She sighed and tried to push the expenses out of her mind. He wanted to be sweet and create a memorable evening for her. Who was she to rob him of that? This was his choice and she wouldn’t worry about his spending for him.
After scanning the menu and throwing possible choices to each other, she settled on the fresh catch selection, and he chose duck. A knowledgeable waiter made suggestions on accompanying wines, and they each chose a glass, savoring the memory they were forming, holding hands over the tabletop.
“In all the fuss about my suit and all, I don’t think I told you how beautiful you look tonight.”
She blushed, a smile coaxed. She hadn’t gone for the typical sundress she favored. She’d dug deep into the back of her closet and chose a dress that had arrived with her other clothes from the house in Pittsburgh shortly after it sold. She’d worn it to a wedding years ago. It was a navy blue satin, two piece dress. The sheath hugged her form, skimmed her knee and was sleeveless with a crew neck, topped off with a lacey jacket of the same color. It complimented her light brown hair and with all the beach walking she’d been doing, she was pleased to see it fit her even better than the first time she wore it. Living on the beach must agree with her.
“Thank you. I’m glad I didn’t send this one to storage. I needed a fancy dress, and there it was. Must be fate.”
“Speaking of storage, it won’t be long now till you can pull everything you’ve got out of storage. You’ll have so much space in the Barn, you won’t possibly fill it all.”
She nodded, a bubble of giddiness rising in her throat. “Can you imagine how much furniture it’ll take to fill that place?”
“I’m sure Jeremy will help out with that.”
“Yes! I bet he will.”
They were halfway through their entrees when she remembered. “Oh! Tell me about this secret donor.”
“Uhh.” He looked down at his plate, then put his fork down. “See now …” He cleared his throat and looked back at her. “There is no secret donor, darlin’. I mean, the extra investor is … me.”
“You.” She blinked.
“Yep.” He gave one firm nod.
“I don’t understand.” She put her fork down too. “Why didn’t you just tell me? Why the big mystery?” She shook her head.
“Because.” He reached across the table. Now that neither of them were eating, he could put both her hands in his and squeeze them. “Think about that. How would that look?”
“What do you mean?”
“I tell you I want to buy the house with you. I want to share the mortgage. And move in.”
“Okay.”
“It sends the wrong message. Sure, I want the house too. And I can help you with your dream of qualifying for the loan. But that’s not all I want.”
This moment seemed important. Significant. Monumental.
“I want to live with you, Leslie, sure I do. But I want to do this right. I want us to live together, as man and wife. I want this to go in the right order. The last thing I’d want you to think is I’m interested in the house, and in order to get to live with you, then I’d propose. No. Wrong order, see what I mean?”
“I think …” But she couldn’t think. She couldn’t form a sentence.
“It’s you I want, Leslie. I know it’s sudden. So I can wait. Meanwhile, I want you to buy this house of your dreams, because it’s what you want. And I can help you with the piece of the funding you couldn’t do on your own. And someday, when we’re both ready to be married, we’ll live there together.”
She brought her hands up to her face, covered her eyes, ran her fingers through her hair.
“Too fast. Darn it all. I’m sorry, Leslie. I’m movin’ way too fast,” he said.
“No,” she assured him. “No, it’s just … sudden. I mean, five months ago I was married to …” But she didn’t want to say it. She didn’t want Tim’s name to mar the excitement and joy of finding love a second time. He was irrelevant. “My head’s spinning,” she admitted.
“How about we finish our dinner, then take a walk on the beach?”
She nodded, shot him a beaming smile and concentrated on her fish. They talked during the remainder of dinner, but kept the topics as mundane as possible. She was glad. She needed to give her heart a chance to recover from the bombshell.
They finished dinner, had coffee, and while Hank was paying the bill, Leslie stood by the picture window facing the ocean. The restaurant stood on stilts and a door opened from the dining room to a back porch, which led down to the beach via a set of wooden stairs. He joined her and taking her hand, they walked down to the sand. Walking on the beach with Hank had become one of her favorite activities in the world.
“So,” she began. She wanted to talk about it again, needed to. But she had no idea how.
“So,” he echoed. Then he chuckled.
“You definitely had a surprise for me tonight. More than one,” she amended. “You want to invest in the Barn so I can afford it. And you’re in love with me. And you want to marry me.”
He ducked his head but she caught his white smile in the growing darkness. “That about sums it up, don’t it? Thanks for the recap.”
“I have to say for a man of few words, you sure poured them on tonight.” They took a few more steps and she stopped to slip off her shoes, then picked them up so she could walk barefoot in the cool sand. “You been thinking about this long?”
“Honest?”
She nodded. No, lie to me, she mused.
“I realized I was in love with you when it dawned on me what you were trying to do at the prison and that ill-fated first visit with Jeremy. I would’ve never tracked you down to Pittsburgh if I weren’t in deep. You’re such a sweet, loving woman. I was a total jackass to react the way I did.”
She began shaking her head. She didn’t want to go back there. What’s past is past and no need to trample over bad ground.
“That’s when I knew I loved you. I was waiting for the right moment to tell you.”
Sunshine dawned in her heart. Her resulting smile couldn’t have been stopped.
“As for the house, when I heard you wanted to buy the Barn but was short on funding, I was determined to help. It took a meeting with my banker to find out I could fill in the hole you were in. So of course I wanted to. I didn’t want you to think I was doing anything underhanded, that’s why I couldn’t be up front with you until now.”
She reached an arm around his waist and squeezed him while they walked. He brought an arm around her shoulders and she recognized the instant warmth. They walked in silence and she wondered if he’d forgotten about the third revelation tonight: he wants to marry her!
“When did you start thinking about marriage?” Saying it into the dark night made it so much easier than saying it in daylight.
He took a deep breath through his nose, held it a moment, then puffed it out. “You know, Leslie, the kind of man I am, I guess you’d say, traditional. Yeah, I’m a traditional man with old-fashioned values. When I fall in love with a woman, I look to the future. Love isn’t just for the here and now, it’s for a lifetime. I was in love with my Ruthie. Every day was a treasure. But she was robbed from me and I spent a lot of years being bitter and angry.
“You are a new gift from God. Can’t say I deserve that gift or not, but by God, I’m takin’ it. Or at least, doing my best to try to take it. I’ve been lonely for years now. I’m the kind of man who loves being in love. Loves having a companion, loves being married. It’s the way I’m made.”
They stopped walking and he turned to face her in the sand. “I’ve known for a while now I want to marry you, but I don’t want to make mistakes. Don’t want to scare you, don’t want to move too fast. Don’t want to get so wrapped up in what I want, I don’t think about what you want. I know you love me, you told me that tonight, and I believe you. But I’m not in a rush, darlin’. I can wait because you’re worth waiting for. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a good long time.”
He seemed to have more to say but she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing his cheeks and kissing his lips, any more than she could stop her blood pulsing and her heart beating. She pulled him in and poured as much love and affection and passion into the kiss as she possibly could, hoping he got it. She ripped her lips from his, kept hold of his face and looked deep into his eyes. He huffed slightly, his breathing ragged. His eyes locked in with hers, his pupils darkening and heat emanating from his skin.
Then, he pulled her close for a kiss of his own. Her heart raced with the sensations his kiss let loose in her, feelings she hadn’t experienced in a long time, if ever. He slid a hand under the lace jacket and cupped her shoulder, caressing her bare skin. While his lips kept hers engaged in a hot tangle, his fingers grazed over her bodice. He rested his hand over her breast, squeezing gently and tentatively testing its weight, its shape, familiarizing himself with her body’s curves, even while clothed in blue satin.
It didn’t seem foreign, somehow. Even though the only man who had ever explored her in that particular spot over the last twenty years was not this man. It felt good, it felt welcome.
With his other arm still wrapped around her, he pulled her lower body closer to his, and his warmth enveloped her. Their bodies were studies in opposites, hers small and chilly and soft, his large and warm and hard. His body was tight from a lifetime of physical labor, his muscles well-toned. She ran her hands up under his jacket and across his back. Lost in the dance of their lips and tongues, she pressed herself closer to him and discovered another part of his body that was hard and tight.
A gasp escaped her lips and he broke away. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, and he turned and took a step away.
“No, Hank, don’t go,” she said, following him, hand out. She was a grown woman, a mother, familiar with the functions of the human body. There was nothing here to be sorry about. She reached him and grabbed his arm, spun him around till he faced her. He was adjusting his belt, his pants.
“I didn’t mean to …” he fumbled.
“You didn’t mean to what? To kiss me? To touch me? To make us both want to explore each other further? Why not? We’re in love, Hank. We’re nearing our fifties.” She laughed. “If we’re not entitled to go beyond a kiss, who the heck is?”
His head was dipped, listening, not looking. Now he turned enough to catch a glimpse at her. His lips curled and he laughed too.
“Don’t apologize for that. I’m very attracted to you.”
He let out a breath. “Glad to hear it. And, uh, I guess it goes without saying I’m attracted to you.”
She smiled. “I got that.”
“Did you now?” His reddened cheeks revealed his embarrassment but he was loosening up. “Leslie, I want you. I really do. But in my day, you only did that if you were committed. It’s served me well my whole life. I’m not about to change it now.”
He really was a man of honor and integrity. And somehow, she was lucky enough to have fallen in love with him.
They started back to the car. As the night wore on, the temperature had dropped and Leslie shivered in her thin dress. He noticed, he always did, he was so attentive to her. He pulled off his jacket and rested it over her shoulders. She reached her arms through the sleeves and dug her hands in the pockets for the walk back. Something was in the right pocket. A small square box, velvet covered.
Without thinking, she whipped it out of the pocket and held it up, looking at him. His mouth dropped, eyebrows up. He tried to take it but she moved it out of his grasp. “What’s this?”
His cheeks colored again. Poor guy had had a rough night. “Well, I, now, you don’t need to …”
She knew exactly what it was, at least she knew what she hoped it was, what she wanted it to be. She brought her other hand over to lift the lid and before she did, it hit her. She wanted it to be an engagement ring, she wanted it to be for her, and she wanted to say yes. In fact, she wanted the whole nine yards. She wanted her handsome Hank, down on one knee, taking her hand and asking her the question. She wanted to say yes, and she wanted him to slide it on her finger. And she wanted a big celebration kiss while he swung her around.
She saw the whole thing in her mind. Along with the next several decades being this man’s wife.
He put a hand over the box, her hand trapped underneath his. “The last thing I want to do is rush you. I don’t want to ask you before you’re ready to say yes. I can wait. I want you to be comfortable.”
“But you had it in your pocket. You must’ve planned to ask me tonight.”
“No.”
“No?” Her eyebrows scrunched. “You planning on asking someone else tonight?”
He shook his head. “Dang, you’re rough, woman. Give a guy a break.” He took the ring box from her hand. “I’ve carried this along with me every time I’ve seen you since I bought it. Waiting for the right moment when I think you’re ready.”
She stared at it. “When did you buy it?”
“When I was positive I wanted to ask you.”
Her eyes widened. “Which was when?”
“Do you remember when Jeremy first came home? And Marianne had the big welcome sign up at the Inn and everyone greeted him and welcomed him home?”
“Sure I do.”
“That’s when I knew. You see, if it weren’t for you, Leslie, I wouldn’t have even taken part in Jeremy’s homecoming. My heart was so hardened over that boy and what he did, I didn’t think I’d ever speak to him again. It took you to get me to see the error in my ways. It was because of you I got my son back and could form a new relationship with him.” He rubbed his palm over the velvet on the box. “That’s when I knew I wanted to make you my wife and be together forever. And it’s just one of many reasons why I love you.”
“That’s when you bought the ring?”
“Yep.” He looked at her, a new idea forming in his eyes. “And I can prove it. Jasmine could tell you.”
“Jasmine!”
“I took her aside while she was visiting, told her my intentions and showed her the ring. I guess I wanted to get her blessing. Not that it would’ve stopped me if she’d said no. But I was relieved when she gave me the green light.”
She felt like laughing as loud as she could at the sky. “She did? She never told me!” It’d been way too long since she’d spanked that girl.
“Don’t be mad at her. I made her promise to keep it a secret until the time was right. It’s probably killed her the last month not saying anything to you.”
Hmmm, she had no idea Jasmine was that good at keeping secrets. She wondered what else Jasmine hadn’t told her.
He quieted and took her by the shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes. “So, what do you say, Leslie? Is the time right?”
Chapter Sixteen
She got everything she wanted. The proposal on the beach, Hank on one knee, even the celebration twirl and kiss. The ring was a diamond solitaire on a gold band. It was small and simple but exquisite. And it came with the love of the finest man in the world behind it. The best part of it was, she had not one regret.
Later that night, Hank returned her to the Inn. Marianne was in the dining room, setting new cloths on each of the tables before calling it a night. They joined her, hand in hand.
“How was your celebration dinner? Have a good meal?”
Leslie frowned, looking at the ceiling. “I think it was.” She turned to Hank. “Do you remember your meal, Hank?”
He played along, rubbed his chin. “Barely.”
Marianne looked perplexed. “You guys all right? Not having a senior moment, are you?”
Leslie couldn’t wait anymore. She held out her left hand.
Marianne took a second, then gasped. “Oh my gosh! You did it!” She banged her dad on the arm. “And you! You said yes!” She rushed forward and wrapped an arm around each of them, dipping her head between them. “I’m so happy for you!” She popped a kiss on her dad’s cheek, then Leslie’s. “Congratulat
ions.”
They basked in her enthusiasm, but then she dashed off. “Just a minute!”
Hank shook his head. “That girl … what’s she got up her sleeve?”
“She’s so full of love for everyone.”
“You’re right about that.”
Marianne came back, now winded from her running. She had a hold of Jeremy, pulling him by the arm while he objected.
“What is it, sis? What’s going on?”
“Hey, son.”
He focused on his dad. “She pulled me away from sanding a dresser I was making for the Petersons. It better be good.”
Leslie and Hank shared a smile, then Leslie presented her finger again. The little diamond glistened.
Jeremy’s mouth dropped and he stared at it for a while, his emotions playing out across his face. When he tore his eyes away from the ring to look at first his dad, then at Leslie, his voice was choked with sentiment. “Ah, Dad. I can’t tell you how much this makes me happy. You found love. A man like you should have a woman to love him, and you couldn’t have found a better partner than Leslie.” His face colored as he took Leslie’s hand and brought it to his lips. “Thank you,” he whispered.
He didn’t need to thank her. Hank was the finest man she’d ever met. He was kind, hard-working, thoughtful, and she loved every moment she spent with him. She couldn’t believe her good fortune in finding him.
Later, after Hank had walked her up to her room and they had shared a long, warm kiss full of promise for the future, he left and she immediately picked up the phone to call Jasmine, that rascal. When she revealed her big news, Jasmine let out a whoop.
“I wondered when it would happen! It was hard keeping a secret for so long! Congratulations, Mom. I’m so happy for you.”
Leslie fingered the light quilt on her bed. “You sure you’re okay with me getting married again, so quickly after divorcing your father?” She never had any intention of it happening this way. But you couldn’t always plan what life threw at you, especially when she’d been praying every step of the way, and felt convinced it was God’s will for her.
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