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He’s saying this all with a tone as if part of him still believes it. But if he did, then he wouldn’t be standing here now, flagging me down on a plane that’s about to leave.
“And?” I ask.
“And I was wrong,” he says simply, “Helena called me last night gloating and yelling. Claims she’s going to try and take Winston back based on her evidence of us being together, but I know she’s full of shit. It’s been the same old story every year of poor Winston’s life. But that’s not why I’m here. Why I’m here is that I realize I made a mistake about you. I don’t know where this, us, is going to lead. I know it’s early, that I could be totally misconstruing things or misreading things or blowing things out of proportion. This could be my biggest mistake yet.”
He heaves a deep breath.
“But I know that the biggest mistake of all would be to let you leave on this plane without talking to you myself.”
All I can do is nod at this point. His words haven’t even begun to sink in. A few minutes ago, I was set to go to Australia with George, who’d found the round trip flight last-minute and was going to meet me a day later. But now?
Clayton settles in the seat next to me. He tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear, his hand slipping to give my scrunchy a good squeeze.
“I love these things, you know.”
As if suddenly remembering why he’s here, he adds, “So will you stay?”
“I don’t know,” I say uncertainly, “I’m supposed to meet George in Australia. I can’t have her go all alone.”
Clayton thinks about this for a minute. Then, he says, “Did I ever tell you I have a jet?”
“What exactly are you saying?” I ask, too nervous to even believe it could be true.
“What I’m saying is,” Clayton says, his jaw setting with decision, “I don’t know what this is between you and me. If what I’m feeling for you right now is just because of everything that’s happened between us so fast. All I know is that when I spend time with you, I want to spend more of it. And you’re great with Winston. I want to see where this leads. I don’t want to be denied the chance to explore what I have with the first woman who I’ve found remarkable in as long as I can remember. So…” he takes both my hands in his, “Stevie, will you accept my offer to fly you and your friend, along with me, my mom and Winston, to Australia tomorrow, once we’ve had a chance to pack our bags?”
His eyes probe at me for an answer. But mine are the ones scanning him. Is he serious?
Clayton reaches up and strokes my lip and it’s then that I realize I’m smiling.
“Don’t you dare ask me if I’m kidding you,” he warns. My smile only grows.
“Is that a yes?” He asks.
I throw my arms around him and deliver him a big smacking kiss.
Around us, the plane erupts into a full raucous applause, and an attendant marches up.
“Sir,” she informs Clayton’s dopely grinning face, “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“What a coincidence,” Clayton says, his hand slipping into mine, “we were just leaving.
Chapter 9: Stevie – Happily Ever After, 1 Year Later
Could today get any better?
I lay on the super soft bed, waiting for Clayton to get out of the shower. It’s only been three days of our horse ranch vacation with Winston, but already it feels like I’ve been here forever. As if I’ve known the sweet, graceful horses we ride from noon to dusk, since I was little. Clayton had surprised me with this gift one night at a nice dinner, and so far, we all have been having the time of our lives. Even Winston, for whom they even had a little riders program, where he’s taken a special liking to one particular Palomino pony.
“It’s so you can have intel on what to expect for your own venture,” Clayton said easily when he presented me the gift.
I’d only smiled and kissed him, but right now I was really giving it some thought. Would opening up my own ranch be such a crazy idea? After he finally came up with his own innovation, giant animals that kids can ride in malls, Clayton has been pestering me to get on with my dream and stop testing out different university courses, none of which seemed like the right fit.
In contrast, when I’m on a horse, breathing in the fresh country air, all it is, is right.
Clayton has been nothing short of a dream himself. When hen made his crazy last-ditch effort to stop me from going to Australia alone, I never would’ve thought that it would lead to this. We were both equally uncertain about what the future held when I’d agreed that George and I would join him in Australia on his jet. But it had turned out to be my best trip yet. We all had a fun time, Winston most of all. He became almost as enchanted with George as he was with me. And Clayton and I had had a few choice nights to ourselves. Swimming under the stars in the hotel’s lush pool, eating over a candlelit dinner. George and I got some shopping in too, of course.
