“Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate that.”
Nathan drew in a deep breath before slowly releasing it. Where to begin?
Chloe made herself comfortable on the boulder and listened as Nathan told her about what he’d been through—sleeping on the beach until he’d found a cave to use as shelter, finding a safe source of water, developing his fishing skills, climbing trees to get their fruit, and watching every single day for a ship or a boat to come close enough for him to light the ever-ready signal bonfire.
Listening to him describe his experience, Chloe was speechless. Then she remembered how she’d secretly scoffed at him tearing out the wall on his house. It must have been a simple thing to do after all he’d been through, and she felt humbled.
“I just wish I’d been more forceful in not letting Lisa go on that cruise,” he said. “But you know your sister. When she wanted something it was hard to deny her.”
Wait. What?
Chloe tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Hold on,” she said, her tone filled with confusion. “What are you talking about? You invited her to go with you.”
Now it was Nathan’s turn to look confused. “No, I didn’t. This was a trip I wanted to take by myself so I could have time to think about my future. Lisa invited herself. I told her no, but she pushed and pushed until I relented.”
Stunned by this news, Chloe felt her mouth fall open. All this time she’d believed that Nathan had invited Lisa—had chosen Lisa—over her. She’d completely blamed him for Lisa’s death for that very reason. But that wasn’t the case at all. He’d actually discouraged Lisa from coming.
“Truth?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“Truth,” he said, his forehead furrowed, like he didn’t know why this was news to her. “Wait,” he added. “You thought I invited Lisa to come with me?”
Nodding dumbly, Chloe felt her world shifting. Everything she had believed had been wrong.
“Why would I do that? Why would I invite her and not you? That makes no sense.” Then Nathan’s face paled. “What if I had invited both of you? You’d both be…” Grief bracketed his eyes and his voice dropped to a whisper. “You’d both be dead.” He took a deep, pained breath and closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they had a haunted look. Voice cracking, he said, “I’d be responsible for destroying your entire family.”
In complete silence, Chloe watched all kinds of emotions play across Nathan’s face—guilt, sorrow, regret. She’d been holding Lisa’s death against him when he was completely innocent. Lisa had insisted on coming. Nathan held zero responsibility for her death.
Then she remembered what she’d told him at his party—the party to celebrate the fact that he was alive. She’d flat-out told him that Lisa’s death was his fault. And he’d taken it without flinching.
Sorrow, dark and powerful, pierced Chloe to the depths of her soul. This whole time Nathan had been suffering guilt and grief when he should have been celebrating that he’d lived. All he’d wanted was Chloe’s forgiveness and she had denied him.
Fresh grief nearly swallowed her. But this grief was different than the grief she had for Lisa. This new grief was for the pain she’d inflicted upon Nathan when he hadn’t deserved one drop of it.
Tears flooded her eyes and she reached out for Nathan, taking his hands in hers.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice shaking and her tone filled with pleading. “Can you ever forgive me?”
Nathan’s gray eyes snapped to hers. “Forgive you? For what?” He shook his head. “You haven’t done anything wrong.” Then guilt filled his eyes once again. “I need…” His chin quivered, but he kept it together. “I need your forgiveness, Chloe. For taking your sister away.”
Before he’d even finished speaking, Chloe was shaking her head from side to side in a strong gesture of refusal. “It wasn’t your fault. Stop blaming yourself.” She swallowed over the knot in her throat. “I was wrong to blame you. I’m so, so sorry.”
Nathan’s jaw clenched as he shook his head. “I shouldn’t have let her come. If I had been stronger she would still be alive.”
Chloe couldn’t stand it a second longer. She moved to Nathan’s side, sitting beside him on the rock and locking her eyes with his. “Stop it. I don’t blame you. I never should have. You did nothing wrong, Nathan. Nothing.”
He stared at her as if he was trying to process her shift from blaming him to absolving him of all responsibility. His gaze fell to his lap before he lifted it to meet her eyes. “Are you saying you forgive me?”
The depths of despair she saw in his eyes tore at her soul. He’d suffered more than any one person should have to suffer, and if all he wanted was her forgiveness then it was up to her to make things right.
She placed her hands on both sides of his face and locked her eyes with his, gazing at him as her love for him nearly overwhelmed her. He was such a good man and he was still her best friend. How could she have nearly thrown that away? Stunned to realize how close she had come to making the biggest mistake of her life, she said, “There’s nothing to forgive, Nathan, but if you need me to say it, I will. I forgive you completely and I don’t blame you for Lisa’s death.”
Nathan’s countenance brightened as if all the despair he’d been feeling had washed away and Chloe felt an answering glow in her own soul. She had really and truly forgiven Nathan and it felt magnificent. She hadn’t felt this light and joyful since before Nathan and Lisa had left on that cruise.
She released Nathan’s face, but before her hands had reached her lap, he took them in his.
“Thank you, Chloe. That’s what I needed to hear.”
As Chloe gazed into his eyes—eyes that were filled with a serenity she had never seen before—her heart swelled with an overwhelming love for him. She had always crushed on him, but her feelings had grown and matured and she had to tell him, couldn’t hold back her feelings even if she wanted to.
“I love you, Nathan.”
His eyes widened, and for a moment she wondered if telling him had been a mistake. But no. He needed to know how she felt.
Then his lips quirked up. “You mean as a friend, right?”
She could understand why he was asking that. They’d been friends for years, and besides him kissing her the day before, there had never been anything remotely romantic between them. But no, that wasn’t what she meant, and even though it was kind of scary to admit it, she was going to.
“No,” she said as a smile blossomed on her lips. “I don’t mean as a friend.” Then her smile grew even more. “Truth.”
A deep chuckle slipped out of his mouth. “That’s interesting.”
Her smile dimmed. Maybe she should have kept her feelings to herself. Had she just ruined their friendship? But she knew he had to feel something beyond friendship for her. After all, he’d kissed her. “Why is that interesting?”
His smile brightened, and then he released one of her hands before stroking her cheek. “Because I love you too.”
Chloe’s heart did a kind of ker-thump. Did he mean it? Did he really feel toward her as she felt toward him? She had to clarify. “Not as a friend?”
He leaned closer to her and murmured. “Truth. Not as a friend.” Then he nearly closed the distance between their mouths, stopping an inch away. “If I kiss you, will you slap me?
Desperate to have his lips on hers, she whispered, “No.”
At that, his lips crushed hers and his arms went around her waist. Chloe slid her arms around his neck and held him against her, savoring the feel of him. He was the man she was in love with and had been for so long, and he was the man who loved her right back.
After a lingering kiss, he drew away and smiled at her. “I hope it’s not going to be a problem if I want to kiss you when we’re working on my house.”
She thought about how embarrassed she’d been when Keith had caught Nathan kissing her and then had seen her slapping him. But now that they’d declared their love for each other, she d
idn’t care who knew.
“No,” she said with a smirk. “You can kiss me whenever you want.”
His smile grew. “Good.” Then he kissed her again.
Chloe sank against him as a deep contentment settled over her. She still missed Lisa terribly and always would, but now that she’d released Nathan from all responsibility, the anger she’d been harboring melted away. Her future held all kinds of promise—something she’d nearly given up hoping for. And having Nathan in love with her had been so beyond her wildest dreams that she soaked up every drop of this wonderful moment. He loved her and she loved him and Chloe had no doubt that they would be together forever.
Epilogue
Eight months later
“Are you sure you’re ready for the big reveal?” Chloe asked as she and Nathan drove to his house. She was driving his Lamborghini because she’d made him wear a blindfold.
He chuckled. “I’ve never been so ready for anything in my life.” He turned toward her, and when Chloe looked at the blindfold covering his eyes as he faced her, she worked to suppress a laugh. “Believe or not,” he went on, “my parents actually seem ready to see me go.”
The laughter wouldn’t be stopped and made its way right up her throat before bursting from her mouth.
Nathan lifted a corner of the blindfold, and when Chloe saw one of his gray eyes peeking out, she laughed harder.
Grinning, he said, “Are you laughing at what I said about my parents or are you laughing at me?”
Pressing one hand to her mouth in a failed attempt to keep the giggles inside, she glanced at him. “You. I’m laughing at you.”
With that, he tore the blindfold off and gave her a look that said he was done looking silly.
Chloe’s eyes went wide as she gasped in mock distress, then she pulled onto a side street, stopping at the curb.
Nathan looked around. “What are you doing? This isn’t my house.”
Struggling to hold back another burst of giggles, she said, “We’re not going anywhere until you put that blindfold back on.”
Nathan reached out and put his hand over hers. “I love you, Chloe, but there are limits to what I’ll do.”
Seeing the sincerity in his face filled her with joy. At least once a day he told her he loved her, but she never tired or hearing it.
“Fine,” she said with a smirk. “You can leave the blindfold off if you promise to close your eyes when I tell you to.”
He nodded. “Deal.”
With that, they continued on, and when they turned onto Nathan’s street, she told him to close his eyes.
Making sure his eyes were shut tight, she drove to his house, stopping where they would be able to see the entire front of the property. He hadn’t been to the property for weeks—she’d made him promise to stay away while she finished—and she was beyond excited to show him the finished project.
“Okay,” she said with a huge smile. “You can open your eyes.”
Obediently, Nathan opened his eyes, and when he saw the front of his house, his lips stretched into a wide smile. Though he hadn’t been sure how he wanted the house to look, he loved what Chloe had done with it. And that was before they’d even gone inside.
“Well?” she asked from the driver’s seat, her voice tinged with anxiety. “What do you think?”
He turned to her with a grin. “I love it.” Even more, he loved her. So deeply and fully that he often felt like his heart would burst from it.
“Truth?”
“Yes. Now let’s go inside so I can see the rest.”
A few moments later they stepped over the threshold and Nathan was blown away by how amazing the place looked. They walked from room to room with Chloe pointing out details here and there. He was so in love with her, but he also had great respect for her and her talents.
Then he thought about the little surprise he had for her and could barely contain the giddy excitement that threatened to overtake him.
They finished their tour, ending in the backyard. They stood on the patio under the coffered ceiling. He turned to her and took her hands in his. “I am so impressed with you. This house turned out so much better than I could ever have imagined. I absolutely love it.” He smiled softly. “You’re amazing, Chloe.”
Her face practically glowed under his praise.
Chloe felt as if she was lit from within. Even though she was proud of the work she’d done, she’d been so worried that Nathan wouldn’t like it that she’d hardly slept the night before. But now, hearing how much he loved it, relief cascaded over her in waves. She’d done it. She’d created the perfect house for the man she loved.
He led her to a love seat that offered a panoramic view of the green hills. They sat side by side.
“There is one thing that’s missing though,” he said with a frown.
Heart pounding, Chloe frantically tried to figure out what she’d forgotten. “What? What’s missing?”
Nathan’s lips tugged upward as he took her hands. “You.”
Uncertain what he meant, Chloe shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“Now that my house is done,” he said, his gaze soft on hers, “and I’m going to move in, one very important element is missing.” He gazed at her as if he was looking into her very soul. “I love you more than anything in this world, Chloe.”
Her eyes widened. Was he about to do what she thought he was? Her heart thundered with anticipation as she gazed at him. She loved him so much, more than she ever thought she could love another human being. Whenever she thought about how close she’d come to throwing her relationship with him away, she nearly lost her breath. But now, with him gazing at her with love-filled eyes, she savored the moment.
“I love you too,” she whispered. “So much.”
“That’s good.” His voice had a lilt to it, like he was holding back powerful emotions. “Because now I’m more confident in what your answer will be.”
“My answer?”
“Yes.”
Laughing, she said, “You haven’t even asked a question yet.”
“Let’s play Truth.”
The anticipation was killing her, but she played along. “Okay.”
“I’ll go first.”
She was silent as she waited to hear his question.
“Would you love me even if I was dirt poor?”
She answered without hesitation. “Yes.” Then a fresh worry filled her mind and she frowned. “Did I spend too much on the remodel?”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “No.” Then he sobered. “But if I had to sell this house, how would you feel?”
Sadness, bright and swift, crashed over her. She would be devastated. She’d poured her heart and soul into this project. But as she looked at Nathan and thought about the priorities they shared—relationships and people over temporal things—the feeling of devastation faded. “I would be sad for sure, but I would get over it.” She smiled. “Eventually.”
He nodded. “How would you feel about living here?”
Wait. What was he implying? Had she misunderstood where this conversation was leading? Was he asking her to move in with him? Because that wasn’t something she was willing to do.
Anxious now, she waited to hear what he had to say.
A smile slowly curved his lips. “Chloe, you own my heart and there’s nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you.” He paused a beat. “Will you marry me?”
He wanted to marry her! He wanted her to be his wife!
Pure happiness rushed through her. Marrying him was exactly what she wanted. Nearly exploding with joy, she threw her arms around him. “Yes,” she said through her tears. “Yes, I will marry you.”
He held her in his arms and she relished the love that radiated from him.
“I have something for you,” he said as he drew away.
What more could she want than to marry him?
Anxious for him to know that he’d already given her all she desired, she said, “I don�
�t need anything else.”
He chuckled as he reached into his pocket before withdrawing his hand, his fingers curled into a fist. “You may not need anything else, but this is kind of traditional.” Then he unfurled his fingers to reveal a huge, sparkling diamond ring.
“Oh,” Chloe breathed out. “It’s so beautiful.”
He took her left hand in his and slid the ring onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly.
Chloe admired it, but only for a moment, because all she really needed was Nathan by her side. “I love you,” she said as she smiled at him.
He wrapped his arms around her. “I love you too.”
She snuggled against him, happier than she ever thought she would be and excited to begin her future with the love of her life.
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