He shook his head. “I’ve never had homemade hot chocolate. The stuff my mom fixed came out of a pouch.”
There was something in his eyes that made her hold in any comment she might have made. After all, she knew very well what it was like to come from a home where things were done for convenience instead of comfort. Her mother had never, as far as Claire could remember, made hot chocolate. Even from a pouch.
“Is something wrong?”
He shook his head, but he still looked anxious. Claire reached back to flip off the stove, then crossed the room toward him. He had his hand behind his back, and she suddenly wondered what he was hiding.
“What’s in your hand?”
He didn’t answer at first. Then he pulled his hand around and held the present out to her. Claire knew, from the slightly messy condition of the paper, that he’d wrapped it himself. The bow was off center, the creases uneven. She lifted her gaze to his.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
It was way too big to be a ring, unless he was one of those people who went in for disguising things by wrapping them in boxes that would throw off anyone trying to guess at the contents. Claire seriously doubted Colin would be that kind of person. She took the gift, noting its weight as she did so. She held it in her hands for a moment, not at all certain why it felt like he was proposing when she knew good and well that he wasn’t giving her a ring, and that he hadn’t so much as mentioned marriage.
“Shouldn’t I wait until Christmas?”
“No.”
She focused on him once more. “I don’t have anything for you.”
He smiled this time, though it was tinged with seriousness. “You’ve already given me everything I could ever have wanted. I’ve got your love. I don’t need anything else.”
She dropped her gaze to the package once more and finally slid her finger beneath the tape and began to pull it free. She laid the paper on the kitchen table, then sat the box down beside it and lifted the lid. For a moment she didn’t understand what she was seeing. It was a framed photograph of a sailboat. Her gaze slid over the sleek lines of the craft, finally coming to rest on the name she could see painted in neat script across the stern. She stared for a moment, then lifted her gaze to Colin.
“Claire de Lune. I named her for you. Remember, I told you I’d always wanted to buy a boat and sail around the world?”
She nodded, unable to find the breath to speak.
“Well, somewhere along the way, you invaded that dream. While we were still on the ship, I’d catch myself imagining it. When I quit, I knew I’d buy the boat. I’d been planning it for years. Actually, I’d been saving every cent I could scrape together and putting it into an investment fund.” He actually blushed. “Turns out I’ve got a knack for picking the right stocks to invest in. Anyway, when the time came to put a name on her, I couldn’t keep myself from naming her after you. The color of your eyes. The way your skin glows in the moonlight.”
He reached out and caught her hand. “I know you love teaching. I’d never ask you to stop. But do you think you might be willing to give me your summers? We can live here through the school season and spend the summers sailing anywhere you want to go.” He paused for a moment, lifting a hand to brush a stray strand of hair from her face. “There’s room for kids on board. I made sure of that. Though I think we ought to think about finding a bigger house. This place is never going to hold more than the two of us.”
Claire finally found her voice. “What exactly are you asking me?”
He dropped his hand from her face, and unexpectedly dropped to a knee before her. Claire felt her heart do a quick stutter inside her chest as he seemed to magically produce a ring box out of nowhere. He looked up at her, and she could finally understand the anxiety she saw in his eyes.
“Marry me, Claire. I know I’m not prince charming, but I love you more than anything else in the world. You make me whole. Please tell me you’ll let me spend the rest of my life at your side and in your heart.”
She felt tears sliding down her face. She couldn’t seem to manage to make her voice work. All she could do was nod. He opened the box and pulled out the ring. The setting was incredibly elegant. The center stone was a sapphire, ringed by diamonds. He lifted her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. She couldn’t believe how well it fit. He pushed to his feet, still holding her hand, still staring into her eyes.
“I’m glad it fit. I was afraid I’d be wrong about the size. After five months, I figured I might be embellishing the delicacy I thought I remembered.”
Claire dropped her gaze to her hand, to the ring circling her finger. It made her hand look delicate. It made her feel beautiful and loved. He made her feel all kinds of things she’d never felt before meeting him. She lifted her gaze to him as her lips spread into a smile.
“We should get married soon. As soon as the snow melts enough for us to get to a judge.”
He blinked. “Don’t you want a real wedding? You know, the dress and flowers and cake and all that?”
She shook her head. “I want you. I want your name. I don’t care if we have a big service as long as it ends with us being man and wife.”
Colin kissed her then, knowing that he was the luckiest man in the world.
They were married almost two weeks later. Her mother and sister began by insisting that she could not, under any circumstances, marry the man who’d so clearly demonstrated his dislike for them. After a couple of days of fuming, they got over their tantrum and grudgingly accepted that Claire wasn’t going to be swayed. Then they absolutely refused to allow her to have a civil service. By the time her mother and sister were finished, they’d organized an all-out wedding, complete with wedding gown, flowers, and a guest list that included half the people in town. Claire fought them most of the way, but finally gave in when Colin confessed that he was starting to fantasize about her wearing white lace.
The service was beautiful. The kiss Colin gave her after the minister told them they were man and wife was enough to make half the women in the church swoon. The reception was as elegant as the service. While Colin danced with her mother – at the insistence of the band leader who had no idea how little the two liked each other – Derrick appeared at Claire’s side and offered her his hand. Out on the dance floor, he gave her a warm smile.
“You look incredible.”
“Thank you.”
He glanced toward Colin, who’d already noticed them and was frowning in their direction. “I guess he figured out what he had after all.”
Claire nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. You deserve to be happy.” He paused, then stopped moving and gave her a wry grin. “And now I think I better abandon you to your husband before he decides to restructure my nose for me.”
Claire turned to see Colin bearing down on them, his eyes full of obvious displeasure. Claire felt Derrick release her hand and move away, but couldn’t bring herself to tell him goodbye. Colin’s gaze followed Derrick for a moment, before coming to rest on her as he stopped right in front of her.
“What did he want?”
She felt a flush of amusement as she realized he was jealous. “To tell me how beautiful I was.” She waited for just a heartbeat, as his expression darkened. “And to tell me how happy he was that the man I loved had finally come to his senses enough to realize he’d be a fool to let me go.”
That wiped most of the darkness from his eyes. “What?”
“Derrick knew I was in love with someone else. On the day you came looking for me, I told him I couldn’t see him anymore, and he guessed why. He did say he thought you were an idiot for not appreciating me. I had to agree at the time. Of course, now that I see just how valuable you think I am, I can’t help but be flattered. No one has ever been jealous over me before.”
He gave her a guilty grin. “Was it that obvious?”
“Obvious enough that you sent him running for the door.”
He shook his head. “Sorry. I couldn’t hel
p it, though.” He paused, then shrugged. “I came looking for you at the school that day, before I showed up at your mother’s house that night. I was sitting in the parking lot when the kids let out. I saw you and the guy talking. It was obvious you two were friends. It was even more obvious that he was interested in more than friendship. I guess I freaked out when I saw him with you. I couldn’t help remembering the way I felt when I saw him kiss you. I told myself he would be better for you than me. He shares your interests. He’d never been tainted the way I had. I thought that I ought to just leave then and there. I couldn’t, though.”
Claire gave him a gentle smile as she twined her fingers through his. “I’m glad you didn’t. Because as much as I like Derrick, there’s one very important thing that would keep me from ever being happy with him.” She raised her face to kiss him lightly on the mouth. “I’m in love with you.”
Colin wrapped his arm around her and bent to kiss her with more passion than was strictly decorous considering they were standing in the middle of the dance floor. He pulled away from her and met her gaze.
“Do you think it would cause a scandal if we ducked out of here?”
She smiled. “Probably.” She tightened her grip on his hand. “Let’s go.”
From the Author…
Thank you for reading my book. I hope you found it enjoyable. Please consider taking a few minutes to leave a review so that other readers, as well as I, will know how the story impacted you.
Sincerely,
Jennie Leigh
Her First Vacation Page 24