Liza felt only slightly gratified by his confessions of affection. In a way, it made her feel even more puzzled and confused.
She turned and faced him. “But why, Daniel? Why aren’t you the person I think you are? What is it that you won’t tell me?”
He stared at her, and she thought he might finally take her into his confidence.
“You can trust me,” she practically whispered. “You really can.”
“I know I can. It’s not that, honestly. . . . ” He shook his head and took a step back from her. “Please believe me. It’s difficult for me, too. But this is the right thing to do—the only thing I can do. I’m sorry,” he said again. Then he turned and walked down the steps and out to his truck.
Liza watched him for a moment before she realized she didn’t want to watch him drive away. It all felt too final, too wrenching. She ran inside the inn and up to her room. She sat on the edge of her bed, crying. “It’s just as well,” she told herself through her sobs. “You’ve only known him for a few months and you hardly even dated.”
But that was beside the point, wasn’t it? Their relationship had felt important to her almost from the start. There was something real between them, something genuine and rare. And Daniel was walking away from it, cutting it out of his life as if it—as if she—didn’t matter at all.
ON Wednesday morning, Liza and Claire got to work early, readying the nicest rooms at the inn for the Bennets’ out-of-town wedding guests. Some would arrive on Friday and the rest on Saturday. Liza wanted everything to be perfect, but she felt so depleted and battered from Daniel’s visit, she was hardly up to the task.
“Are you feeling all right, Liza?” Claire finally asked. “I think you’ve been working too hard lately. Why don’t you take a rest this morning? I can handle this.”
“I’m not tired, not really,” Liza said, “I’m sorry if I’m so slow, but I need to be working right now. Doing something productive,” she added.
“Wedding stress getting to you again? Everything seems in order. I think we have it under control.”
“It’s not that. For once,” Liza said quietly. She turned from dusting a window frame. “Daniel came by last night. We had what you’d call ‘a big talk.’”
Claire met her glance. “Did you have an argument?”
“No, not exactly. But maybe that would have been better,” Liza replied. “People are sorry after arguments. They make up and get back together. This was different. It’s really . . . over,” she said bleakly.
Liza told Claire more of their conversation, how she asked Daniel point-blank to trust her and tell her what was really keeping them apart. But he couldn’t—and that made a relationship impossible. “I’m probably lucky he cut it off,” she said bitterly. “Because I can’t be with a man who won’t trust me. It would never work.”
“At least he came back to talk it out. I think that shows that he cares for you, Liza, and respects you.”
Liza tried to take some comfort from her words. But it was cold comfort now. “I know he cares. But that makes it even harder. It’s just over, Claire, completely. He was very clear. He doesn’t want that kind of relationship with me—with anyone right now.”
Claire didn’t answer for a moment. “I’m sorry,” she said sincerely. “But if a thing is meant to be, it’s meant to be. Even if it’s not the right timing, or there are too many obstacles. All things are possible for God, you know.”
Liza recognized one of the housekeeper’s favorite Bible quotes. It had been one of her aunt’s, too. But Liza still had no hope of things changing with Daniel. She was getting just the opposite message from heaven right now—that her relationship with Daniel was not meant to be.
THE inn was ready, inside and out, when the first of the wedding guests arrived early Friday afternoon. Liza had dressed with care to greet the guests of the Bennet wedding, choosing a navy blue dress with white trim and pearl drop earrings.
Kyle and Jennifer had picked up the couple at the train station and driven them over to the island. Liza soon learned that they were Jennifer’s aunt and uncle, who lived in North Carolina.
After the relatives checked in, Claire showed them up to their rooms. They wanted to unpack and change before lunch, then maybe take a bike ride, Liza heard them tell the housekeeper.
Even the bikes had been cleaned and serviced. Liza was determined to give Sylvia very little, if anything, to complain about.
Liza stayed downstairs with Kyle and Jennifer. She was glad to have a chance to visit with the bride and groom for a few minutes.
“I brought you the netting for the backs of the chairs.” Jennifer handed Liza a shopping bag that held several rolls of dark pink tulle. “I couldn’t find the light pink color. It won’t match the roses in the table arrangements now.”
“Don’t worry, we couldn’t get the very pale pink roses. I think the ones the florist found are just about this color,” Liza reported with a smile. “And this shade of netting will be perfect with the daisies.”
Luckily, Jennifer laughed. She wasn’t a Bridezilla; she just wanted a pretty wedding day.
“I think whatever flowers you found will be fine, Liza,” Kyle cut in. “It’s just one day. No one’s going to notice.”
Liza knew he was trying to let her off the hook but his tone was definitely tense and abrupt. Wedding nerves, she thought.
“Would you like me to help you cut the strips for the chairs?” Jen offered. “Or tie the bows? Then you could just slip them on the chair backs on Sunday.”
The offer was tempting, but Kyle gave out a great sigh at the suggestion. Liza didn’t want to keep them stuck at the inn on such a gorgeous afternoon. They looked like they needed some time alone, to get away from the wedding awhile and relax.
“Thanks, but I can handle it. Claire will help me,” Liza added. “Why don’t you guys shut off your cell phones and run off somewhere? As long as you come back for the rehearsal tonight, I don’t think anyone will notice.”
“Thanks, Liza. That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” Kyle turned to Jennifer. “Let’s take a walk on the beach, Jen. We’ve been talking about it all week and never got over here.”
For just a moment Jen looked hesitant, but her sunny smile soon reappeared and she quickly took his hand.
“Good idea. Let’s go. This could be the last time we walk down there before we’re married,” she said. “Isn’t it strange to realize that?”
Kyle nodded, but didn’t answer. He waved briefly to Liza and they left the inn, hand in hand, headed for the beach below the cliff.
“Their beach,” Liza said to herself, looking on at the romantic vision.
JENNIFER led the way down the winding, steep path, with Kyle close behind. “Watch out for the rocks,” she heard him say. “You should have kept your sandals on.”
“I’m all right,” she called back. “I’m going for a pedicure right after this. I don’t care if my feet get a little sandy.”
They quickly reached the bottom. The warm sand felt good under her feet, and the hot sun beat down on her shoulders.
There was something about the beach—any beach—that instantly restored her. But this place especially.
They dropped their shoes at the bottom of the path, and Kyle grabbed her hand. “Let’s walk down by the water.”
They were soon walking along the shoreline, where the foamy edges of the waves slipped between their feet. The waves were warm and gentle today, rolling in and out smoothly, the seabirds dipping down to snatch morsels in the tide pools.
“It’s so beautiful here. I’m sorry we’ve been so busy this week. We should have come here, right away.” Jennifer turned to Kyle. “As soon as you got home.”
Kyle nodded but didn’t meet her glance. His thick hair was ruffled by the breeze. She never got tired of looking at him; he was so handsome and such a wonder to her. She could hardly believe that in two short days, they were going to be married.
“It’s not your fault
, Jen. I thought about it, too, but all this wedding build-up is a little crazy. Like walking into the middle of a tornado.”
Jen laughed. “I know. It’s been that way for weeks. I’m so glad now we decided to get married quickly. I don’t know how anyone stands a long engagement. I can’t wait to get back to real life,” she said honestly. “Our new real life, I mean.”
“Me, too.” He turned to her, slowing his step. “There’s something I have to talk to you about. I’ve been waiting for a good time. I guess this is it,” he added quietly.
Jen took a breath. She had a feeling she already knew what was coming. “Is something wrong?” she asked. “Is it something about the wedding?”
She hoped that’s what it was. A problem with the wedding would be easy to fix.
“Everything about the wedding is fine. It’s not what we originally planned,” he reminded her. “But if it’s what you want and it makes you happy, then that’s fine with me.”
Jennifer had hoped he would say that he liked it unequivocally, but she knew he’d been overruled on more than a few matters. She’d been overruled, too, come to think of it.
“It’s something else, about my job.” He paused a second and stopped walking. “They’ve offered me the promotion in New York. The one I’ve been telling you about. Ted told me before I left the office Tuesday afternoon.”
“Oh . . . really?” Jennifer didn’t know what to say. She wanted to be happy for Kyle. He’d gone through hours of interviews and had been put through the wringer competing for this spot. But she honestly didn’t feel all that happy. This was the news she had been dreading.
She stared down at her feet, unable to look at him. “I don’t know what to say. Do you really want this job? Or does it just feel really good to have beaten out all those other guys?”
“I do want it, Jen. Okay, at first I think there was some macho guy thing going on. I’ll admit that,” he said. “But the longer I was in the hunt, the more I knew this was a great opportunity and an area where I can really excel. Ted saw that before I did, I guess. Which is why he put me forward.” He let out a long breath and stared out at the ocean. “I know it feels as if I’m asking a lot of you, Jennifer. But we have to think of our future. What you just said, our new real life together. I know it will be a big change, but I think we should take it, Jen.”
Jen felt as if she couldn’t breathe for a moment. All the times they skirted around this issue, never talking about it directly. Always hoping her secret thoughts—that he wouldn’t get the job—would prove true. Now there was no avoiding it. No putting it aside to think about some other day. Kyle was telling her he’d gotten the job and he wanted them to move away.
He stared at her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine . . . I’m just thinking,” she said.
“Well . . . what do you think?” he pressed her.
“Honestly?”
“Of course. What do you honestly think?”
She swallowed hard. “I know it’s a great opportunity for you, Kyle. But the timing is terrible. I think we should wait before taking on a big change like totally uprooting ourselves and moving to New York. We need to get settled first and get used to being married, not change everything about our lives all at once. It might be bad for our relationship, starting out with so much stress,” she pointed out. “Have you thought of that?”
“I did. But . . . it doesn’t have to be that way if you could get your mind around the fact that this is a really good thing for us, both of us.”
“It’s a good thing for you,” she allowed. “But what about me? How is it a good thing for me?”
Kyle seemed perplexed by her response. “I know you’ll have your own career, Jen. But I’ll be the main money earner in the family. If I can get a leg up and do well, why . . . we can buy a house and start a family. You can take time off from teaching to stay home with our children. . . .” His voice trailed off. “Our lives are intertwined now. What’s good for me is good for you. . . . Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”
She sighed. “Yes, of course. I understand all that. But . . . oh, it’s just coming at me. Out of the blue, Kyle. Right before our wedding day. I don’t think this is very fair.”
“Out of the blue? I’ve been talking about it for weeks.”
“Yes, but always saying you didn’t have much chance to get it,” she reminded him.
“Well, I guess I was wrong. They did pick me. Out of, like, a hundred other guys. And it is coming out of the blue because it’s a real stroke of luck, Jennifer,” he insisted. “I may not have a chance like this for a long time. Maybe never. And not at this firm,” he pointed out. “Once you turn down a job like this, they don’t forget. I might as well start looking for another job.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Jennifer insisted, though she suspected there probably was some truth to what he said. “Aren’t you?”
Kyle shook his head. “No. That’s the way it works in big investment firms.”
“Kyle, please, try to think of it from my side. Getting married is a big enough change, don’t you think? I don’t even like New York. We’ve already started redecorating the apartment, buying all the furniture. All our family and friends are here.”
“I know it will feel very different at first, but you’ll get used to it, Jen, and you’ll meet people. I know you. You make friends on the supermarket checkout line,” he reminded her.
Jennifer couldn’t argue with that. She did have a knack for striking up conversations with total strangers. But that wasn’t the real issue here.
“The thing is,” she said, “I feel as if you’ve already decided what we should do, and you’re not even trying to understand how I feel about this.”
He stared back at her and didn’t answer.
Jennifer felt backed into a corner and like she was about to burst out crying. But she held back the tears.
Why was he doing this to her? Why did this have to happen now, during the time that should be one of the happiest in her life? She loved Kyle with all her heart, but he was ruining everything with this job problem. Didn’t he see that?
“Kyle, please . . . I know this is important to you. I really know that. But, can’t we just enjoy our wedding and figure this out after?”
“No, Jen. I’m sorry. I wish we could. Ted really wanted me to call him with an answer by today, but I told him we didn’t know yet. I have to call on Monday though, before we leave for our honeymoon. I can’t keep them waiting longer. If I say I don’t want it, they need to ask someone else.”
She could tell the idea of that happening pained him. She hated to see him feeling bad about anything, she loved him so much. But this . . . of all things to ask her to do.
“Oh, Kyle, I don’t know.” Jennifer twisted away from him. “How can I leave here? What about my parents? They’ll be hysterical. They won’t understand. My mother doesn’t even like the idea of us living in Boston. What would I even say to them?”
Kyle’s expression had been understanding at first, even sympathetic, but now he suddenly looked angry, as if he had reached the limit of his patience.
“I think that’s the whole problem, Jennifer. Right there. You don’t want to leave your parents. You’re afraid of them, afraid of what they’ll think and what they’ll say. They’ve run this whole wedding, changing everything that we wanted. And now you want them to run our life.”
“That’s not true, Kyle,” Jennifer argued back. “But they will be shocked. If we decide to move away, your parents will be shocked, too.”
“Sure they will. But we’ll just tell them that it’s our life. It’s as simple as that, Jennifer. We make the decisions now. Not them.” He moved closer and stared down at her. “I don’t know . . . Are you really ready to get married? Do you even understand what it means? It’s not about rose petals on the runner and all the other trimmings,” he said, waving toward the inn. “It’s about you and me making a life together, the one that’s right for us. Not for your pare
nts or anyone else.”
Jennifer knew he was right. But she still felt totally torn.
Why couldn’t the life they wanted be one that wouldn’t upset her family? It seemed as if that had been their plan . . . now this.
“Okay, I know what you’re saying. But you can’t just spring this on me two days before our wedding. ‘Hey, Jen, we’re moving to New York, like it or not.’ It’s not fair. Don’t I get a vote here? And is this what I have to expect from now on? I have to drop any plans I ever make and just jump if something comes up with your career? I’m sorry, Kyle, but there are more important things in life than a big promotion and being asked to work in the main office.”
Kyle stared at her, his face red with anger. “Is that what you really think of me? That I’m on some ego trip and I’m just walking all over you? I’m trying to make a good life for us, Jen, and all you can do is whine and complain about it. A lot of women would be thrilled to live someplace new, someplace exciting like New York. They wouldn’t want to be stuck in the same old place where they grew up.”
“Well, maybe you should marry one of those women. If you don’t want to marry me, well . . . that’s just fine.”
She burst into tears and ran down the beach away from him.
“Jennifer? What are you doing? Come on, come back.” Kyle ran after her for a few moments, then stopped. “I’m not going to chase you, if that’s what you think.”
Jennifer wasn’t sure what she wanted. If she stopped and turned and went back to him, they would only talk more about this problem. But she just couldn’t deal with it anymore. She just didn’t want to.
She slowed her steps to a brisk pace, walking along the water’s edge. The hem of her long cotton skirt was wet and dragged in the water, but she didn’t care. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Kyle down the shoreline, staring after her.
The Wedding Promise Page 20