It doesn’t get any better than this.
Barely dressed in our underwear, we’re having breakfast in our hotel room and Maddie is radiant.
I love everything about her—the way she almost snorts when she laughs, how independent and strong she is, and how her eyes smile when she’s trying to suppress a grin at how much I eat.
I finished off my eggs Benedict, and I ate all the fruit garnishes while drinking half the pitcher of orange juice. She’s eaten about a third of her frittata and hasn’t touched her side of hash browns.
She sets her fork, spoon, and knife on her plate. That’s when I know she’s done. She sees me staring at her food and does that thing—the smile in her eyes while she tries not to laugh. “Here you go, big guy.”
As soon as she slides her plate over, Itake a big bite of the frittata. “Thanks,” I say with my mouth half full. Damn, it’s good. She always orders better food than me. Maybe I should start getting what she gets.
She watches me eat with an amused look, then turns serious all of a sudden. “I’m nervous about what your sister is going to say.”
I swallow my last bite. “It’s all going to work out. You’ll see.” Might as well get this over with so she can relax. I set my phone on the table, put it on speaker, and place the call. It rings several times before we get a greeting that says to leave a message. “Elsie, it’s me. Call me back.” I hang up, then turn my attention back to the beautiful girl in front of me. “She’s probably in a meeting or something.”
“Bummer. I’d like to get this over with.”
My phone pings. “That’s her.” I tilt my phone so we can both see the screen.
Elsie:At the vet with Odie and Arlo. I’ll call you later.
“Those are her Siberian Huskies, but they’re more like her children. I swear she loves them more than me and Ash, or anything else for that matter.”
“A lot of people are like that with their dogs. What time is it there?”
I check the world clock on my phone. “3:35 in the afternoon. What do you feel like doing while we wait? There are a lot of things to see around here. We could go—”
“How about a walk on the beach? We can do all that other stuff later, after we know she’s not going to put a hit out on you.”
Hmm. I can see she’s starting to understand my sister.And I can’t blame her for being nervous. We’re not out of the woods yet—close, but not quite yet. In the meantime, it looks like she’s not going to be able to enjoy herself until I’m officially out of the network’s contract. “I’d like that.”
The weather is nippy, but we’re dressed for it. The lake, with the surrounding landscape, is beautiful in the same way Sweetbriar is. With our gloved fingers interlaced I take in the cool, crisp air with a prayer on my lips that nothing will ever come between us again.
“I can’t believe you bought the fabric shop.”
“It was the only way to get you to come.”
Sharing my thoughts about what the next few months could look like, it feels like we’re old friends, like I’ve known her since grade school. How does that happen? I’m not sure, but it’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have found her.
Not letting go of her hand, I turn to face her. “I asked Elsie to buy the shop because I had to see you again. I was dying inside without you.”
Her eyes drift up to mine. “It was hard for me too.” She stops and makes a footprint in the sand then studies it for a moment before turning her attention back to me. “What happens when we leave here?”
I turn, and we start walking again. “You mean when we get back to the States?”
“Yeah. Where will you live?”
I assumed we’d live together, but we haven’t discussed it. Would I stay with her in her new apartment until I buy a house for us? Maybe a ranch. I like that better. But I don’t think this is the time for that conversation. One step at a time, and the first step is getting out of the contract.
“I’ll get a place in Sweetbriar.”
“Your own place?”
I laugh. “No, of course not. I’ll get a dog. It’ll be our place,mine and the dog’s.”
“Oh, good, you had me worried there for a moment. I was afraid you’d want to move in with me. I like you and all, but I like having my own place, and besides, I’m not ready for that kind of commitment.”
My heart drops all the way down to my stomach where it’s slowly digested in a pool of acid. What is she talking about? She’s not ready for that kind of commitment? Then what, on God’s green earth, are we doing here? “Um… I was—”
