My heart flutters in my chest. “You’ve given this some thought.”
He shrugs, a shy grin tugging the corner of his mouth. “A little.”
The question isn’t whether or not I will marry him but when. We have two months together before he goes back on the road. This is not how I wanted to do it. I thought we would have more time, but nothing aboutushas ever been easy, except well, loving him.
Loving him is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.
It’s as simple as breathing.
“Give me a month. That will give Caroline time to get used to the idea and time for me to plan.”
His smile is brilliant, brighter than I’ve ever seen. “You know what this means, don’t you?”
“I’m going to be Mrs. Lincoln Cole Matthews?”
“Damn, that sounds good coming out of your sweet mouth,” he says, kissing my lips. “But I was thinkin’ more along the lines of our honeymoon. Someplace warm, with white sandy beaches and lots of privacy.”
I smile against his mouth, draping my arms around his shoulders and pulling him in closer. “Sounds like heaven to me.”
Present
Over the next couple of days I attend most of his commitments, standing off on the sidelines with Kacey while he does his thing. I like being able to see him in his element. He’s so relaxed and confident. Everyone he meets is so enamored with him and it’s no surprise. The man just has something about him that puts people at ease and lures them in. It’s fascinating to watch yet a part of me feels special knowing that I get to have a side of him no one else does. Kacey and I have become good friends as well, and I’m comforted knowing that he’ll have her to take care of him out on the road.
He took me to lunch at the Bluebird Café yesterday and showed me where he pinned his song “Roots” to the wall. It was one of the first songs he wrote when he got to Nashville. It’s about remembering where you come from but not being afraid to spread your wings and fly. It’s surreal to see where he got his start. Where he struggled to get recognized among the countless singers and songwriters that graced the infamous small stage. And unlike so many others who have traveled the same path, he still remains humble. His loyalty has always been to the music. He even goes back from time to time to play. To remind himself where he started.
Today, I’m helping Linc finish packing. He didn’t have much left to box up. The movers had done most of the heavy stuff already, but there was some personal stuff he didn’t want them touching. Like his father’s things. Most of which he kept in his office. His father’s medals from the war were displayed in a glass case, along with the folded, framed American flag from his funeral. I remember when he died, how devastated Linc was. It took him months before he would even talk to me about it.
It was music that helped him through that dark time of his life. It’s what kept him going.
Carefully, I wrap up the remaining photos in his office. There are several of him and his father when he was younger. One where they are camping. Linc’s father was a real outdoorsman, loved wildlife and nature. They were always going on camping trips. When we were younger, I even tagged along a few times. There are a few shots of his mom and dad together over the years. It’s so obvious by the look on their faces how much they love each other, and I silently wonder, as I tuck another newspaper-wrapped frame inside the large cardboard box, if people say the same thing about us.
Do they see it written all over our faces? How much we love each other, how deep that love runs?
When I turn around to grab the next picture from the shelf, my breath catches in my throat. I blink, not really sure of what I’m seeing. It’s a picture of me, taken when I was about sixteen. I’m sitting on the bed of his truck, my bare feet dangling while my hands cup the edge of the tailgate. I’m leaning forward, a half smile on my face and my hair blowing on a slight breeze. The edges look to be crinkled and worn, as if someone has spent a lot of time looking at it. Tears prick my eyes.
If I only knew then what I know now.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?” His deep baritone voice sends a shiver down my spine.
I gasp and look over my shoulder at Linc. “Jesus, you scared me.”
Linc softly kisses my cheek before slipping the picture from my grasp. He looks at it thoughtfully, a wistful smile playing on his lips as he rounds the desk to sit in the big leather chair behind it.
He holds the photo close, as if seeing it for the first time. “There are certain days that stand out the most in my mind. Like the day we met. The day I sang to you the first song I ever wrote. The day we went swimming at the lake and you lost your top. Prom.”
Exhaling a long sigh, he continues. “We didn’t do anything special this particular day. We’d been to the lake, then shared a pizza at Emilio’s, then we hung out at my house while my mom was at work. We sat on the tailgate and I played around on my guitar. It was a day like so many before, yet so different. You kept telling me how proud you were of me and how someday I would shine brighter than any of the stars in the sky. But all I could think about was how the setting sun would catch your eyes just the right way and how they would sparkle every time you smiled. How the summer wind whipped your hair across your face, the delicate strands kissing your porcelain skin. I knew I had to capture the moment or it would be lost forever. So I ran inside and grabbed my mom’s digital camera. You called me a dork, among other things, and refused to smile for me. But I did manage to get this one. Then the very next day I had it developed.” I stand in front of him, my eyes filled with unshed tears. “I’ve carried this around in my guitar case ever since. Every time I opened it you were right there, smiling at me, encouraging me. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to give up, but every time a door would slam in my face I would look at this picture and remember this day. You’re the reason I kept going. You’re the reason I never gave up.”
I climb onto his lap, draping my legs over the arm of the chair while tucking myself into his arms. “You’re not the kind of man who gives up on anything.”
“I came pretty damn close a few times, with my music and trying to make it in this crazy fuckin’ business, but I couldnevergive up on us. There were times I wanted to, fuck I prayed for my heart to let you go and move on. But it just wouldn’t. It’s like it always knew that someday we’d end up here, that there would be anus.”
I can’t speak around the knot in my throat so I snuggle closer to him. His arms tighten around me. “Hereis where I find peace.Hereis where I find the best version of myself. That only happens when we’re together.”
Lifting my head from his chest, I find his eyes. “I loveus, Linc,” I manage on a whisper, my heart overflowing with emotion. “I love you more than you will ever know.”
One hand cradles my face while his lips brush mine, tender and sweet, but it’s not long before our kisses become more heated.
Urgent.
