“I don’t appreciate being handled with kid gloves, and I’m going to worry either way.” I stopped in front of his car. “Don’t you get how much you mean to me? How could I not be worried?”
He took me into his arms and pressed me against the car. “Kelli, I love you.” His eyes finally had a little light in them as he looked into my own. “Can you please just trust me and let me deal with this?”
“If the roles were reversed, would you stay out of it?”
His lips turned up slightly and he released an over-exaggerated breath. He knew I was right.
“I’m not some pretty little airhead or nineteen-year-old kid anymore, and—”
His laughter stopped me from finishing my thought. I narrowed my eyes at him in frustration.
He brought his hands up and cupped my face. “Kelli, you’re themost capable woman I’ve ever known, so you can get that thought out of your pretty little head.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re so sexy when you’re irritated.” He ran his hands down my curves before pressing his lips to mine.
I had no choice but to reciprocate. Okay, I had a choice, but why would I choose not to? I leaned into him and enjoyed a few minutes of bliss.
He reluctantly pulled away. “Please, let me fix my mistakes. Enjoy today with my parents, and I’ll be back to you as soon as I can,” he said it with love, but also with finality. He was done arguing. He kissed me once more and left without another word.
I watched him drive off and smiled to myself. He was crazy if he thought I was going to stand by and be an observer. Unbeknownst to him, I had already taken action. I was hoping he would agree on the front-end to let me be involved, but I guess I was going in from the backend. In the meantime, I did as he asked. I walked back in and joined his parents for a wonderful day of sightseeing and catching up.
I don’t know how many times his parents expressed how thrilled they were to see us back together and to see me again. They had thought of me often through the years and wondered many times about the “what ifs.” Me too, but there was no going back. I wasn’t quite sure what the future held yet. All I knew was that I wanted Ian to be in it, and I knew that’s what he wanted. He was patiently waiting on me to decide when we should move forward. It really was odd to hear him say that he loved me on a daily basis, and it was weird for me not to reciprocate the sentiment. It’s not that I didn’t love him. I think I always had, but I wasn’t ready to admit that to him. I still needed time, and he was more than willing to give it to me. He didn’t seem bothered in the least that I wasn’t saying those three little words.
His parents had to leave after dinner, but before they did, they extended an invitation to Ian and me to come and spend the weekend with them. I accepted, without consulting with my absentee boyfriend. I hoped he didn’t mind. I knew we had planned on going back home on Friday, but there was no way I was turning down the opportunityof spending the weekend with Ian in one of my most favorite places. I had a feeling that after this week, we were both going to want the getaway. His parents were beyond delighted.
I spent the rest of my evening in my hotel room going over my notes for my presentation. Ian would text me intermittently and say he was missing me, or he would apologize for being delayed. At nine, though, I got a text asking me to meet him in the parking lot. I took no time slipping on my shoes and hurrying to meet him. He was waiting for me by the car with the passenger door open.
He grinned as I approached, but he looked tired and worn. “Hello, beautiful.” Even his words sounded tired.
I smiled warmly and touched his cheek. “Hi, handsome.”
He caught my hand and kissed my palm before helping me into the car. He jogged over to the driver’s side, got in, and took off.
“Where are we going?” I asked when we exited the hotel parking lot.
He glanced over at me. “I believe there are still some swings with our names on them.”
I could feel my own face erupt with delight. This was why he was perfect for me. Even though he had more money than most and could afford to take me anywhere in the city, he still chose the one place I adored more than any other. It cost not a thing, but it was priceless to me.
Not much was said on the drive over. Ian held my hand the whole way to “our” park, while I looked out the window at all the changes that had occurred in the last ten years. Denver had definitely grown. I didn’t remember the traffic being this bad this late at night when I lived here. It reminded me why I loved Nashville so much. Nashville was the perfect-sized city in my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Denver, but I don’t know if I could stand to live here again.
As the park came into view, I felt eighteen again. My motto was, “You are never too old for the park.” I was glad Ian still agreed with me, or at least went with it. “I hope my butt still fits in the swing,” I worried out loud. I was barely back to belly dancing after the accident.
“You have nothing to worry about, I check out your backsideplenty, and it looks great.” He swung our hands between us in the park’s parking lot.
We laughed about the first time I saw him at Chandler, when I was telling Delfia to check out my butt. I couldn’t believe that was only three months ago. It seemed like a lifetime away, so much had happened since then. But we didn’t come to the park to talk about Chandler or lawsuits. We agreed we would only talk about us, or even better, we would occupy our lips and there would be no need for words.
As soon as we hit the cool grass, we both removed our shoes and rolled up our pants. There was nothing like cool grass beneath your feet and holding hands with your special someone. As we walked toward the swings, I looked around. The trees had grown taller, and it looked like the playground equipment had been painted, but it was still our park. Thankfully, we were the only ones there. Not like we would have noticed anyone anyway; we only had eyes for each other as we walked hand-in-hand with a slight swing in our arms and a spring in our step.
When we were several paces from the swings, I dropped his hand to race him. He must have anticipated my move as he was quick to grab me and pull me back. Kissing was way better than racing or swinging any day. When he kissed me, I could feel a release of tension. I don’t think he could have pulled me any closer. He kissed every inch of my face and neck. He was driving me crazy, in the best sort of way.
“Ian, are you okay?”
He kissed my neck once more before leaning his forehead against mine. He simply breathed deeply for several seconds.
“I’m here for you,” I whispered.
