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“They do,” he agreed. “We need to make a grocery store run too.”
We swiveled to look out the windows. It was clear and bitingly cold outside. The wind ruffled the waters of Haven’s Bay, visible through the back window. Snow covered the landscape, although it wasn’t too deep yet.
We’d risen in the early hours of dawn in Boston and driven up here. Dallas and Audrey had been here over Thanksgiving, leaving some coffee for us, but the rest of the grocery situation was looking thin.
“Let's do it. We can stock up on groceries and then maybe go for a walk along the beach.”
We'd fallen into the habit of coming up here on the weekends at least once a month ever since Ian moved up to Boston in September. We’d enjoyed several glorious autumn weekends here. The windowsill replacement project was almost complete. He had a goal this weekend to finish it.
The day flew by, and our walk on the beach didn't last too long even though we both had the winter gear for the weather. The wind was too much. If the sky was clear, that usually meant a windy day on the coast of Maine. We returned to the house and started a fire in the massive fireplace in the living room.
By evening, clouds had started to gather in the sky, and snow was predicted before midnight. Snow or not, we were going to have that dinner. The heels of my boots echoed on the stairs as I jogged down to the foyer.
I paused on the bottom step, my heart shifting into a thundering beat in my chest and my breath catching. He was so handsome. It was kind of ridiculous. I’d never believed my breath could be stolen by nothing more than a look. Ian could do that effortlessly.
His green eyes held mine, darkening as I finally moved, taking that last step and crossing the foyer to him. “Ready?”
He held my coat up, and I slipped my arms into the sleeves, shrugging it over my shoulders and zipping it before replying, “Now, I am.”
When his lips kicked up in a half-grin, my belly tumbled, and I took a quick breath. We were just having dinner, but for some reason, I was nervous. Anticipation was humming through my body. Maybe it was because it had been a full year since he'd reentered my life.
I felt as if I was standing on the edge of something. Something big.
Ian
It was just dinner, or that was what I kept telling myself. Sherry was laughing at something Jane said. After filling our water glasses, she had taken our orders and had the menus in hand.
She glanced at me. “I'll be right back with your drinks.”
“Thanks, Sherry,” I called as she hurried away, pausing to check on the table beside us.
Jane took a swallow of her water and looked across the table at me. She must have sensed my nervousness because her smile faded. “What is it?”
I cleared my throat. I had a plan—the plan involved having dinner, me staying calm, and then asking her to marry me when we got home tonight. The anticipation was driving me mad though, and I’d slipped the ring box into my jacket pocket this evening when I was getting ready.
Now, I could feel an almost literal burn in that pocket. So much for being suave and cool and keeping it together. I reached for my water, the cool glass against my fingertips doing next to nothing to abate the heat racing through me.
“Nothing,” I finally replied.
Her brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”
Now, I was annoyed, not with her but with myself. “Of course, I'm sure. We're having dinner at one of our favorite places, and we’re in Haven’s Bay. What could be wrong?”
Jane rested her elbows on the table, giving me a long look. “I don't know. You just seem kind of weird.”
I looked away, chuckling softly. Maybe my plan had fallen apart, but I could be decisive when the occasion called for it. This moment did.
I twisted slightly, reaching into my jacket where it hung on the back of my chair to fetch the small, silk-covered box. When I met her gaze again, she had a casual, almost teasing glint in her eyes.
As we stared at each other through several resounding beats of my heart, her gaze sobered, and she straightened in her chair. My anxiety disappeared as a sense of peace gusted through me like a warm breeze on a spring day. Even though it was December and freezing cold outside.
This was absolutely right. I took a breath. “I had a plan,” I began.
Her lips twitched slightly. “You always have a plan.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “They're not always the best plans, though. I was going to ask you when we got home, but I suppose I'm impatient.”
She blinked and pressed her glasses up on her nose. The subtle, unconscious gesture elicited a sharp, sweet twist in my heart. Because it wassoprecisely her, and it was so familiar.
