He studies my face for a moment, and I brace myself for the reality of living without him. Before I can ask how we can do this long-distance, he swings his legs around on his pool chair so he’s sitting up and facing me, then leans down and presses a kiss to my lips. “I love you, too. You’re incredible.” He picks his phone back up with a big grin on his face and dials a number. “Hi, Jon. Thank you so much for the call, but I’m going to turn down the offer. Yes, I know. Thank you so much. I wish you the best.” And then he hangs up.
I stare at him, trying to understand what just happened. “Wait. You’re turning it down?”
He nods. “The whole reason I even applied was because I needed to not be at Coastal Vista anymore—not when you were so close but impossible to have.”
“But you love it here.”
“Yes, but as a vacation spot. I don’t need to live here. I need to be where you are. And Coastal Vista is home to me now.” He leans in towards my face. “You’re my home.”
“Oh, good,” I say. “Because Ireallydidn’t want to move again.”
With a chuckle, he presses a kiss to my lips.
CHAPTER 43
Claire
THREE MONTHS LATER
“Give me an S!”Christopher calls over the crowd of STEM professors.
“S.” Our voices are, as usual, pretty mellow, but one stands out. Ryan’s enthusiasm gets him a few chuckles and backward glances.
“Give me a T!”
“T!” The voices get a little louder this time.
“Give me an E!”
“E!” The enthusiasm is building.
“Give me an M!”
“M!”
“What does that spell?”
“School of STEM!” The room cheers and applauds, and Christopher looks over at Ryan with appreciation.
“I’ve never heard the cheer that loud before,” I whisper to Ryan.
“Life’s a little more fun when you embrace the cheesy things,” he says.
I grin at him and look down at my agenda. Our college is implementing a new software program for scheduling classes and registration, which is causing all kinds of technological issues, and that’s the main focus of today’s meeting.
For some reason, Janet is letting Christopher present a slideshow of his summer travels set to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” and my phone buzzes in my pocket. I take it out and see a text from my sister.Happy first day back!
I reply,Thanks! Let me know how that meeting goes!
This summer has been incredible for our family. It took about a week or two for Mom to come to grips with our new reality and realize that her friendship with Julie wasn’t going to suffer. But things were especially improved when I brought Ryan to meet them. She remembered him as the guy who rescued me when I was sick, but she loves him for another reason. Because the only thing that could make her feel better about me not marrying her best friend’s son is marrying a math professor.
Not that we’re married.
Or engaged.
I told Ryan I need to take things slow, because I don’t want to rush into marriage. He’s been patient, even though he’s anxious to make things official. To be honest, I’m not really waiting for anything in particular. He’s been my best friend for years. Isn’t that everything you could hope for? To get married to your best friend? At least, that’s what Shawna told me.
Speaking of Shawna, she’s here today, and was so excited when she saw that Ryan and I were together. She gave us big hugs and said it was the best gift we could give her on her return from maternity leave, especially now that she won’t make the mistake of assuming we’re together when we’re not.
