How would Lucas take it when he found out that Memphis wouldn’t be coming around anymore? Fresh tears pricked at her eyes.
“Ty!” the voice called again, only this time it sounded much closer. “Lucas! Ty, wait!”
A rush of excitement shot through her chest. Because this time, there wasnomistaking that voice. She spun around, glanced over the people lined up behind her, and spotted Memphis hurrying alongside the lineup.
“Hey,” someone hollered from the back. “The line starts back here!”
Memphis’s crystal blue eyes widened when he caught sight of her.
“Memphis!” Lucas crowed. “I’ve been missing you!” He rushed over to give him a high five followed by a fist bump.
“I’ve been missing you too,” he said, lifting his eyes back to Ty. “Both of you.”
Ty’s heart skipped its next beat. Heat rushed to her cheeks.
Memphis nodded toward the seating area away from the line. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Ty glanced back and noticed the line was already moving on without her. “Sure,” she said, taking Lucas’s hand and bringing him along. A dozen ideas ran through her mind as she glanced at her shoes, up and over a row of mostly empty seats, and then the tarmac outside the wall of windows.
This doesn’t mean he wants you back,she told her celebrating heart. He could be here to talk her into keeping the job at the inn. He could say that he was leaving himself anyway, going back to the commercial real estate job he liked so much.
And even if hewashere to get her back, would she be able to trust that he wouldn’t change his mind tomorrow? After all, she’d given him everything he needed to come back into her life—her explanation of what went wrong, and the romantic setting to go along with it down to the time and place. But he hadn’t shown. Ty had been left waiting, wondering, and eventually, wiping evidence of her tears away long enough to make it to her car.
Memphis secured her hand and cleared his throat, causing Ty to look at him at last. “Ty,” he said, his voice raspy. “I’m so glad I caught you before you guys left.” He shook his head and blew out a shaky breath. “First, I’m so sorry that I left you waiting at the haystack last night. I had no idea— trust me—I would have been there.”
Memphis went on to explain that he’d driven two days to rent out a professional racetrack to distract himself from the pain of losing her. Ty was hearing him, but her mind kept getting caught on parts likeI would have been thereanddistract him from the pain.Her insides battled over what statements like those meant. Her heart was still stubbornly convinced that he was here to get her back. But her mind reasoned that he simply wished he could’ve spared her the pain of waiting for him last night.
“Now boarding all remaining passengers for flight number three-fifty-seven to Boston,” came the voice from the intercom.
Here was the moment of truth. Ty had said she and Lucas’s plans weren’t set in stone. Would he ask them to stay? Lucas made a show of rolling the sports car up the inner length of his sleeve while making a vrooming sound.
“I’ve been the nice guy my whole life,” Memphis said next, seeming to ignore the final boarding call altogether. “And I know that if I were being the nice guy in this scenario, I might encourage you to go ahead on your trip. Heck, I might even buy a last-minute, outrageously overpriced ticket to go with you guys,” he said, tugging something from his back pocket. “Which, incidentally, Idid.” He waved the boarding pass in his hand, those blue eyes thick with emotion.
“But the fact is, I want you guys to stay here. I love you. I love Lucas. Losing you guys, like I thought I had, nearly ruined me.” The somber expression on his face confirmed it. “But then I got your note. A day too late,” he added with the shake of his head.
Memphis smiled then, but it looked hesitant, as if he worried she’d had a change of heart since writing the note. “If you still want to spend the holiday with me, I’ll take it any way I can get it. So…” He lifted his boarding pass once more. “What’s it going to be? Thanksgiving in Boston, or Thanksgiving at The Homestead Inn?”
Ty couldn’t hold back for another minute. Not when Memphis was proving, once again, that he was the man she’d always hoped he was. Because this was him not wanting Lucas to miss this chance to officially meet his dad. This was him saying that he’d respect her decision, either way, but that he wanted to be a part of their holiday regardless.
The inward celebration was set free at last. “Well,” she said with a glance down to Lucas. He was rolling the car down the outer side of his pants now. “What’s it going to be, bud? Thanksgiving here or in Boston?”
Lucas stopped vrooming his car and looked up at her. “I can choose?” he burst, excitement on his tone. “I still want to have it here with Memphis and everyone!”
Ty grinned. “You do?”
Lucas gave her an exuberant nod and jumped in place.
“Then we can go see Grandma and Grandpa around Christmas instead?”
He nodded some more. “And Aunt Sheila and Uncle Braden and…”
As Lucas continued to list the names of their relatives, Ty set her gaze back on Memphis. “Guess we’ve got our answer.”
The relief on Memphis’s face made her heart warm with joy and hope. At once he rushed in, wrapped his arms around her, and brought his lips to hers in a celebratory kiss. He pulled back and grazed his parted lips over hers.
“I’m so in love with you,” he said, his heated breath making her want more of his kiss.
“And I’m so in love with you back,” she assured, kissing him once again. But she still had more to tell him.AndLucas was tapping her on the leg. Ty gave him one last kiss, reminding herself they could pick up where they left off later, and cleared her throat.
