I Think I Love You (Australian Sports Star Series Book 3) (16 page)
Read I Think I Love You (Australian Sports Star Series Book 3) Online
Authors: Iris Blobel
“Rachel around?” Oliver asked.
Shaking her head, Sarah said, “No.” Surprised she actually still had a voice. “She’s at some information session.” She looked around the corner and into the kitchen to check on the time. “I don’t expect her back for another hour or two.”
Ty placed his hand around Oliver’s neck and pushed him towards the back of the house.
When Sarah heard the sound of the backdoor fly screen, she turned to Markus and met his gaze.
“Baby.”
She held up her arm.
“I’m sorry. I was an ass. Big time.”
Although happy to hear his words, Sarah was suspicious. After all, once bitten, twice shy. And she’d been bitten more than once. She studied him, standing there in front of her, and the expression on his face close to blank. It took all her strength not to touch him, not to throw her arms around his neck.
“Did the others put you up to this?”
He frowned. “Up to what?”
“Apologising.”
A sudden thin chill hung in the air, and she felt vulnerable as she watched his lips thin and his nostrils flare. “Excuse me?”
You heard me
was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit her lips, instead returning his glare.
He blew out a breath, and then rubbed his hands over his face. “You met her the other day, didn’t you? She was nice. Okay, she’s sexy as well, but when I agreed to dinner, I had a dinner in mind with Mrs. Gibson and Dakota’s son. Not a date.” Markus moved and leaned his shoulder against the wall. “When you called her a bitch, I was a bit taken aback.”
When he crossed his arms in front of his chest, Sarah worried he was backing off.
“Baby, I handled the situation wrong. I’m sorry for that. I am truly sorry.”
Trying hard not to let her tears win the battle, she blinked a couple of times.
He pushed away from the wall and stepped closer. Placing his finger under her chin, he tilted her head back up until she met his gaze.
“How can I convince you that you’re the one I want to be with?”
Her heart pounded in her throat. Staring into his eyes, she thought she saw his sincerity and regret. She took his hand and moved it away before looking up at the ceiling. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she knew deep inside he wouldn’t lie. She knew she could trust him. After all, she’d trusted him most of her life, with everything.
“Honest, baby, I mean what I said.”
She swallowed hard as she met his gaze, confused about her emotions. Hope and confusion spinning around in her head, creating a big mess.
***
Markus saw it in her eyes. She still doubted him. How could he make her believe that he wanted her? He said sorry and really meant it. What else did he have to do to convince her?
Caressing her cheek with his thumb, he said quietly, “We Italians are big on families, and the funny thing is, when I think of the future, I see you in it. You and me.”
“Marky.”
He moved his finger to her lips. “Shh. You, me, little bambini.” She watched him warily as he drew in his lips before he said, “I think I love you, baby.”
Sarah was too startled by his words to say anything.
Markus pressed his forehead into hers and brushed her lips with his. “Let me rephrase this. I
do
love you.”
His body pounded as he waited for her reply.
She bit at her lower lip and whispered, “Marky, you’re talking family and babies, yet when one sexy neighbour pops up, things are going haywire.”
Letting out a long sigh, he nodded. “I learn from my mistakes.”
The smile on her face gave him some hope, so he continued, “And I rarely make a mistake twice, especially not when I know how much I could lose.”
Raising her eyebrows, she looked at him questioningly.
“You,” he whispered. “I don’t want to lose you, baby.”
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his friends’ shadows at the back door, which meant he had an audience for this. The more important to get this right.
Saying the right thing had never been one of his strengths. He realised he was still waiting for her reply, so he ignored his friends and said, “Baby, I did the wrong thing this afternoon, but when I heard the door shut it was like someone had pulled both my legs from underneath me.”
“Marky,” she whispered.
Markus felt the helplessness grow within him. “I hurt you.” He drew in a breath. “I hurt you at a time when you needed to trust me the most. I was an idiot, I admit that. But I learn from my mistakes. I love you, Sarah.”
“Damn!”
He blinked a couple of times.
“When you call me Sarah, I worry about what I’ve done wrong.”
He smiled and slid a hand to the nape of her neck. “You haven’t answered me, yet.”
“Why now?”
When she met his gaze, he thought he saw every little worry in her eyes. “Because when you lured me into your bed, it was like someone lifted a fog, opened a door, call it what you want…the penny’s dropped.”
She laughed, and damn he thought it’d been the best thing he’d heard all afternoon. With a thought popping into his mind, he leaned back and crammed one hand into a pocket. He got out his key ring and slowly removed the few keys on it, sliding them through the circle one by one.
“Marky?”
“Hold that thought, baby.”
When the ring was free of keys, he reached for her hand and kissed her palm.
“I think you’re the most amazing person. You deal with life and everything it throws at you with dignity and a whole lot of humour. You treat everyone the same, and you do the best to help everyone. I want to be part of this world, baby.”
“I’m not like that. I’m the one you spoil.”
“Yes, you are all that and I’m not spoiling you, I’m giving back in a way I can. You’ve given me so much more in life. You think the money I gave you is spoiling you?” He choked back a laugh. “It’s nothing compared to the days you held my hand when I needed to make decisions, or staying up in the middle of the night because I was on the other side of the world needing to talk to someone.”
He heard a collective
aww
from the backdoor, but ignored them.
Sliding the key ring onto her finger, he asked, “Will you marry me, baby?”
“What?” she nearly screamed at the same time as he heard the guys spilling their drinks.
His whole confidence almost shattered into a thousand pieces. It was nearly the hardest thing he’d ever done.
“What about your job?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It’s mostly here in Melbourne, apart from the occasional jobs in Sydney.”
“But Rachel.”
“What about her?”
“I can’t. I promised her—”
Markus put an arm around her waist and drew her close to kiss her. When he pulled back, he said, “When you’re ready, you can move in and Rachel can have your house.”
“But—”
“No buts.”
He held her gaze and watched every little move. When she moved away from him slightly, he was reluctant to let her, but noticed it was to lift her arm. Sarah stared at the ring on her finger and burst into laughter.
“God, you’re about the craziest person ever!” she said without looking away from her hand.
“Crazy for you,” he replied.
“I will get something slightly nicer, though, right?”
“Nope.”
Her head shot up to look at him.
A smile tugged at his lips. “You haven’t said yes, yet.”
“Oh for God’s sake, Sarah, will you just say it?” Oliver shouted from the back.
They turned to look at Ty and Oliver.
“Excuse me,” she said. “This is a private conversation.”
Tyson opened the door and came towards them, closely followed by Oliver. When he stood next to the couple, he shook his head, “There’s never been much privacy between us. C’mon, sweetheart, tell him.”
Sarah lifted her hand to show the two friends the ring. “I’m worried if I say yes, I’ll have to wear this atrocious thing for the rest of my life.”
They all laughed, and she turned slowly to wrap her arms around Markus’ neck. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, yes, yes.”
Markus’ heart felt like going to burst. Everything inside him hummed with joy. She’d made him work hard for it, but he knew he’d agreed to the best contract in his life. Sarah was all he wanted. He cupped her face and kissed her, putting everything into this kiss to let her know how much he loved her.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my daughters: Carleigh, not only for having thought of this book’s title, but for amazing me every day the way you tackle life. To Tara, our ‘not-so-little-anymore’ youngest, for having accomplished so much over the last year. I'm very proud to have you both in my life.
And to my husband, who steps up when I have to step down. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dani for her help in all things soccer, Marisa for her knowledge in Italian, and last, but not least, Emilia, for being such a great beta reader! Anything I didn't get right is my own fault.
My appreciation, again, to the team at Limitless Publishing to make my story shine.
About the Author
Iris Blobel was born and raised in Germany and immigrated to Australia only in the late 1990s. Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living in Scotland and London, as well as in Canada, where she actually had met her future husband. Her love for putting her stories onto paper has only recently emerged, but now her laptop is a constant companion.
Iris resides west of Melbourne with her husband and her beautiful two daughters, as well as her two dogs. In addition to her job at a private school she also presents a German Program at the local Community Radio.
