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“Your father does not trust me,” Emil mumbled. “Please do not deny this,” he added. “I could tell by his expression.”
“He is overprotective,” she attempted to reason.
“No, it is more than that. He has a right not to trust me.”
“Why do you say this?”
“Because I lied to you,” Emil answered, his tone a faint whisper.
“What did you lie about?”
“My reason for boarding this ship,” he confessed. “When the pogroms began, I searched for you, to be certain you were safe. I hid from you so you would not see me. The next day, I followed you and your father to the university. When you left, I continued following you, onto the train, and around the port until you boarded this ship. I intended only to stay on board to see that you were safe.
But… a crew member saw and chased me. I hid from him, thinking I would still have enough time to get off the ship before it left port. I was wrong. It was too late to get off by the time I found my way back on deck. I could not have jumped overboard, as I do not know how to swim.”
“Why were you following us?” Anna asked, stunned by his confession. “Why was our safety so important to you?”
“Because I love you,” he admitted softly. “I always have, from the first moment I met you. I never found the courage to tell you, until now.”
Anna’s heart nearly burst through her chest, her pulse racing as rapidly as the butterflies surging in her stomach. The love he felt for her was mutual. She recalled in the past going out of her way just to see him at a distance, making sure he saw her. When seeing him struggle to speak to her, many times she wondered why, yet was thrilled to earn his smile.
“Why… did you lack the courage to tell me how you felt before?”
“You are so very beautiful, the way the light reflects off your soft brown hair and the sparkle in your eyes, the shade of your pink lips. You enchant me like no other. But who am I to be worthy of someone as sublime as you? I am a poor carpenter, who has nothing except my heart to offer you.”
Leaning boldly forward, Anna caressed the soft shadow of a beard on his cheek before placing a passionate kiss on his lips. Another followed, leaving them both breathless.
“Your heart is all I need,” she whispered. Pulled into his strong arms, more kisses followed. Feeling lightheaded and exhilarated when they stopped, she rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his chest rise and fall as her hand touched there.
“I am so in love with you,” he confessed again.
