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“I used a cookbook.” He grinned. “Here’s hoping it’s not a fail.”
“It smells delicious,” she admitted.
He extended his hand. She should’ve just walked by him, but she couldn’t do it. She put her hand in his, feeling the rightness of their clasped fingers all the way through. He escorted her to the table and pulled out her chair. “You sit. I’ve got it all ready.”
She was impressed. He had the table set with cut veggies and ranch dip out. Water in the glasses and salt and pepper at the ready. He brought over a casserole dish.
She longed to talk openly with him about so many things, but those recording devices were a thorn in her side. Tristan prayed and then made small talk as they ate. It was delicious. They cleaned up together and then she got brave and asked, “Would you like to go on a walk around the lake?”
Maybe it wasn’t smart to be away from the villa, but she needed to get outside and move, talk without the worry of William listening in.
“I would love to,” he said.
They walked out of the cottage, arming the security system. There was no note on the step, not that she’d expected one as there had been no knock on the door or notice from their security guards. The anxiety of when that note would come and what William would demand of her weighed heavily on her shoulders. She’d be a mess without Tristan here. Even with all the angst of their separation and destroyed love and dreams she appreciated his solid and uplifting presence.
They walked about twenty meters away until they were covered by the trees with only a peek of the lake and the evening shadows on the beautiful blue water.
“Let me text Ray,” he said.
She waited while he texted and waited for a response. He took her hand, and they meandered along the lake trail. Should she let him so casually hold her hand? He acted like they’d never lost their love. But his strong hand around hers was warm and reassuring, and she didn’t have it in her to pull away.
His phone beeped. “One of Ray’s guys is going to stay close to us and the other one will watch the cottage in case William or his people drop a note.”
“All right.”
It was a beautiful fall night, a crisp feeling to the air that woke her up, but just being with T made her plenty warm.
“How are you holding up?” he asked, squeezing her hand gently.
“I’m a mess,” she admitted. “It’s awful worrying about my parents and not being able to talk about it or have any clue what role William expects me to play.”
“You’re doing amazing.”
“Thank you.”
The sun disappeared behind the trees. They had beautiful views of the lake and the mountains in the twilight.
“Jenn, I’ve been wanting to say so many things to you,” Tristan said finally. He stopped walking and turned her toward him.
“Oh?” She tugged her hand from his and rubbed her suddenly clammy palms on her pants. Was it time to finally face the past eight months?
“I promise you, despite how it looked on television, I wasn’t dancing with or interested in that blonde. I went on dates while you were gone because it was expected of me but I never moved on from you.”
“The blonde?” She was sick and tired of the blonde, of all her insecurities, but the blonde was just one of many women, the most important one being his former fiancée.
“Jenn, you’re the only one for me. You always have been, and you always will be.” His blue eyes were earnest and begged her to believe him.
“Really?” She spit out the word.
“You have to believe me.” He tried to reach for her, but she backed away.
“How can I believe you? When we were together, I knew what we had was one of a kind. Nothing could have made me doubt it. I hated leaving you, but my dad was terrified of the Rindlesbachers, and for good reason. I wrongly held on to the hope that true love could overcome a few months apart.”
“Of course it can.”
“You spit in the face of true love?” She felt like the witch from The Princess Bride, but she was only getting started. “How could you fall in love with someone else and get engaged after only four months? Four months, T! Engaged. Planning to marry and love someone else, knowing you could move on so easily. You must have been desperately in love with Macey to ask her to marry you so quickly.”
His eyes were wide and his mouth slack.
