“I’ll take my necklace now,” said Tessa, her breaths as heavy as his.
He fished the heart-shaped pendant out of his pocket and placed it in her hand. This wasn’t at all how he imagined tonight going. Days ago, he planned something more romantic. Meaningful. He almost told her.
“I’m still going to show you the house,” he said. “We just have to take the longest way to get there now.”He cut across on a road that snaked behind Sunset Ridge. Trying to cut through town while it was overpopulated would only slow them even more.
He yearned to hold her hand, but his were still shaking from the pursuit. He didn’t want Tessa to know how rattled that encounter made him. He used the drive to even his breathing and soon enough, he turned down the main drive to the plot of land that would soon be home.
The sun fought its way through heavy cloud cover, almost a positive omen that they were in the exact place they needed to be. Amazing how they could still feel that way about each other after all this time. It conjured such powerful emotions just being in each other’s presence.
“C’mon.”
“It looks a little muddy.” Tessa glanced down at her boots.
“You and those boots.” If Liam could convince her to stay, the first thing they were doing was flying to Anchorage to find her practical shoes. Ones that meshed well with the Alaskan environment. He’d buy her five pairs.
“I’m afraid they’re just going to get dirty, sweetheart.” He hopped out of the truck, happy he left Raven with his sister today. She didn’t much care for sitting in the truck when they were out here, and he didn’t need a muddy dog to hose down later.
“When did you—”
Liam took her hand, silencing her with a gentle kiss that stirred his soul. “Let me show you what the future could hold.” He led her to the front of the house, where the entry door would be installed in a few weeks. “Ready for a tour?”
“Liam—”
He scooped her into his arms, and she let out a squeal. “I know it’s not a threshold yet, but use your imagination.” Setting her back on her feet, he led her from room to imaginary room, even though they were standing on the floor of the crawlspace. “The living room will have all windows in the front, overlooking the bay.” He pointed.
“Your plane. And the view!” Tessa’s hands clapped over her mouth as her eyes widened. He followed her gaze out to the water, the feeling never fading no matter how many times he took in the sight of the blue water and mountains. It was like looking at a photograph in a travel magazine.
“We always talked about building a house on the water, remember?” he asked.
Tears sprang to the corners of her eyes. “This isourhouse, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“You remembered. After all this time?”
“C’mon. Let me show you the rest. We still have to go upstairs—wait until you see the master bedroom.”
“Liam, wait.”
Fear prickled his chest at her tone. He didn’t expect to like what she was going to say. “Let me go first.” If the house wasn’t enough, maybe his words would change her mind.
She fiddled with the necklace in her palm. “Okay.”
“Here, let me put that back where it belongs.” He fished the jewelry out of her tightly clenched palm and strung it around her neck. The hair he brushed out of the way was longer than it had been those years ago, but still had that vanilla scent. She shivered at the graze of his fingers. “Tessa, I don’t want you to leave. Not this time.”
He waited as she faced him. “I didn’t win.”
“Then why—”
“My ex framed me for cheating, and I haven’t been able to prove I didn’t do it.”
Liam let the pieces fall together, though they didn’t land in a complete picture. Just glimpses.An ex. Cheating. Didn’t win. If they booted her for cheating, how could she possibly expect to go back? He searched her dim eyes for the answer, and then it came to him. “You’ve been waiting for them to make it right.”
“They’re not going to.” Despite her pasted-on smile, tears threatened the corners of Tessa’s eyes. “You’d think living in New York would’ve toughened me up, but I guess not.” She laughed and gave the tiniest of shrugs. “The reality is that a lot of people don’t play fair.”
Liam was a mixture of relieved and infuriated. He closed the distance between them and drew her into his arms. She fit so comfortably in his embrace. He couldn’t imagine a life where this wasn’t something he could experience every day. “You don’t deserve this, Tess. I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too.”
