Читать книгу Marrying Daisy Bellamy - Сьюзен Виггс - Страница 12

Staying in a hotel was a treat for Daisy. Sometimes while on a wedding assignment, she stayed at the venue, but that was work. Unfortunately, all the luxury in the world could not translate into a good night’s sleep when she was working.

Nor could it when she was worrying. And on this night, she was worrying. She paced the floor. Stared out the window at the moonrise as it tracked imperceptibly across the night sky. And paced some more.

Colombia. It was half a world away; she’d checked it out on Google maps. She and Julian hadn’t managed to get together while living in the same state. Now that he was going to be on a different continent, what hope did they have?

Julian was about to start a different life, as an officer and a gentleman. A striver, a patriot. A man with a duty to his country, about to embark upon the adventure of a lifetime. But all she could think about was that his duties were going to take him far away from her into an unknown and dangerous world.

Be happy for him, she told herself. Everything is as it should be.

Had she been fooling herself all along, thinking there was a chance for them? Now, more than ever, she needed to have a difficult, honest conversation with him about the two of them. Their relationship was a series of encounters filled with a burning chemistry that thus far, had led only to yearning and frustration. Whenever she even thought of him, she felt a longing so fierce it hurt. Still, all the longing in the world didn’t add up to any kind of future together. For that matter, they’d never even declared their love aloud. They’d never had time or space for anything to grow and develop, knitting them together.

They were stuck in the magic stage; they idealized each other, not knowing for certain if they were truly meant to be together. Maybe they had habits that would eventually annoy one another. Maybe they were sexually incompatible; she wouldn’t know, because they’d never slept together. Maybe they were on different paths and destined to stay that way.

But in her heart of hearts, she wished this didn’t have to be the case. She loved him with so much of herself that she couldn’t imagine any other way to feel. To stop loving him would be to stop breathing the air.

Still, all the love in the world couldn’t change the fact that she was tied to home, to Charlie and his dad, while Julian was bound for adventure. The only practical thing to do was to make their peace with reality. She tortured herself with the very real possibility that in his travels, Julian might meet someone, a woman who was free to follow him to the ends of the earth. For the briefest of moments, she fantasized about what it would be like to be that woman, unfettered, nothing keeping her from striking out on an adventure. Then she thought of Charlie and immediately felt guilty. How could she even imagine a life without Charlie?

Somehow, she managed to steal a few hours of sleep. In the morning, they all gathered for breakfast. She sat next to Julian, watching him methodically eat his way through the buffet—an omelet, pancakes, cereal, fruit—like a starving man.

“You always did have a big appetite, boy,” Tante Mimi said fondly.

“‘Member when we had that pie-eating contest?” Remy asked.

“Sure,” said Julian. “I was the winner.”

“Yeah, but you had a bellyache all night.” Remy leaned forward to catch Daisy’s eye. “Me and Jules, we went camping at the state park. What we call that park, Mama?”

“I don’t remember,” said Tante Mimi. “It was by Lake Ponchartrain.”

“Yeah,” said Remy, “with our scouting group, and we had the eating contest. Learned stuff, too.” He handed Julian a plastic matchbox. “‘Member this? I made it for you.”

“Thanks, Remy.” Julian slid open the box. “Strike-anywhere matches, a water purification tablet … It’s everything I need to survive in the wilderness.” He took out a small wire. “I don’t remember what this is for.”

Remy beamed, clearly delighted to be the authority. “You rub it on your hair and set it on top of some water, and it’ll always point north.” He frowned at Julian. “You got enough hair for that, Jules?”

Julian burst out laughing. “I guess I’d better check.” He demonstrated the makeshift compass on his water glass.

The tiny filament swung gently toward Remy. “Look at that,” Julian said. “You’re my true north, Rem.”

“Even in Colombia?” Remy asked.

Julian’s smile stayed in place, though Daisy sensed the tension ramping up. “A compass works differently south of the equator,” he said. “Still works, though. Thanks, Remy.”

His New Orleans relatives and his mother had a long day of travel ahead of them. Daisy would be driving back to Avalon with Connor, Olivia and baby Zoe.

Soon, Daisy would be back with Charlie and the life she’d made for herself. A few times, she caught herself thinking, I wish … And then she would rein herself in. Let him go, she thought. Let him go.

After breakfast, she returned to her room to get her bag, pausing to check her hair and makeup. For some reason, it seemed important to look nice when she told him goodbye.

In the lobby, she was surprised to find Julian there by himself.

He was dressed in civilian clothes, loose cargo shorts and a pink golf shirt. It didn’t escape Daisy’s notice that every woman who passed by checked him out, yet he seemed oblivious to the attention. He had no idea how amazing he looked, at the peak of fitness, his posture perfect even when he was relaxing. The minute he spotted Daisy, his gaze never wavered, focusing on her with laserlike intensity.

So much had changed for them both, but one thing remained constant—this pull of emotion that drew them together. It felt particularly present this morning, and Daisy discovered she was not the only one who felt that way.

“Morning,” he said in a low voice that sounded intoxicatingly sexy. “I thought you’d never get here.”

This was not, she reminded herself, the way she had scripted the conversation in her head. She was supposed to have a talk with him, tell him their lives were taking them in different directions and figure out how they were both going to deal with that.

“Where is everyone else?” she asked, trying to get her bearings.

“They all took off for the airport. They said to tell you goodbye.”

“Connor and Olivia?”

Julian picked up her overnight bag. “Already headed back to Avalon.”

“What?” She stopped in the hotel doorway. “But what about me?”

“I’ll get you home.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “You’re driving me all the way to Avalon?” It was a long drive. The idea of having him all to herself was almost too much to bear.

“I’m not driving you,” he said.

“Then how—?”

“You’ll see.”

They boarded a campus-to-town bus marked Cayuga, the name of the narrow, forty-mile-long lake that stretched from Ithaca to Seneca Falls.

She looked around nervously at the other passengers. “Don’t tell me we’re—”

“Hush.” He gently put a finger to her lips, and his touch made her shiver despite the warmth of the day. “You’ll see.”

She tried to steel herself against his charms but instead settled into a sense of delicious anticipation. Their heart-to-heart could wait a bit longer. “I do love surprises,” she said.

“Then I guess you’ll love this.”

At the lakefront he led the way past a busy marina, bobbing with sailboats and runabouts. There was a boathouse, with kayaks and canoes stacked on racks. At the end of a long, L-shaped dock were a couple of float planes.

When Julian started down the dock, she balked. “Really, Julian? Seriously? You’re flying?”

He grinned, his eyes bright with excitement. “You okay with that?”

Unable to hold herself back, she set down her camera bag and raced toward him, leaping into his embrace and wrapping her arms and legs around him. “What do you think? “ she demanded.

He held her as if she weighed nothing. “Cool. We’ll be back in Avalon before Connor and Olivia.”

“I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I mean, I miss Charlie. I always do when I’m away overnight, but—”

“It’s okay.” He brushed his knuckles over her cheek.

He knew her well. He knew that having a good time without Charlie around was a struggle for her. She and her little boy were a pair, even when they couldn’t be together.

The float plane was a single engine two-seater that had been painted fuchsia. It belonged to the local flying club, which Julian had joined as soon as he’d matriculated at Cornell. He’d been taking flying lessons all through college, exchanging mechanical and maintenance labor for instruction, flight hours and fuel.

Before boarding, he went through a safety and readiness checklist with methodical precision. She knew the reckless boy was still inside him, the guy who jumped rows of barrels on a motorcycle and tackled the worst technical rock climbs without batting an eye. Now she watched that restless energy channel itself into intense focus and concentration.

She stood back on the dock, admiring the assured efficiency of his movements as he worked. Like a child’s toy, the moored plane bobbed in time to the lapping of the water. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she said.

He flashed a smile that managed to be at once boyish and sexy. “I’ve always wanted to take you flying.” He loosened the mooring ropes, holding one in his hand.

“I feel like I already am,” she said, then flushed because that sounded so lame. Still, she could not help smiling. It was a magnificent day, the sky cloudless, the water flat and calm. The surrounding hills wore mantles of new green growth. Everything in sight seemed swollen with abundance, and anything seemed possible.

Daisy knew she would soon be telling him farewell for good, or at least for the foreseeable future. But how could she do that now, when he was taking her flying, for heaven’s sake? She didn’t let herself dwell on it. Instead, she focused on the undeniable splendor of this day and felt grateful to be spending it with Julian.

He jimmied the change in his pocket, seeming oddly nervous. “As a matter of fact, I was planning to—”

“Julian, the plane!” She jumped to the edge of the dock. “It’s getting away.”

Without hesitation, he leaped onto a pontoon, causing the small aircraft to bob wildly. He tossed her a rope. She grabbed it and pulled him back to the dock.

“Thanks,” he said, “I almost lost you before I even had you.”

“You should be more careful.”

“I had my head turned. It’s not like I get to spend every day with the girl of my dreams.”

“What did you call me?” Her heart was racing now.

“The girl of my dreams. It’s cheesy, I know, but that’s how I feel.”

There were many ways to think about what he’d said. She knew he meant it in the best possible way, but she parsed the words, a habit of hers.

Even the word girl. She hadn’t been a girl since the day she’d stared in horror at a home pregnancy test wand and realized her entire life was about to change. And being someone’s dream sounded all well and good, but in actual fact it turned her into a concept, an ideal, and she didn’t want that. She wanted him to know her on the most real level possible.

“Julian—”

“Ready?” he asked, unlocking the plane and flipping open the surprisingly flimsy door. “Climb aboard. I’ll load your stuff after.”

She felt a thrum of excitement in her chest. The interior of the plane was like that of a middling sports car. Vinyl bucket seats, regular seat belts. The view out the front, over the sloping nose of the plane, was certainly different, though. The lake rolled out before them, reflecting the endless sky.

Julian shoved off the dock and climbed into the cockpit. “Put on your headset. It’s going to get noisy in here.”

She gamely donned a bulky headset. “Roger that.” Her voice sounded tinny and artificial. “How do I look?”

“Like Princess Leia, with those big things on the sides of your head.”

He did some more checking of the panel and gauges, and spoke on another frequency to a tower somewhere.

The single engine started, sounding like a lawn mower motor. Daisy did not have a single reservation about his flying. She knew she was safe with him.

He slowly navigated the plane out of the marina, and the whine of the motor crescendoed to a powerful drone. The shoreline flickered past with ever-increasing speed, and then they were swept aloft with a breath-stealing lift of power. The treetops seemed close enough to touch, and the long curved finger of Lake Cayuga beckoned with flashes of silver reflecting the sun.

Daisy leaned back in her seat and laughed aloud. The day was glorious, and life was good.

To most of the world, “New York” meant Manhattan—gridlock traffic, skyscrapers, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty. The rest of the state got little attention. Most people would be surprised by the vast wilderness and variety of the landscape. The brilliant scenery rolled out before them. There were towering hills and river-fed forests, rock formations and cliffs and gorges. They soared over Cherry Ridge Wild Forest and the Catskills Wilderness, overshooting Willow Lake for a view of the famed Mohonk Mountain House, a historic resort. Daisy had gone there with her mom and brother one winter, when their mother was still in the midst of picking up the pieces of her life after divorce.

The thought of her parents’ divorce no longer felt like a fresh, bleeding wound to Daisy. She would always mourn the loss of her family, but if she was being completely honest with herself, even when all four Bellamys lived under one roof, they weren’t quite a family. From her earliest memory, there had been a deep chasm between her parents. She hadn’t understood it then, but she did now. As hard as it had been to accept, her mom and dad simply weren’t meant to be together, no matter how hard they tried.

The breakup had not been easy for either parent, but the rewards were uncountable. Her father had remarried first, turning Daisy’s best friend, Sonnet Romano, into her stepsister. Later, Daisy’s mother had settled in Avalon and joined a law firm. Against all expectations, she’d fallen in love with the local veterinarian and couldn’t be happier.

Daisy sighed with contentment and looked over at Julian. He must have felt her gaze because he turned, too. In high-tech aviator shades, he looked incredible, Top Gun in a pink golf shirt.

The plane swooped down over the Shawangunks, a rocky ridge gouged by deep fissures. This particular wilderness area marked a special time for them both.

“Remember?” he asked, indicating the dramatic striated rock formations above the river. A few rock climbers, looking like four-legged spiders, clung to the sheer faces. Julian had taken her climbing there the first summer they’d met. She had railed and resisted the climb with almost as much force as she had railed and resisted his friendship—at first.

At that time in her life, she had not allowed herself to trust anyone, and that included Julian, even though she was completely intrigued by him. Challenged by him to climb, she had balked, but he’d simply been patient, knowing even then that she would come around. He was the only person she’d ever met who recognized her appetite for adventure. When everyone else dismissed her as another overprivileged city girl destined for a life of shopping and lunch, Julian had challenged her to want more, to be more.

At the summit of the climb, lying exhausted in the powdery red dust, she had done something life-changing. She had taken out what became her last pack of illicit cigarettes and with Julian as witness, made a small fire and burned them all. She never smoked a cigarette again after that day.

It would have been nice if that special, healing day had somehow inoculated her against future bumps and bruises, but it was not to be. At summer’s end, she’d gone back to her senior year at prep school, where she’d managed to screw up a lot more.

A whole lot more.

Julian flew the plane over a waterfall at Deep Notch, where they’d gone ice climbing one winter, another place wrapped in memories of a day like no other. Ice climbing. Who but Julian would think it was a good idea to scale a wall of ice? And who but Julian could talk her into following him? So many of the things she’d done with him involved climbing and striving, embarking on dangerous pursuits, trying extreme sports. The funny thing about following Julian on impossible adventures was that she always seemed to succeed.

Getting to the top of the wall of ice had its own reward, but that was not what she remembered about that day. What she remembered was that, sitting at the frozen summit, shaking and sweating from the treacherous climb, she and Julian had finally shared their first kiss. Before that moment, she’d already known she loved him. What she had learned that day was that she would probably never stop.

“And how about this place?” he asked, his voice thready over the headset.

She wasn’t even going to pretend to be coy. “I remember every minute.”

“Me, too.” He headed for their destination—Willow Lake. From the sky, the small lakeside town of Avalon looked both familiar and crazily different, like something generated by computer animation, perhaps. The town square and lakefront park were dotted with people out enjoying the day. She spotted the Avalon Meadows Golf Course and Country Club, where she’d shot many a wedding, and the Inn at Willow Lake, owned and operated by her dad and stepmom.

She looked straight down at the cataract known as Meerskill Falls, draping a plunging gorge like a bride’s veil. At the top, almost indistinguishable, were hills and cliffs punctured by the famous ice caves, another place she and Julian had explored.

She was tense, thinking about the past, and so she shifted gears, aiming her thoughts to the present moment.

Finally, they came to the most familiar, most beloved landmark of all—Camp Kioga.

She reached over and touched Julian’s arm. “It’s so beautiful,” she said.

The gardens and sports courts were pristine. Window boxes with flowers in bloom decked the cabins, bungalows and bunkhouses clustered at the water’s edge. The grand pavilion dominated the landscape. A few kayaks were paddling around Spruce Island, a small green atoll crowned by a gazebo. A catboat skimmed by, its sail flying, offering a welcome glimpse of summer.

“Want to take the controls?” asked Julian.

“Are you kidding? Show me what to do.”

He had her grip the controls. “The key is to have a light touch. No sudden movements, don’t try to force anything.”

“Got it.” Very gently, she eased back and the plane climbed. She felt the way she imagined a kite would feel, or a bird with wings spread wide, riding the very air itself. I love this, she thought. I could do this forever.

“I’ll take over for landing,” Julian said after a while.

He guided the plane into a downward glide toward an isolated area of the lake designated for float planes. The touchdown was smooth and exhilarating, and within minutes, they were tied up at the dock.

Daisy put her arms around him and jumped up in another full body hug. It felt so good to be held by him. “That was magical,” she said. “Thank you so much.” Every nerve ending tingled as he set her down on the dock.

“What’s that face?” he asked, breaking in on her thoughts.

“What face? I don’t have a face.”

“Right.”

Her heart sped up. Time to speak up—that difficult conversation she’d imagined this morning hovered on the edge of her consciousness. This was her first opening. It might be her only chance before he was sent off to Timbuktu. She took a deep breath, and the words rushed out: “I love you, that’s what.”

He froze, staring at her.

She couldn’t believe what had come out of her mouth. It was supposed to be I can’t let myself love you, our lives are leading us too far apart, there can’t be any future for us. Instead, she’d spoken from a place where the stark truth dwelled, a truth she couldn’t escape, even though it defied common sense.

She wondered if the words had shocked him. She couldn’t read his expression, and that scared her. “I’ve never told you before,” she said. “I didn’t mean to blurt it out.” She’d really blown it now, deviating from the script that had seemed so sensible in her hotel room this morning.

Even though it felt as reckless as one of Julian’s stunts, she couldn’t stop herself. “I’m glad,” she rushed on foolishly. “I’m glad I said it, because I mean it. I’ve felt this way for a long time, forever and I keep waiting for it to go away, but the opposite is happening. It’s only getting worse.”

He still hadn’t said anything, and she still couldn’t make herself shut up. “I can’t stop thinking about you. When I went away to Germany, I expected to get over you. To get over everything. Instead, I ended up missing you so much it hurt. Seriously, it hurt like I’d been stabbed or something. And when I got back, I loved you just as much—no, more. It doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t seem right, but—”

He strode forward with a look on his face she’d never seen before. It was as intense as rage but different. She still hadn’t figured it out when he caught her against him, stopping her with a kiss. A long, searching kiss that was tender but commanding, all-consuming, leaving her breathless. His lips were softer than she remembered, his taste sweeter. They had kissed before, but there was something different going on here, a peculiar emotion that grabbed at her heart with a special intensity. She curled her fists into his arms, feeling the rock-hard muscles shaped by relentless and rigorous training. He tasted like something wild, like raw honey, maybe, and in that moment she was so caught up that her ears rang.

A breakup wasn’t supposed to start with a kiss. Although technically, she wasn’t breaking up with him, because she’d never been … with him.

Finally he pulled back, but only far enough away to say, “I love you, too, Daze. I always have. I’m sorry I didn’t say it first.”

She felt dizzy, as if she were still flying. “I’m not sorry.” She sank against his chest, feeling exhausted, as if she’d run a mile. It was one of those flawless days on Willow Lake, the water perfectly still down to its mysterious depths, and the wind so quiet, she could hear both their hearts beating. Being here with him made her feel safe and protected, as if no harm could ever come to her.

They kissed some more, their mouths lazing and lingering like wordless promises. Daisy was filled with a soaring sense of liberation at having spoken her truth—and the stunning joy of knowing he returned her love. She wished the moment could last forever, but slowly, inevitably, he pulled back. Placing a tender kiss on her forehead, he whispered, “What time are you supposed to pick up Charlie?”

Charlie. Her beloved reality. “Logan’s flexible,” she said. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m not ready to share you yet,” he said, “not even with my favorite rug rat.”

Her thoughts flickered to the conversation she was supposed to be having with him. “Then I’m all yours for a while longer.”

“Good.” He took an insulated green bag out of the cargo bay. “I brought lunch.”

“Julian!”

He laughed. “I know, right? Romance at its finest.”

“Did you, like, look this up online, under ‘how to organize the perfect date?’”

“What, you don’t think I could’ve thought of this on my own?”

“The plane, yes. But a picnic?”

“Okay. I had help with that.”

“Help?”

“I kind of became a favorite of the dining hall ladies. They like guys who eat a lot.”

“Then they must be totally in love with you. I’ve seen you eat, Julian. It’s … epic.”

He set the bag in a skiff that was moored to the dock. Then he took her hand and helped her in.

“I assume you have permission to use the boat.”

“Ma’am, I’m an officer in the United States Air Force. Stealing is no longer an option.”

“You planned this.”

“Yeah. Didn’t want to leave anything to chance today.”

There was a feeling she always had around him, something she’d never found with any other person. It was a sense of complete and utter joy, mingled with freedom. There were many people she loved in her life, but no one she loved like this. A part of her wanted to explain it to him, to share that, but not now. One day, maybe.

The trouble with her and Julian was that “one day” for them was hard to pin down. Impossible, really. That was the conversation they needed to have. She didn’t want to say it and spoil this perfect day.

She shook off the thought and settled in the bow of the boat, facing backward. She didn’t know where they were headed. Didn’t really care. Bracing her arms behind her, she tipped back her head and shut her eyes to enjoy the soft warmth of the sun on her face.

“I feel like Cleopatra.”

“Yeah? That worries me. Romance didn’t really work out for her,” Julian pointed out.

“Did you say romance? Is that what you’re doing—romancing me?” Daisy sat up straight and watched him row. She was mesmerized by the powerful build of his shoulders, the easy extension of his muscles, reaching back and forth as he propelled the boat through the water.

“I’d like to think we’ve evolved since the days of Cleopatra. And I’d definitely like to think I don’t have her quirks.”

“Quirks?”

“Okay, her personality flaws.”

“You don’t have any flaws, Daisy.”

“Right.”

“Except maybe bad timing.”

She fell silent. Here was an opening, then. “Um, about that. My timing. Our timing. Julian, I meant what I said earlier. I love you. I always have, but I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“Scared we’ll never get a chance to be together.”

His rhythmic strokes didn’t falter. “Never is a long time.”

“Just trying to be realistic.”

“Were you being realistic when you said you loved me?”

“I was being completely honest. I can’t help myself. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re going far away—”

“That’s temporary.”

“How temporary?”

“I can’t say.”

“I can. When you’re done in Colombia, they’ll send you someplace else.”

“Active duty doesn’t have to mean continual deployment. Air force families move from posting to posting. The system works. It just takes some planning.”

“That’s easy to say, but I have to think about Charlie.” She hugged her knees to her chest. “My little boy is my whole world.”

“I understand that. I know how hard it’s been for you, raising him alone.”

“Do you?”

“My friend Sayers once told me air force training is a tea party compared to being a single mom. She was raised by a single mom.”

“It’s hard, but … in a different way.” She wondered if the direction of the conversation had ruined this magical day. Julian was clearly in a romantic mood, and bringing up the topic of her son by another man might put a damper on things. But they should be able to talk about Charlie and not feel like the entire day was ruined.

“Charlie’s great,” said Julian. “I’m in love with the kid. Always have been.”

The statement caught her off guard. “You love him?”

“Sure. What, you don’t believe me?”

“I want to. But it’s just … you seem to hold back, when it comes to Charlie.”

“Kids latch onto people, and they hurt when those people go away.”

“Are you talking about Charlie, or are you talking about yourself, when you were a kid?”

He didn’t contradict her. “I know what it feels like to have a broken family. Charlie should never have to feel that. So I don’t want to give him mixed signals. When I was little, growing up with my dad, I used to want a mama so bad, I’d fantasize about every woman my dad even looked at—a bus driver, a grocery checker, the crossing guard—if she said even two words to him, I was ready for him to pop the question. And I was disappointed every time. You have to understand how much it hurts a kid to want a traditional family. How much hope he hangs on the slightest encouragement. So maybe I’ve been too careful about Charlie, but that’s my take on it.

I never wanted to make him a promise I couldn’t keep. That doesn’t mean I don’t love him.”

Unexpected tears stung her eyes. “You never told me you loved him.”

“Daisy. He’s your son. He’s never asked for anything except to be loved. How can I not love that?”

Her heart turned to mush; she loved hearing him talk this way.

“He can’t help it if his father’s a douche—”

“Julian.” She knew he was still thinking of the fight on the train platform, the night everything had fallen apart. The fight had not caused the problem. The fight had been the culmination of the problem. The mushy part was over, clearly.

“I’d never say that in front of the kid, but come on. And honestly, no matter what I think of Logan, I’d never let on to Charlie. And I’d never want to interfere with that relationship. I had a great dad. He wasn’t perfect, but I thought the world of him. So yeah, I get that Logan has to be part of Charlie’s life. A big part.”

“I’m glad you understand. There are a few things in my life that are completely certain,” she reminded Julian. “The most important is my son. Every choice I make is dictated by what’s best for Charlie.”

“I understand.”

“Another constant is Logan. He is Charlie’s dad, which means he’ll always be part of my life, no matter what.”

“Is he still in love with you?”

She could still hear Logan’s voice in her ears, loud and clear. I’ll always love you, Daisy. I’ll wait as long as it takes.

She ducked her head to hide her expression, but apparently she wasn’t quick enough.

“I see,” said Julian.

“I don’t think you do. I can’t tell you what Logan is thinking. Persistence is his middle name. I swear, I don’t encourage him. You know that. I want … God, Julian. I want this to be simple. Why is it so hard?”

The rowboat bumped against the mooring bulkhead at the tiny island. Julian pulled a rope around a cleat. Then he extended a hand and helped her to the dock.

He sat on the weathered wooden planks and drew her down beside him. “Have a seat. This might take a while.”

“It might?”

“I’ve got a lot to say to you.”

Something in his tone made her shiver despite the heat. “I’m listening.”

He steepled his fingers together and stared into the lake for a long moment. The still water was a mirror of dark glass. “It’s not hard. I’m not saying I hold all the answers. God knows, I didn’t have much to go on when I was a kid. My dad was all about intellect and process and the scientific method. My mom was focused on her acting career, her image, herself. I’ve spent the past few weeks wondering if I even have the emotional hardware for the kind of relationship I want with you.”

She was stunned speechless to hear him talking like this. Maybe her silence was a good thing, because he was being more honest with her than he’d ever been before.

“And I wondered why danger and risk feel good to me. Maybe it’s because whenever I took a risk and put myself in danger, people paid attention, sometimes just to yell at me. Even Connor—the sole reason we had a relationship at all was that he had to take charge of me when I got into trouble. But you, Daisy. You’re the first person who didn’t pay attention to me because I was doing something dangerous. You paid attention because … hell, I don’t know, but I know it felt different. Everything about you is different, the way you look and smell, the way you feel in my arms.”

They weren’t even touching, yet Daisy had never felt closer to anyone than she did to Julian at this moment. She didn’t dare move or speak because she sensed this was hard for him and didn’t want him to stop.

“I was seventeen years old the first time I met you,” he said, still staring into their reflection in the water, “and I wish I’d paid more attention then to the way you made me feel. Maybe I would’ve had the sense to find a way to stay close to you, after we parted ways that summer, instead of watching you head off to a bad situation. When I found out you were pregnant, I thought it was a sign that you’d taken another path. A path that didn’t include me. And all through college, I guess I felt like I had to prove myself to you. You know, the beautiful rich girl. And any way you cut it, I’m from the wrong side of the tracks. It’s ridiculous to think about me and a Bellamy, for Chrissake. I didn’t see how you and I would ever connect. We come from totally different worlds.”

She held her breath. Was he saying they were incompatible, that love wasn’t enough? “Julian—”

“Hang on, I’m getting to the point. Where we come from doesn’t have to matter. I’m not going to worry about what other people will say, the color of our skin and what our kids might look like. What matters is … it’s us. Our hopes and dreams and what we want our lives to be.”

He kissed her swiftly, his warm lips lingering against hers, his breath gusting over her cheek. “Whew,” he said. “That’s, like, the longest speech I’ve ever given. Sorry if I rambled.”

She could listen to him talk like that forever. “You didn’t ramble.”

“I’ve been practicing what I wanted to say. In my head. God, don’t think I was walking around campus, spouting stuff about hopes and dreams. But I meant every word.” With that, he got up and grabbed the picnic bag, bringing it to the steps of the gazebo, built some years ago for her grandparents’ golden anniversary. She followed, still entranced by the things he’d said. There was no one around. The gazebo was broadcasting music from somewhere. She recognized the old classic, “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton.

“Whoa,” she said. “Is someone here?”

“We are now.” Julian set down the bag. Turning to face her, he paused for what felt like a full minute and studied her face. She did the same, seeing love and pain in the yearning in his eyes.

“Thanks for coming here with me,” he said at last, bending down to kiss her again.

“Thanks for bringing me,” she said, feeling drunk from the taste of him. “It’s been an awesome day.”

“We’re just getting started.” He took out a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

When he uncorked the champagne with a loud thwok, Daisy felt a surge of excitement. “Julian?”

“Hang on,” he said, putting his arm around her. “You okay?”

“I’m kind of shaking.” The Eric Clapton song was perfect, romantic and true. He was a guy from an older generation, but his music told the stories in her own heart.

She didn’t drink the champagne. She was too nervous; she might upchuck on herself and ruin everything.

“I wanted to say this here because I know it’s a special place to you.”

She nodded. “Sacred ground. To the Bellamy family, anyway.”

“I’m glad I got to meet your grandparents on their fiftieth anniversary. I’d never met anyone who’d been married that long.”

It had been the most special of days, not only for her grandparents but for all the Bellamys. Daisy had been in enormous emotional pain that summer, yet she could still appreciate the wonder of a love that had endured for half a century.

“It gave me hope,” she said.

“It gave me a dream.” He took both her hands in his and turned to face her. “I want what they have, Daisy. I was a kid back then, we both were. We’re adults now, and the dream hasn’t changed, not for me anyway. It’s only grown stronger.”

His kiss was gentle, searching, full of yearning. She felt so emotional, she thought she might fly into a million pieces.

“All those places we flew over today,” he said, “they mean something to me because of what we shared there.”

“They’re special to me, too,” she said, her throat aching with the words.

He nodded, swallowed hard, as if gathering his thoughts. “I have to go away soon. I have a job to do, a duty … it’s what I signed up for. Life is unpredictable, so I have to do this while I have the chance.”

“Do what?” Somewhere in her heart she knew already, and her pulse raced almost out of control.

“My service in the air force is not forever. I’m saving ‘forever’ for you, Daisy. I don’t want to live my life without you.”

With that, he sank down on one knee before her.

Everything stopped. Time, breath, reality, the world on its axis. Even the wind seemed to quiet. She could feel the sweet air on her skin, and birdsong rang in her ears, mingling with the music from the hidden speakers. At the center of it all was Julian, looking at her with love shining from the deepest part of him.

She wanted to say something, she didn’t know what, but her voice felt trapped, frozen in her throat. She wasn’t able to utter a sound, which was probably a good thing, because for some inexplicable reason, she hovered on the verge of tears. She couldn’t believe this moment was happening to her.

“Daisy Bellamy, I’ve loved you since our first summer at Willow Lake,” he said. “I swear, I’ll never stop. Will you marry me?”

Though this was something she’d dreamed of, fantasized about, hoped for in a secret place in her heart, she was unprepared for the emotion that jolted through her, almost violent in its intensity. Will you marry me?

Her thoughts reeled. She knew she should think about all the reasons she couldn’t be with him, the dangers and drawbacks of giving herself and her young son to a man like Julian. Charlie needed security and stability. She needed … she needed … The tears fell and her heart spoke before her brain could object. “I would love to marry you, Julian Gastineaux. With all my heart, I would love it.”

He laughed aloud and took a ring from his pocket, a simple diamond solitaire on a slender gold band. “They knew your size at Palmquist’s,” he said, slipping in on her finger.

For a split second, she flashed on a memory of Logan’s Christmas Eve proposal, that humiliating night she could never quite get out of her head. Logan had gone to the same jeweler.

“It’s perfect,” she said, distancing herself from that memory. “It fits perfectly.”

“Really?” He stood and picked her up with him, as though she were as light as air.

“Really,” she said, kissing him and brimming over with a happiness so intense, it felt like a kind of pain.

He set her down, and they held each other for a long time. She pressed her cheek to his chest and listened to the throb of his heart. The past few minutes had changed her life. She was going to marry this man. It was unbelievable.

“I didn’t know I’d be asking you today. I’ve been waiting for the right time. When you told me you loved me, I figured it was a sign.”

She pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to the powerful throb of his heart. This was not the conversation she thought they would be having today. This was … a dream come true. “I couldn’t keep it in any longer.”

“I know what I’m asking, because of my job,” he said. “But I also know we’re going to make this work, I swear.”

“Yes,” she said and kissed him again, feeling giddy with elation.

She set her camera on timer and leapt into the frame with him, eager to mark this precious, precious day with a picture together. The viewfinder showed them on the dock with their arms around each other, the late-afternoon sun suffusing the scene with a golden glow. In her professional life, Daisy had taken many photos that were technically superior and more sophisticated than this shot. But never, ever had she captured a more joyous moment.

A sense of wonder held the world at bay and kept reality from intruding. For now, she savored the sweetness of knowing their love had a future. How could a feeling this powerful be wrong? It was a palpable thing. Nothing could stand in their way.