“I feel ready. And I’ll be here to wrap everything up over the next month, but I wanted to give you plenty of notice, so you could find my replacement.”
“Darling, you’re irreplaceable, hence the reason your Bear was willing to move here for you.” He set his martini glass down after taking a sip. “You haven’t told him about your plans yet?”
“No, because I honestly wasn’t certain what I wanted to do. I found out he’d been studying for the test that he’d need to get licensed here, and then he started sending me apartment listings in areas that we both liked. He was completely on board to move. And we would have been happy here, I don’t doubt that. But at the end of the day, we both love small towns. We like to jump in the lake after dinner, or take out the boat on the weekends, or go line dancing in town. That’s our happy place, you know? And I want to start my life with him there. But I’m glad he respected this time that I needed to be here, and that he was willing to move here if this was where I wanted to be.”
“You’ve got a good one, darling. Hold on tight.” He sliced a piece of steak and groaned before chewing.
“I intend to.”
And we spent the rest of the evening discussing a few of Johnny’s projects and what all I would be doing my last few weeks here in New York.
He didn’t make me feel guilty or question my reasoning. He understood it, and that meant a lot to me.
I felt very confident with the decision I’d made, and I couldn’t wait to talk to Cutler when I flew home tomorrow.
Cutler and I sat down at the table to eat dinner. I’d arrived in Blue Sky Bay an hour ago, and he’d met me at the airport with Meatball, who was now lying in front of the roaring fireplace.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jeege. I’m happy you’re here,” he said. “I’ve got gifts for you, but we’ll save those for after dinner.”
“I’ve got a few things up my sleeve for you too,” I said with a grin. “But I did want to talk to you about something important while we eat.”
“Okay. What’s up?”
“I know you’ve been studying for that exam and getting the process started to get your New York City contractor license.” I exhaled. “I don’t think you should do that.”
Why was I suddenly nervous?
His brows cinched together. “You don’t want me to move there with you?”
I shook my head and smiled. “I don’t.”
He nodded. “Okay. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m really proud of myself for going there, Bear. And I’m so grateful about the way that you encouraged me to embrace my new life there, and you supported me every step of the way. I promise you, I did embrace my new life. I went all in, and I’ve enjoyed pushing myself out of my comfort zone.”
“But you like being there by yourself,” he said, and it wasn’t a question; it was a statement. I heard the hurt in his voice, and it was obvious that I was doing a crappy job of telling him what I wanted.
I stood up and moved to where he sat across from me, and I bent down in front of him, taking his hands in mine. “I’m not being clear. I actually hate being there without you. But that’s not why I don’t want you to come there. I went there, and I did what I set out to do. I grew as a designer and a person. But I realized that I have nothing to prove to anyone anymore, nor do I have anything to prove to myself. I’ve made some mistakes along the way, but that’s part of living.”
He wrapped both of his large hands around mine, and I saw the confusion in his gaze, but it was surrounded by love. “It’s absolutely part of living.”
“At the end of the day, I’m just a girl in love with a boy, and I want a life filled with that love. I can build my career anywhere. And I don’t need to live somewhere just to prove that I can do it. I want to live in a place where I wake up every day with you beside me,” I said.
“I get that. And we can do that anywhere.” He searched my gaze, and all I saw was empathy and understanding.
“I don’t want to do it anywhere. I want to do it here, with the water splashing against the shore in the morning. I want to go out on the boat and watch the sun set for the day. I want to walk Meatball down a country road, and line dance on the weekends. I want to start my own business right here in a town that feels like home. A town that I can help you transform, one house at a time. I want to build a life with you here.”
His lips turned up in the corners. “We can do that, baby.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve thought about it a lot. And I appreciate that you were willing to give up everything you have here, everything you’ve built—all to support me.” I shook my head, the tears falling down my cheeks. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you. I don’t know how to even express how much I love you.”
He turned my body the slightest bit, placing a hand on each side of my face. “You deserve everything, Gracie Reynolds. I knew it the first time I met you when I was just a little kid, and I’ve known it every day since. And I understand not knowing how to express this love that we have between us, because it’s hard for me to put it into words too.”
I sniffed a few times and nodded.
