“Of course.”
“That might be the first husband rule, judging by what I’ve heard women or men say on the cruise.”She tried to backpedal a bit in case he was worried she was a head case.
The hint of his smile bloomed warmth in her tummy.She grinned, and they turned to the right to walk through the pretty park with the lights strung through the massive old oak trees that had already started losing their leaves and headed to the Graff Hotel.
“Maybe we could take a moment over dinner to discuss… what the next couple of weeks might look like.I know you want to start looking for property…” She paused—more excited about a property hunt than she’d let on.
Imagine looking at ranches worth tens of millions.It was something out of the showYellowstone.Or a reality show.
“And maybe you can think about whether you want to meet your family.You’ve couched the marriage as a job, so I want to know your expectations so I can back you up.”
He stopped walking over the slightly spongy grass.
“I…” He sighed.“You’re right.We should take time to ourselves to… get to know one another.”
She laughed.“You look like you’re off to a dentist appointment.”
“That would be easier.I am accustomed to thinking everything through, and while I believe you will be a tremendous asset to me navigating a small town in a more rural environment, and you will definitely ease the way if I decide to meet my biological family as well as helping me to brainstorm a legacy for Cam, I don’t think of it as a job.”He looked away and then back at her.“I was never the social one.I never cultivated friends like Cam did.I had business contacts.Transactional.This”—he waved his hand out with a slash—“is new to me, and I am bound to make mistakes.Be prickly.Aloof, and I want to get that out there, so you don’t think it’s personal.”
Relief swooshed through her.He was shy.Socially awkward, but self-aware and kind.
I can work with that.
She tucked her arm through his.“We’ll start with that,” she said, “and see where it takes us.”
Briefly overwhelmed by an emotion she couldn’t quite name, she tilted her head back to look at the beginnings of stars in the sky, and then the lights in the trees winked on, casting a warm glow over them as they traversed the spacious park.
“Now that’s a sign,” she whispered.
*
“Wait.”He stopped.“We should take a picture.”
It wasn’t something he often did.Cam had documented the moments.He’d cringed.
“I don’t post anything except my projects on my Etsy site,” she said quickly.
He heard the slick of panic.Definitely hiding something.
“I don’t do social media.I just… is it dumb to document our marriage?”
“No.”Her voice softened, and her grip on his arm loosened.“It will be nice to have a few photos—for us.”
Were they an us?He’d been an us with his mom and his grandpa.An us with Cam and their businesses.
“I’ll do it.My arms are longer.”
“You haven’t taken a selfie in your life,” she teased, more on the mark than she probably realized, and she pulled her phone out of some secret place in her boot.
“That’s like abracadabra.”She continued to astonish him in a multitude of ways.
She grinned, pressed against him, and angled them into several shots.
“Got it.”She kissed his cheek, took another photo then tucked her phone away.
He felt oddly calm as they continued their stroll to the Graff Hotel.He’d expected to feel off-center but instead felt invigorated.Cam’s death no longer paralyzed him.He was determined to build meaning from the tragedy.
And he didn’t feel like he was taking advantage of Ayana.This was an opportunity for her as well.She’d lost her job and apartment.She’d have security for a year and well beyond with some financial planning, and he’d be happy to advise her.
