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Her lips parted but no words came out and her eyebrows furrowed. “Okay…”
My heart picked up speed because I was a little nervous about making the admission. “I’ve never thought about settling down and starting a family, never had the desire to. But I met you and experienced a real connection and lately, I’ve been thinking about going the distance. You know, a permanent partner, kids…”
I inhaled sharply and flopped back onto the pillow to scrub a hand over my face. Fuck. Charlotte must have cast a spell on me. I was considering marriage and kids. And I was expressing myself freely. Who had I become?
Charlotte appeared in my line of vision. She grinned. “Why are you embarrassed about what you want, Jamie?”
“Because I’ve never sounded like this. My entire life feels different with you, and I like it. I want to hold on to it… to you.”
Her rich espresso eyes became molten. “Goodness, you are the sweetest, most romantic man I’ve ever met.”
My eyebrows popped up with disbelief and I almost laughed. Romance, sweet, and me in the same sentence sounded strange. But maybe I was those things… with her.
“You just always say the right things,” she gushed, bringing her face closer to mine. “You make me feel like we can work when I start having my doubts.”
I cupped her face and pressed my lips to hers. “I want you to stop having doubts.”
“I’ll try.”
Gazing up at her, I decided that it was time to lighten the mood. I said, “Alright, I spilled my heart and guts now you tell me something. Something about you that I don’t know yet.”
She sniggered. “Okay… what do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
Her pert, adorable nose wrinkled. “Where do I start…?”
“Start with how you became so adventurous. Why did you start traveling and working such interesting jobs? How on earth did you become an adventure and sports instructor?”
Grinning from ear to ear, she settled back into my arms and rested her head on my shoulder. “It wasn’t really a career choice. I sort of just fell into it. I have a master’s in education and a bachelor’s in archeology.”
I glanced down at her in shock. “Really?”
“Uh-huh.” She smiled. “I took every step to become just like my dad. He was a professor of archeology, and he’s been everywhere.”
“Are you telling me that your father was like Indiana Jones?” I saw a plethora of posters, postcards, and what looked like all kinds of exotic souvenirs in her childhood room. Her father’s job and travels explained them.
Her eyes rolled around as if in consideration and then she burst out laughing. “You know what? You might be onto something. I suppose Dad was like Indiana Jones, minus the hat and tweed jacket… and he was just a tad nerdier.”
I laughed. “Your father sounds like a hell of a man.” The light and adoration in her eyes when she spoke of him said it all.
“He was.” Her eyes met mine. “You would have loved him, Jamie. He was so smart and full of life.”
I smiled at her. Clearly, she was everything like her old man.
“When he got sick and couldn’t travel anymore, I saw how sad it made him.” She sighed. “He told me that I should take advantage of my health and youth and see the world, to do whatever makes me happy. I took a break from my studies and started traveling so I could return home with amazing stories like the ones he used to regale me with as a kid.”
“So you two switched places?” I asked, idly trailing my fingers up and down her arm.
“You can say that. I needed money to fund my traveling so I took up jobs in each country I visited so that’s how I ended up working in places like the Maldives and Morocco. The light in Dad’s eyes when I told him about where I’d been and the adventures I was a part of… that made me happy, so I stuck with it for years until he died.”
“You traveled and lived for him when he couldn’t…” I deduced.
“Exactly. It might sound crazy to everyone else but it made perfect sense to me.”
“No, I get it.” That was where her encouragement for me to live for my mother came from.
She lifted her head to meet my gaze. “After that, I just couldn’t bring myself to get an office or classroom job. I spent so long living uninhibited that I… I guess I don't know how to go back to normal,” she finished with a little laugh.
