by Lea Coll
Lucy watched Wyatt’s retreating back with a mixture of regret and longing on her face.
Sawyer
After the engagement party, I drove Stella to my property. It was hard to believe so many things had changed so quickly. I’d initially thought Stella was loud and flighty. I thought I wanted someone like me—serious, studious, analytical, and a planner. Now that I’d gotten to know her, I knew she was the light to my boring, the spontaneous to my careful planning. She was everything I was not, and she made me a better person for it. I was so glad I gave her a chance.
My biggest regret was telling our friends at Ashley and Logan’s house-warming party that Stella wasn’t the girl for me. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Every morning I woke up with Stella by my side I thanked my lucky stars. And I planned on telling her that today. I wasn’t showy but I hoped I had planned something she would remember for the rest of our lives as romantic and thoughtful. It was a tall order.
“Are you okay?” Stella asked as we drove. “You seem nervous.”
“Yeah. It’s just a big weekend.” The best idea I’d ever had was asking Stella to be my date to the scholarship dinner. Then while she danced with me, she suggested we fake date for a while. It was perfect. I could pretend to date her, which took the pressure off of asking her out and dealing with the dating awkwardness I usually suffered from. I was able to slowly get through her defenses and just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, she’d told me how much she wanted me for real. Best idea ever.
When we passed the turn for campus and continued out of town, Stella asked, “Where are we going?”
“I thought we could go to my property and check out the stars.” I smiled over at her, watching her face light up. I remembered how each time our fake relationship had felt a little too real I’d created distance between us by reminding her it was fake. My attraction to her was so intense it had freaked me out at first. Now I never wanted distance between us. I always wanted to see her face bright with happiness.
“That sounds nice.” She was quiet for a moment and then said, “I’m so glad the engagement party turned out well, and Lucy was able to come.”
Ashley and Samantha had asked her to help plan the engagement party, which Stella enjoyed. Planning parties seemed overwhelming and stressful to me. Why do you need a big ceremony? All I knew was that I wanted to have Stella at my side for whatever came along. Whatever I needed to do to make that happen would be enough.
“I’m a little nervous to officially meet your parents at the wedding as your girlfriend. I mean, I’ve seen them at school functions over the years and talked to them but—”
I’d hoped to introduce her as more than my girlfriend, but one step at a time. Stella knew everyone in town and my mom had been smitten with her in high school. I didn’t tell Stella because I thought it was cute she was nervous about meeting them, but my mom was excited I was dating her. “You shouldn’t be nervous. They know you.”
My parents retired to Florida a few years before, but since summer is miserable there, it didn’t take much to get them to commit to visit and attend the wedding.
“That’s true. It’s not like Emma, who’d met them for the first time when they flew to Florida. I’m sure it will be fun.”
I pulled into the dirt road that ran through my land. Eventually, I’d build a house here. The investigation into Owen Mason’s relationship with Cindy Young had been completed early, and I was cleared of any wrongdoing and granted tenure. Now that I knew I wasn’t going anywhere, I had a plan for my future.
I parked my SUV in the middle of the field where I hoped to start construction on my house. The one I intended to live in with Stella. She wanted a family and I wanted one with her. We got out of the car and I rounded the SUV, pulling Stella to me, my arms going around her, ducking my head so I whispered in her ear, “Stella, my parents already love you.”
“They do?”
“Have you met many people who don’t love you?” I pulled back to see her face because it was the truth. She literally brought sunshine to every person she met. How could she not know this?
“Well, you know I’ve had some bad luck with guys. One man in particular said I was too much for him—”
I growled. “Those guys were idiots. I think we’ve already established that.” My hands sifted her hair through my fingers. “And I’m glad because you’re here now because of them.”
“True,” she finally conceded. “I’m happy we got to know each other better.”
“Me too.” Then I took a deep breath.
“What are we doing here Sawyer? Do you have blankets or something to sit on because we’re not exactly dressed to sit on the ground.” She was right. We were still dressed for the rehearsal dinner—Stella in a bright floral dress and me in a button-down shirt and suit pants.
When she made a move toward my SUV, I placed a hand on her arm stopping her. I pulled back slightly wanting to see her face when I asked her. “Did you want to move in with me?” Sensing her hesitation, I added, “Or can I move in with you?” I knew how much her house meant to her. “I don’t care about the location as long as I’m with you.”
“Are you sure? That’s a big step.” As confident as Stella was in her life, sometimes insecurity showed up in our relationship. She had never had a healthy relationship before me.
“I’ve never been surer of anything. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to trust in me. Trust that I’m never going to break up with you. Trust that I want to be with you forever.” I cupped her face with both hands watching her eyes fill with tears. “And the only way I can think to prove it to you is,” then I pulled the ring box out of my pocket and dropped to one knee.
“Sawyer! What are you doing?”
As nervous as I was on the drive here, looking up into her wide eyes, tears shining, her hands covering her mouth, I was calmer now, confident this was the right move. “What do you think I’m doing, sweet girl?”
“Asking me to marry you, I hope?” she asked, lowering her hands from her face, smiling wide.
“Can I ask now?”
She gestured for me to continue. “Please continue. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
I chuckled. She was one of a kind. “Stella, will you marry me? Will you trust in me? In us? That we can handle whatever will come?”
“Yes, yes, and yes!” Then she cocked her head, and said, “Yes? That was four questions, right? I don’t want to mess this up.”
Then she pulled me up so I was standing. She kissed my face then my mouth. “I love you so much!”
“I love you too.”
She clapped her hands together, excitement in her eyes. “Let’s see the ring.”
I opened the velvet box. “I picked the diamond in the middle, but the two on the sides are your grandmother’s and mine. The band is gold melded together from both of their rings.”
“I love that it means something to both of our families. I’m so happy!”
I placed the ring on her finger. “It looks perfect.” It felt right giving her a ring melding our families together. Hers was still healing, but I planned on being there for her and her family forever.
“It does. I can’t believe you were able to get my grandmother’s ring.”
“Your mom gave it to me.” Stella’s mom spent some time in in-patient care, and was doing better, not great. She was slowly becoming okay with just being okay. Dr. Hirsch said that might be the best we could hope for, but she had seemed happy when I asked for the ring. Maybe a wedding was just the motivation she needed to continue to get her life on track.
“Yeah?”
“She was happy.” A quiet calm happy, not the excited exuberance that Stella portrayed, but it was a start.
“This is the best year. I got my mother back and a boyfriend.”
“A fiancé,” I prompted.
“I can’t believe I get to call you my fiancé!” Then she jumped, expecting me to catch her, her legs wrapped around my
waist and her arms around my neck.
I could literally accomplish anything if this woman was happy, and I’d always be there to catch her. I couldn’t remember how I’d lived my life before she filled my days with happiness. Her excitement for life, for a life with me, to build a family together—it was everything I’d ever wanted and I couldn’t believe she’d been right there all along.
Thank you so much for reading Trust in Me. I hope you enjoyed reading Stella and Sawyer’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Click here to read the bonus epilogue.
Lucy never thought she’d be back in her hometown and living with her parents. The hardest part is facing everyone she left behind—including Wyatt Carter. She wants a fling but he wants forever. He thinks the two blue lines change everything but he’s wrong. Turn the page to read an excerpt of Stay with Me.
Lucy
I stood in the entryway to the Chestertown Yacht Club’s ballroom, a large round room with floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the Chester River, at my older brother’s engagement party. Watching the familiar crowd of family and friends interact, I felt like an outsider for the first time since I left seven years ago. I’d drifted away from my family, my friends, everyone. I knew I’d have to face their questions—why was I gone so long and why was I back now?
My eyes traveled the room and came to rest on my brother, Jack, who was surrounded by his tight-knit group of friends, who I barely remembered from high school. His fiancée, Samantha, looked beautiful in a blush-colored dress, strappy silver sandals, and a flush to her cheeks as the guests watched Jack pull a necklace out of a white box.
Samantha’s hands covered her mouth. “Oh, Jack.”
“This is engraved with the GPS coordinates for the exact location where we will exchange our vows.”
When it was clasped, Samantha turned back to Jack touching the silver necklace resting on her collarbone. “Thank you. It’s perfect.” She went up on tiptoes to kiss him as everyone clapped.
I took a few deep breaths, the most I’d taken since my boss told me they no longer needed me and I could clean out my desk. Apparently, I wasn’t creative enough for the department anymore. My roommate, April, said I could take over the lease since she was moving in with her boyfriend, but after two months of searching I had no job or prospects. There was no way I could afford to take over the high rent on our trendy townhome in Federal Hill. Our lease was up at the end of the month anyway, so I gave the landlord our notice, packed my meager belongings, which mainly consisted of clothes and high heels, into the back of my car, and headed here with the intention of moving back in with my parents until I could find a new job.
The silky cobalt dress I’d worn on the drive was wrinkled but I’d managed to touch up my makeup in the car and brush my hair so it didn’t look like I’d sat in a car for three hours in the heat and traffic.
The crowd, which had been watching Jack and Samantha, dispersed so I ran my fingers down the skirt to smooth out the wrinkles and drew in a shaky breath, worried I’d finally have to face everything and everyone I’d left behind.
I approached Samantha to wish her well. “Congratulations!” They’d gotten engaged before Christmas, but I hadn’t been home yet to see her ring. She held out her hand for me to inspect. “It’s beautiful.” I hugged her and whispered, “I’m so glad you’re going to be my sister.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
I turned to Jack who said, “I’m so glad you could make it.” He pulled me in for a hug—one I needed desperately. I relaxed into his embrace trying to remember the last time he’d hugged me. Was it when he left for college? I held onto him for a long time then too, hoping he’d change his mind about leaving. He was the eternal peacemaker in our family and when he left things weren’t the same. Back then, I couldn’t wait to get away from my family, this small town, and—I pulled back from Jack, seeing him. The one I left behind. Wyatt Carter.
This was the first time I’d seen him in seven years. My pulse pounded in my ears as I took in his gray suit, his reddish-brown hair trimmed close to his head on the back and sides, left slightly longer on the top, and scruff bordering on a full beard covering his chin. So different from the unruly curly hair and smooth face he’d kept when we were kids.
My arms hung loosely at my sides as I tried to keep my shoulders back, my face devoid of emotion. But inside, my stomach was churning and my heart was beating out of my chest. He wasn’t the reason I left, but he was the reason I’d stayed away. “Wyatt. I’m surprised to see you here.”
The fitted suit, his stylish hair, and the jacket straining around his biceps made me swallow hard. He was a man now. So different from the boy I’d walked away from.
“Why is that?” Wyatt’s eyebrow raised, standing feet shoulder-width apart, arms crossed over his chest. His voice was deeper and raspier than I remembered. Everything about his posture and tone screamed that I was the one who didn’t belong, even if it was my brother’s engagement party.
His light blue eyes, which once looked at me with love and affection, now sparked with irritation. I couldn’t blame him. I hadn’t expected to see him here either.
“I didn’t know you were even friends with Jack.” I’d left for college and visited occasionally—enough to keep my parents happy. I’d wanted to escape my family’s bickering and the family business which, if I’d stayed, threatened to consume my life. Every time I returned, I couldn’t wait to get in my car and head back over the bridge to the city.
I’d been friends with Wyatt since we were kids, but after Jack went to college, he was more. He represented safety and an escape from my family, but it wasn’t enough. When I accepted a full ride to college, I thought I’d go without anything or anyone holding me back. I hadn’t expected the break-up to be so hard. I’d managed to avoid seeing Wyatt on those visits because I was ashamed of the way I had ended things and I was scared of my reaction if I saw him.
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Wyatt said, his voice was tight, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “We work together.”
I looked to Jack who watched our exchange, and his eyes were concerned. Why hadn’t he warned me Wyatt would be here? I’d dated Wyatt after Jack left for school so maybe he didn’t realize how close we’d been. And over the years, I’d never asked about him. I’d pretended he didn’t exist. Like there wasn’t anything between us but young love. That’s what I told myself so I could move on.
But now that he was here, standing in front of me, I knew I hadn’t moved on at all. All those emotions were flooding back to me—regret for how I ended it and a crushing feeling of loss. Less than a minute in his presence and it was like no time had passed—nothing had changed. When you’re a teenager, you think there’s always something better out there. How wrong I’d been.
“I’m sure you’re headed back to the city as soon as this party is over,” Wyatt said.
A few heads turned to watch our exchange, hearing the barely disguised anger in his voice. My face warmed and I wanted to escape their scrutiny, and Wyatt. My former job was so demanding I’d told Jack I might not attend the pre-wedding events. Then I hadn’t wanted to come because I didn’t want to admit I’d failed—that I’d been fired from my dream job and couldn’t afford my townhome.
I glanced at Jack, shifting on my heels. “Actually—I’m here for an extended visit.”
“That’s great,” Jack said. “Will you be able to stay for our wedding at the end of the summer?”
I hated that I’d been so absent in Jack’s life he didn’t expect me to appear at his wedding. With Wyatt’s gaze boring into the side of my head, I said, “Of course I’ll be there.”
Wyatt snorted. “You’re going to stay here? The place you couldn’t leave fast enough when we graduated?” He paused as if to rein in his temper.
My head snapped back to Wyatt who’d always been able to read me, my eyes pleading with him to drop it. “I’m here for now.”
“Did something happen with your job?” Jack
asked.
It wasn’t the time or place, but I didn’t want to lie. “I don’t work there anymore.”
“I thought that was your dream job,” Jack said.
“It was my dream,” I said softly watching Wyatt’s face for any reaction. I found a subtle flash of sympathy and understanding there before the anger settled back in. “Look, I don’t want to ruin your party talking about this.”
“We’re here to celebrate, not to interrogate Lucy,” Samantha said, diverting attention from our awkward exchange by grabbing Jack’s hand and pulling him out to the dance floor.
My mom headed toward me. She’d been upset when I left home but hopeful that I’d return and help out with the business when I graduated. When I didn’t, she was unhappy and never failed to mention her disappointment. One more reason I didn’t stay long when I visited, but now I had no choice. “Lucy, when did you get here?”
“I just got here.” I rubbed my bare arms to ward off the sudden chill.
“Well, I’m glad you were able to make it. We weren’t sure there for a while,” Mom said.
“Neither was I, but I’m here to stay.” I glanced at Wyatt, annoyed he was still watching our family drama.
Mom’s forehead wrinkled in confusion as she asked, “And why is that? I thought you’d have to get back to your job as soon as possible. They never let you have time off.”
My dreams were always bigger than this town, my family, even Wyatt. And for a short time, I thought I’d made it until everything came crumbling down. “I don’t work there anymore.”
“Why ever not? Did you quit?” Mom asked, her face tight with disappointment.
I was not only jobless but homeless too, which was difficult to admit to anyone, much less my mother. I certainly hadn’t expected Wyatt’s presence during this conversation. “Not exactly. My roommate moved out so I couldn’t afford my townhome anymore. I need a place to stay.” At her hard look, I continued, “But don’t worry I’m headed back to the city as soon as I get a new job.”