“It’s not like that. He wanted me to go with him.”
“To Colorado?”
“Yes, he…he said he loves me.”
“I guess I was wrong about those DeLucas. They do seem to be coming around. Nate, Marco, Gabe. There is hope. Wonderful.”
“It’s not wonderful.”
“Oh, dear. You don’t love him back. Is that it?”
“I never met anyone like him. Actually, I started a list of all the reasons I love him. I was only on number eight when you called.”
Clovis gave her a funny look. “What am I missing here? I know it must be something. What did you leave out?”
“Nothing! But I live here, and he lives there. I made a life here, and he thinks I should just pick up and go. Why do men always think they have to be the center of everything?”
“Well,” Clovis said, folding a pair of cheeky boy shorts, “Unless he wants to put you at the center of everything. And he can’t very well do that if you’re here in St. Helena with us.”
Mallory didn’t know what to say to that. She hadn’t thought to frame it that way. “Do you want me to go? Won’t you miss me?”
“I’ll miss you, but I can’t stand between you and true love. Only you can tell me if I am. Is this the real thing?”
If this wasn’t the real thing, then it didn’t exist. She nodded. “I love him like crazy and I’ve never felt this way before.”
“Then we’re going to need to figure out a way you can go with him.” Clovis picked up the store phone and starting pushing buttons. “There are a lot of people in town that owe me a favor, and some of them aren’t even my relatives. I’ll get someone in here to relieve your shifts until Harper gets back.”
“What about the dance studio? Sara is going to pop any day now.”
“Yes, but you forget her sister is also a dancer. And she’s coming for the baby so she may as well come a little earlier.”
“But…I’m scared. I want to be with him, but what if it doesn’t work out? We just met. What if we’re wrong about this? What if—”
“Take it from an older woman. There are a lot of ‘what ifs’ in life. It’s best not to let them define you.”
She was tired of being afraid. Tired of the bravado on the outside not quite matching inside. She’d been lying to herself for months, because she wanted all those wonderful things like love and marriage. Babies. Maybe it was time to take a risk again. Because she loved David with all her heart, and if he wasn’t worth the risk it meant no one was.
This was happening. She could really be moving to Colorado with the love of her life.
“This was always supposed to be a temporary stop for you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you stayed awhile. If you ever want to come back, they’ll be a place for you here. But don’t let all the ‘what ifs’ in life ruin your chance for joy. True love doesn’t come around every other day, you know. Or so Giles tells me.” Clovis winked. “I think there’s only one thing left for you to do. Go home and pack.”
***
For some reason, everything had gone wrong this morning. Instead of waiting until Tuesday, David decided to leave early on Monday. After having his heart stomped on, he wanted to get the hell out of dodge. But no sooner had David started up his truck, than it died on him. No gas! For the love of god, how had that happened? Nate had offered a gas can he kept in the garage so David could get to the station, and it took him roughly a decade to find it.
They’d come outside to fill his tank, only to find one tire flat.
“I don’t get this. These are new tires. Got them just before I headed out here.”
“Wow. Don’t know what to tell you, dude.”
“You got an air hose? If I can fill it back up I’ll make it to the station, find the leak, and have it patched.”
Another few years, and Nate found the air hose and David filled his tire. Strangely, there appeared to be no obvious leak. It was almost as if someone had purposely drained all the air out of his tire.
“What else can go wrong?” Nate laughed.
“Don’t ask!”
“No, I mean seriously: what else can go wrong? I need to know.”
“You worried about me now? I’m a big boy.”
“No, you idiot! I’m trying to slow you down.”
David let that sink in for a minute. “You did all this?”
“Well, Frankie let the air out of your tire.”
“Are you kidding me!”
“She’s a die-hard romantic. Die. Hard.”
He sucked in a breath and looked up at the bright sky, praying for patience. “Look, I told you. It’s not going to work. It won’t matter if I stay another day.”
Last night, he and Nate had talked it out late into the night. David got stupid drunk and then remembered he hated Drunk David. He’d had himself a pity party for one, then reminded himself he’d been through far worse and lived to tell it. He still couldn’t believe he’d misjudged what he had with Mallory so badly. All along, he’d believed she was right there with him.
A car door slammed in the distance.
“I don’t know,” Nate said. “You could be wrong about that. Maybe.”
“Yip! Yark! Yark!”
He recognized the sound of that high-pitched bark. When he turned in the direction of the sound, his heart seized. Mallory stood at the edge of the long circular driveway with Sugar on a leash. Man, she was a site. There were two suitcases behind her.
He walked down to meet her. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
Sugar greeted him with sniffs, jumps, and spins. “Yark!”
“That means she’s happy to be here and hopes there’s a spot for her in your truck.”
He picked Sugar up and gave her a squeeze. She licked his nose. “Of course there is.”
“And for me?”
He met her gaze. “You know there is.”
“I have so much to tell you.”
“It’s been one day.” He chuckled, because he felt the same way. In just one day he’d missed her like he’d miss his right arm. “You do realize it’s cold in Colorado.”
“You’ll keep me warm.”
“That’s a fact.” He threw a significant look at the two bags she had with her. “That can’t be all your luggage.”
“Nope,” she laughed. “I’ll get the rest later. Clovis is helping, and ChiChi is helping. Sara and Lexi are helping, too. They’re going to talk to the landlord about my lease and pack the house for me. I never realized I had so many friends here, and they all want me to be happy. I love St. Helena, but I won’t be happy here without you.”
“Love hearing that.” He set Sugar down, and caught Mallory when she jumped into his arms.
She framed his face in her hands. “There you are.”
“Right here.”
“I love you, David. I made a list of reasons I love you, and so far number eight is my favorite.”
“What’s number eight?”
“You asked me to come with you.” She buried her face in his neck and he felt her wet tears. “I always knew this wasn’t temporary. Not from the moment we met. This is forever.”
“You bet. You’re forever my girl.”
For the first time in a long while, he was excited about the future. Without a doubt, there would be some challenges ahead. He’d be starting a new business. Learning how to be a civilian again. The future was before him, as open as the road.
And he was one hundred percent sure that forever with his girl would be the best part.
ALSO BY HEATHERLY BELL
ALL OF ME
SOMEBODY LIKE YOU
UNTIL THERE WAS YOU
ANYWHERE WITH YOU
UNFORGETTABLE YOU
FOREVER WITH YOU
CRAZY FOR YOU
FROM HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE:
BREAKING EMILY’S RULES
AIRMAN TO THE RESCUE (coming 6/1/17)
THIS BABY BUSINESS (coming 10/1/17)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Heatherly Bell drinks copious amounts of coffee, craves cupcakes, and occasionally wears real pants. She lives with her family in northern California and loves hearing from her readers.
For a complete list of all Heatherly’s books on Amazon, click here.
Feel free to email her at [email protected]
www.HeatherlyBell.com
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