up.”

Groaning, his eyes opened, seemingly annoyed at being woken up. Rubbing his hand across his face, he yawned and looked up. “Tilly.” He straightened in his seat. “Tilly, you’re here.” Leaping to his feet, he took a moment before steadying himself and straightening his wrinkled T-shirt. “Please let me talk. Don’t send me away till I’ve had a chance.” His hand reached for hers, but she took a step back, scared to make contact less she fall into his arms and never move from them. Even after the way he had treated her, she was concerned about her traitorous hormones making her do something she should definitely avoid.

“I suppose so,” she said with a shrug.

He rubbed his eyes. “Let me wash my face. Would you mind rustling a cup of coffee or bottle of water?” He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers. “Thanks.”

Her body stiffened from the intimate touch. He is a liar and a fraud. But even dishevelled, he was gloriously handsome and the unshaven look made him even more appealing.

Grabbing his bag, the one he had hidden her phone in, he sprinted to the bathroom while she spoke to the night manager about drinks.

By the time she had ordered, Nate was by her side looking more awake. She all but swooned seeing his hair combed back giving him a vintage, sexier look.

“Ready?” He smiled warmly at her.

“Yes, they’ll bring our coffees and water to us.” She started to walk in the direction of the gardens. “Let’s go outside.”

Threading his arm through hers, he walked by her side and she caught a subtle whiff of his aftershave which reminded her of beaches and long summer days. Urgh! She suppressed the impulse to take a deeper breath.

Outside, they found a bench facing the water.

“Tilly.” He took her hand. “I want to apologise for hurting you, I never meant to. I’m sorry for not telling you who I really was, but the last person you wanted to see was a reporter, when you’re hiding here in Israel.”

A giant lump of indecision got caught in her throat seeing regret and remorse etched across his face. “Well of course you wouldn’t have told me who you really were. I would’ve run a mile if I’d known.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “I’m sure you would have.”

“I just don’t know what to believe and what not to believe. Everything between us started with a lie.” The words tumbled out in time with the tat-tat-tat of her heartbeat.

His fingertips trailed along her cheek. “Everything between us is real. I’ve been fighting my attraction to you ever since we met.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” His voice lowered, “I need you to—”

“
Kafe
?” The male voice interrupting them made her spin around.

“
Toda raba
,” she said through gritted teeth, annoyed at the young man who interrupted them with their coffees in take away containers, four packets of sugar and two bottles of icy cold water. Within seconds, said disturbance was gone and she was again alone with Nate on this beautiful balmy night facing the Sea of Galilee. A picture perfect moment, so right for the romantic in her.

After settling the drinks between them, Nate grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it down quickly. Tilly greedily watched the muscles in his throat as he drank. Finishing, he gazed at her. “I needed that. This heat.” He rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead.