by Carter, TK
Michelle called my name as she wandered down the stairs. “Chance, do you have any . . . holy shitballs! Is that Tony?”
He pulled away from me and grinned. “It is, indeed, Michelle.”
She squealed as she ran past Alissa and threw her arms around his neck. “I can’t believe this shit! This is such a shock. God, you look great!”
“Me? Look at you, skinny mini!”
She grinned. “Thanks. What are you doing here?” As if reality stomped on Michelle’s toe, she jumped and looked at Alissa. “Oh, shit. Tony’s here.” She pointed at Alissa’s belly then pointed at Tony.
Tony raised his hand. “I can assure you it’s not mine.”
Leave it to Tony to save an awkward situation. We laughed as Michelle pulled him through the mudroom toward the living room. “Come on in, come see this place.”
He stopped. “Actually, I left my car running. I wasn’t sure if I was in the right house.” He looked at me and grinned.
I found my voice. “How many have you stopped at?”
That perfect, sly half-grin that was panty-melting hot appeared on his face as he said, “Twelve—give or take a few.”
Twelve houses. Eighteen hundred miles and twelve houses. He was determined to find me. The knot I’d just cleared from my throat reappeared with two more friends. I took a deep breath. “Damn. I’ll walk with you to turn off your car.” I pushed him toward the door and reminded myself to keep breathing. Tony was six inches away from me and still too far. I wanted to bury my face in his chest and sob every apology I’ve longed to say for all the ways I’d fucked up. He turned off the car and grabbed a bag from the back seat.
“Mind if I bring this inside? I’ve got my laptop and a bunch of stuff that might explode in the car.”
I nodded. “Yes, that’s fine.” I pointed to the car and asked, “Rental?”
He sighed. “Yes, and that little piece of shit is governed. Can’t drive over seventy miles an hour. I intend to complain.”
I smiled. “You shouldn’t be speeding anyway.”
His eyes buried into mine as he stood inches from my face. “I had somewhere I needed to be. I didn’t want to dick around.”
I alternated between not breathing and panting like a dog. “Why are you here, Tony?”
He sighed and looked over my shoulder toward the ocean. “Wanna go for a walk? I’ve always wanted to come here.”
I grinned and whispered, “Florida.”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “Right. Florida. Shall we take advantage of my dream?”
I smiled. “Might as well. I’ve been living it for three and a half months. I guess I could share.”
He smiled and touched my face. “God, it’s good to see you, Chance.”
I closed my eyes and took a step through the unknown. “I’ve longed for you every day.” I looked into his eyes and felt my chin quiver as tears pricked his eyes.
He grinned. “I knew it. I knew it.” He shouted, “I knew it!” He grabbed my face in his hands and put his forehead to mine. “I knew it,” he whispered. He kissed my lips so lightly, I barely felt anything but his breath. He kissed me again with the sweetest, most tender expression of love I’ve ever felt. My knees felt weak as he pulled away and sniffled. “I don’t want to quit holding or kissing you.” He chuckled then kissed me again.
I touched his face. “Let’s take your bag inside and go on that walk. I have so much to show you.”
“Do you mind if I change first? I’m dressed for Missouri not balmy Florida.”
I giggled. “Yes, that’s fine.” We couldn’t quit looking at each other. Even as we walked the short path to the deck, we kept staring at each other and laughing when the other tripped. “The sand will be easier on us.”
“Any chance you have a white bikini?” He grinned.
“Maybe.” I winked.
“You really are undeniably beautiful.” He faked a shiver.
“You’re still thinking of the white bikini.” I smiled.
“Well, yeah. I’m not dumb.”
I showed him through the house to the bathroom, and the minute the door closed, my friends surrounded me jumping up and down and squealing under their breaths. I put my hand over my heart and leaned against the kitchen island. “Someone tell me this is really happening.”
“I think this is the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Katie gushed.
“Why is he here?” Michelle asked. “How did he find you?”
“I don’t know! I swear I’m disconnected from myself right now and can’t even think.”
Alissa handed me a fresh mimosa. “Here. Down this. You’ll center right back up.”
I followed orders and sighed. “Again.” I handed her the empty glass and watched her prepare another one.
Dani grinned and asked, “Do you want me to mix a bottle of that for you to take on the beach?”
“Yes, and I might be back for more before he gets out of the bathroom.”
Michelle put her hands on my shoulders. “This is not the time for you to think. Right now, you feel. You need to listen to him and listen to your heart. No thinking. Thinking has kept you heartbroken for over a year now. You love him more than I’ve ever seen anyone love another human being. Well, maybe minus me and my kids. But seriously, Chance. I’m begging you.”
I nodded. “I will.” I looked at Alissa. “Did you have anything to do with this?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Why the hell would I bring him down here to bust me? Nope. Wasn’t me.”
I pointed at Katie, Michelle, and Dani. “Anyone want to fess up before he busts you?”
They all denied involvement and scattered like autumn leaves when he opened the bathroom door. I grabbed my glass, the bottle, and an extra glass for him. “Ready?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes, Princess Jasmine. Show me your new world.”
I shook my head. “You’re way too hetero to reference Disney movies as much as you do.”
He shrugged. “I’m secure in my manhood.”
We stepped onto the deck where I ditched my shoes and grabbed my trusty blanket. Never in a million years did I believe I would actually get to share my Tony blanket with its namesake. I slipped my flip-flops back on. “The sand is probably hot this time of day, so we better keep these on until we get to the wet sand.”
He admired the house and whistled. “Damn, I don’t even want to know how much this cost.”
“Me neither.”
“You don’t know?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Good thing I have all the time it will take.” He followed me down the boardwalk and stared at the ocean. “Wow.”
“It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?”
“Understatement.”
I tossed the blanket on the sand and poured a mimosa for Tony. I lifted my glass. “Cheers. To crossing something off your bucket list.”
He raised his glass. “I kind of wish it was under different circumstances and you were wearing a white bikini.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Okay, spill it. Tell me everything. Why did you come?”
He swallowed and took another drink. “Man, that’s the shit.”
“Right? Want more?”
“Yes.” He held his glass out. “Why am I here? Well I think that’s pretty obvious. I came to find you. I went to your station yesterday to beg you to talk to me, and they told me you left late December and wouldn’t be back until June or July.”
I muttered, “If I still have a job there.”
“Yeah, well, Stuart isn’t very happy with you.” He smirked. “So I found your boy-toy, Eddie, and asked him a few questions. He was extremely vague at first, but when I appealed to his softer side, he sang like a bird.”
Eddie. I didn’t know if I wanted to hug him till he suffocated or push him in front of a bus. I would have a solid answer after this visit. “So Eddie told you I was going to Naples, but he didn’t know why.”
“No, but t
here was a lot of speculation and rumors. No one could figure out why you’d up and leave your job, your life . . . none of it made sense until I started doing the math.” He bit his lip and mumbled, “I thought you were pregnant.”
My eyes widened as I said, “Pregnant? Tony, we haven’t slept together in well over a year.”
His eyes dropped as he whispered, “I know.”
The panicked look on his face, the desperation to know the truth, the look of relief when he saw Alissa—it all made sense now. “Tony, there hasn’t been anyone since you.”
He took a deep breath. “All I could think was you were pregnant and maybe had come down here to get married like . . . like we’d talked . . . and I thought you were gone. Like forever gone.”
My nose tingled and eyes misted as I watched his pain exposed. “Nothing like that, Tony.”
He looked at me. “Then what? Well, I guess I know a big part of the situation, now that I’ve seen Alissa. And holy shit that was a shock, but such a relief.”
Don’t think, just feel.
I had never lied to this man outside of telling him I didn’t want to spend my life with him. I wasn’t about to start now. “Alissa found out she was pregnant after Mark broke up with her. About the same time, Dani found out she’s barren. Alissa has never wanted children and would never consider abortion, so adoption was the only option. The problem is that Mark knew she was pregnant. She went to him to do the right thing and have him sign off his parental rights, but he flew off the handle and said a lot of awful things to her. He told her to get rid of it, so she let him assume she was having an abortion.”
“So she had to leave town.”
I nodded. “She had to leave town, yes. She offered to give the baby to Dani, legally of course, and begged me to come with her. I didn’t have any reason to say no and thought maybe the . . . distance from St. Louis would help me gain perspective.”
“And did it?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes and no. More yes than no. Actually, all yes.”
“So what’s the verdict?”
My heart pounded and hands began to shake. “Why did you come here, Tony?”
“I already told you.”
“What were you going to do if you found me with someone else? Found me pregnant?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “I was going to tell you I love you then ask you to help me bury the bastard’s dead body.”
I laughed. “Oh, that’s great. Have a pregnant lady help you bury a body.”
“I’m kidding. I don’t know. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I guess I just needed to know. I knew you weren’t going to answer my calls or texts, so that left one option. I hopped the first flight I could catch out of St. Louis and here I am.”
“But how did you find the street?”
He smiled slyly. “I’m a journalist, Chance. I know how to get the scoop.”
“Fair enough, but you’ll tell me someday.”
He grinned. “Maybe. Now, tell me; what’s the verdict?”
I slipped my hand into his. “The verdict is that no matter where I go, no matter how much I try to chase you out of my mind and heart, I love you and only you, and I’ll love you the rest of my life if you’ll let me.” I held my breath and thought, Holy shit, I can’t believe I just said that.
He stared at my face until I met his eyes. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He pulled a package from his pocket and popped the lid on the blue velvet box. “Marry me, Chance. This weekend. On this beach at sunset.”
I stared at the diamond standing proudly in the box shining and eager. I wondered how long it had been cooped up in that little box waiting for this moment. I thought about all the reasons I’d said no before then remembered the pain and regret I’d lived with afterward. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered, “Deal.”
He flopped back on the blanket spread eagle and yelled, “Holy shit, she said yes!” He kicked his legs and pumped his arms in a full-out giddy-fit as my grandmother used to say and laughed his perfect belly laugh before flipping onto all fours and crawling onto me.
I squealed, “Tony! Shit!” as he pinned me under his body and looked at my face.
“Say it again,” he panted.
I bit my lip then kissed his nose. “Yes, I will marry you on this beach this weekend at sunset. On one condition, though.”
His eyes darkened and his eyebrows kissed with worry. I could tell he was holding his breath. “And that is?”
I whispered, “I have to stay here until Alissa gives birth.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “A thousand things ran through my mind, and I was ready to agree to any of them. You never cease to surprise me. Chance.” He sighed and whispered, “I’ve been so lost without you. When I saw you in St. Louis, I knew you felt the same way. She wasn’t my girlfriend. Ever. She wanted to be, but how could I ever downgrade when I had the top of the line?”
“True. So true,” I smiled.
He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. “If I stay on top of you much longer, we’re going to get an early start on the honeymoon.”
I whispered, “‘Florida’ . . .”
He smiled. “You’re going to marry me.”
I nodded and bit my lip to stop the tears from falling. I whispered, “You’re really here.” I touched his face and slid my hands down his chest. “I longed for you.”
He tilted his head. “All you had to do was call.”
“All you had to do was come.”
He curled his arms around my body and pressed against the small of my back—that magical place that ignites every nerve ending in my body. He knows that. I groaned. “That’s playing dirty.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Let the games begin, my beloved. We have approximately thirty-six hours of toying to do before we say our vows. I intend to create a smoldering inferno in you until then.”
I smirked. “I know you’ll find me a worthy opponent. Game on, brother.”
“I almost forgot something,” he said as he pulled away from me. He bent over, grabbed the blue box holding the engagement ring, and dropped to one knee. He reached for my hand, slid the ring on my finger,. “Now, it’s official.”
Chapter Forty
From This Moment On
Michelle
I pressed my face against the window. “They’re looking pretty comfy out there.”
Alissa waddled up behind me and craned her neck to see Chance and Tony on the beach. “What do you think he’s saying? He looks pretty intense.”
“How can you see all that?”
She outlined his body with her finger. “See how he’s leaning toward her? Oh, they’re really talking about some shit.”
“Well, she’s not throwing sand in his face, so I’d say it’s going well.”
Dani called to us, “You guys, get away from the window and give them some privacy.”
I gasped. “Holy shit! Is he proposing?”
Dani and Katie raced to the window and squeezed between Alissa and me. Katie gasped, “Oh my gosh, I think he is.”
I sucked in my breath. “Let the sand fly in three . . . two . . . one.”
We watched as Tony flung himself on the blanket then kicked like a kid having a tantrum. “I’m guessing she said no?”
Alissa mumbled, “She’s the dumbest bitch I’ve ever met if she does.”
Katie pointed. “No look! Guys, I think she said yes.”
Dani whispered, “I think she did too.”
I gasped again. “Oh she totally said yes.”
We all jumped up and down squealing and hugging each other. Katie said, “This is the best thing ever. Like getting a front-row seat to a real romantic comedy.”
My eyes were glued to the two figures on the beach. “I want to see him put it on her finger.”
“I bet the poor bastard lost the ring when he threw himself on the blanket,” Alissa said.
Dani nudged her with her elbow. “You’re a mess
.”
“Lis, do you have binoculars?” Katie asked. “I want to see this shit!”
Alissa laughed. “Absolutely not. We’re prying enough as it is.”
“He’s doing it! He’s dropping to one knee,” Katie squealed.
I laughed. “Well, his nuts aren’t in his throat yet, so I’d say that’s a good sign.”
“Oh shit, they’re coming to the house.” Alissa turned from the window. “Quick. Disperse. Act like we don’t know.”
We flew into various parts of the living room and took seats in random places. Dani picked up a baby magazine, Alissa grabbed her iPad, Katie redirected her path to the kitchen island and I curled up on the couch with the smart phone I still didn’t quite know how to operate. Five seconds later, we burst into laughter at how ridiculously posed we all looked and knew Chance would give us one look and know we’d spied.
Chance barely had the door open before Katie flew into her arms squealing, “Lemme see, lemme see, lemme see.”
I shook my head and mumbled, “Way to act cool, Katie.” We lit on them like kids on birthday cake and all took turns hugging both of them and admiring the rock on Chance’s hand.
Alissa grinned and hugged Tony. “Well done, well done.”
He faked a hat tip. “Thank you, thank you.”
“Well ladies, I have some news,” Chance said.
I laughed. “I think it’s a little too late for your big news, Chance.”
She grinned. “But wait, there’s more.” She pointed to Alissa and asked, “Want a new project?”
Alissa waved her off. “Oh Chance, I don’t have patience to train Tony for you.”
Chance giggled. “No, but perhaps you’d like to put your excitement to good use and help me find a minister and a place to get a marriage license. We’re getting married this weekend on that beach out there.”
I’m pretty sure some glass shattered and dogs five miles away heard the shrieks that erupted from the teenage girls still deep inside each of us. Alissa paced and ticked the list of things to do on her fingers. “Okay, it’s Friday, so everything is open. You just want someone ordained, right? Not like a specific denomination? Good. We need to go to the courthouse and get the marriage license. I’ll make a few phone calls . . .” her voice trailed off as she got lost in planning mode and engrossed in her iPad.