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“Just you.”
He touched my cheek, his gaze tender. He hadn't yet bounced back, I knew he was as haunted by that night as I was. I caught him often watching me and I knew what he was thinking as if he was speaking his thoughts out loud. He was confirming to himself that I was here, still with him, alive. It was going to take time, the therapist my dad and the Wrights insisted Bastian and I see, expressed that sentiment often. Time was something we had, thank God.
Settling himself on the bed, he pulled me up against him. “Better?”
“Perfect.”
***
A week later, Logan had everyone to the lighthouse for a cook-out, but Bastian and I detoured on our way, because there was something he wanted to show me. We were riding on the back of his bike. He objected because of my shoulder, but I really missed riding with him, so I pestered until he relented.
The ride was beautiful and I recognized where we were as the part of town where Broderick's house was located. The tangy smell of salt water teased my nose as I took a few deep inhales and filled my lungs. I really did love it here. The bike moved around a bend, then Bastian pulled over to an old tree and parked. I climbed off, he followed, before he took my helmet and placed it on his bike.
“How's the shoulder?”
“Fine.”
“I still think we should have taken Baby.”
His kissed me, allowing his lips to linger over mine a moment, before he pulled back. I noticed he looked odd, almost nervous. “What's put that look on your face?”
“I had a thought, but if you don't like it just say.”
“Okay.”
He reached for me and gently pulled me up a small hill. The landscape yawned out before us untouched and magnificent. The forest that stretched across this part of town curved around a patch of bright green grass and in the distance the soothing sweep of the river could be heard.
“It's beautiful, Bastian.”
He turned to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.“Remember we talked about the dream, the house by the river, the kids, the tire swing? We had it all right, just not the location—not the Hudson river. I want to build you a house here. I want the dream here. We go to Columbia, but then we settle here. I've been talking with Broderick, and he really wants to get into the restoration business in a bigger way, and so he's going back to school too, and when you and I graduate, he and I are going into business together. There's plenty of older homes throughout New England to keep us busy and you can paint and be near your dad.”
My heart swelled in my chest and not just because of his words, but because he was so excited about our future.
“I love it, Bastian—the location, the idea.”
“Really? You wouldn't mind forgoing Manhattan to live in a town of perpetual festivals?”
“Shouldn't it be me trying to convince you to move here and not the other way around?”
He looked up as his eyes focused on the river in the distance. “There's a wildness here, an untamed beauty, that is so freeing and inspiring. And being here with you, it's the dream for me.”
His warm hands wrapped around my face as his eyes looked deeply into mine. “If you don't want this, I will go wherever you want. Just say the word.”
“I love it, all of it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
His mouth crushed down on mine and I could feel his excitement in the humming of his muscles. He broke the kiss, looking both hot and sheepish. The contrast was so odd I asked bluntly.“What's the look for?”
“Well, your dad and Saffron may have brought me out to this place, but only because I shared my proposal with them.” He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and rolled back on his heels. “You're not mad, are you?”
“No. Is this land for sale?”
“Well, not exactly. Apparently, inheritances stick to Saffron like glue and this is a part of one. She offered it to us as a wedding gift.”
“What?”
