"I can't think of anything more perfect."
Besides us.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
TRENT HELD REESE'S hand as they made their way to what he'd always thought of as their spot, weaving through thick brush and trees and guided by the shimmering light of the moon slicing through the foliage.
"I always love how good it smells here, like pine trees and salty sea air," Reese said as they neared the overlook where they'd first met and she loved to paint. Trent had set out a blanket, candles, and a basket of wine and cheese and crackers. Reese's eyes widened with surprise as she stepped onto the blanket, looking radiant in her pretty blue dress, with a cardigan overtop and the moonlight at her back. Music played in the distance, providing a perfect hint of magic and romance.
"When did you do all of this?"
He bent to light the candles as he answered. "While you were working on the mural." He rose and circled her waist with his arms, drawing her in close. "I wanted you all to myself tonight. I hope you don't mind."
"I would always rather be with you than with a crowd of people."
As they sat on the blanket and Trent poured them each a glass of wine, he said, "Remember how we used to talk about buying this property and building a house?"
"I always thought it would be the most amazing place for kids to play."
"A few years ago, when I was home for the holidays, I came here and spent hours admiring the view of the bay and the lighthouse. And all the while, I thought of you, Reese."
"I'm surprised I didn't bump into you, since I was always doing the same thing and thinking of you. But wait, didn't a corporation buy this spot two years ago?"
"Yes," he said with a smile. "Trent Rockwell Enterprises bought it."
She turned with a huge smile and surprise in her beautiful eyes. "You bought it? But you couldn't have known we'd get back together. We were both fighting our feelings so hard back then. No one could have known."
"No, I couldn't have. But it was so special to us that I couldn't let it go, either. I guess even though I tried to bury my love for you in order to get through every day and move forward, deep down I always knew that loving you was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Which was why he had one more surprise for Reese, waiting in a black velvet bag he'd slipped into his pocket earlier, in the hopes that tonight would be the perfect night to finally give it to her.
*
REESE'S HEART FELT like it was going to burst from her chest, not just because he'd bought one of their favorite spots on earth, but because of what he'd just said, which resonated so strongly with her that she could have said the exact same thing.
"That's exactly what I feel like. Like I never let you go. You've always been right here with me. Because loving you is the best thing that ever happened to me, too." She pressed her lips to his, and it took all her focus to pull back from their sweet kiss and say, "I have a confession to make. The other day, after I bumped into you at Shelley's Cafe the first time, I came here. It was like I was driven here, totally inspired, of course, because you have always been my very best muse, one that I can't ever escape. And I saw you running down the beach toward the stairs."
"That was the first time I'd run that route since I returned to the island," Trent admitted. "I felt driven by you, too."
Never in her life had she felt like destiny was at work as strongly as she felt it right then. It was even stronger than when they'd first met, strong enough to bring them back together after they'd both rebuilt their lives and lived a lifetime in ten years without each other.
"I didn't see you that morning, Reese. How did I miss you?"
"I left before you could see me, because from the second I touched you again, when you looked into my eyes that night in front of Shelley's Cafe, all the walls I'd erected around my heart started crumbling."
"For me, too."
"It was unsettling, how quickly it happened. After we broke up, I always felt like I needed to be in control. For ten years, I've had a schedule that I've followed with work, teaching at Bay's Edge, and seeing my parents. But then, in one collision of our bodies, one whisper of my name from your lips, the safe, comfortable world I'd created for myself shattered."
His eyes turned serious. "Don't you feel safe with me, Reese? I've tried not to move forward too fast again, because I didn't want to scare you away, but it's been hard, really hard, to hold anything back at all."
"Even though we have moved forward really fast, I know you would never hurt me on purpose. And I know you'd never let anyone else hurt me." She hated the thought of his holding anything back from her, which was why she wouldn't hold anything back from him now.
"What's been really scary isn't that you shattered my safety--it's that you shattered my self-control. And then I couldn't stay safe from my feelings for you anymore."
"Do you need to be safe from them?"
"Now that we're sitting here beneath the stars talking honestly about everything? I'm almost positive I don't need to be safe from those feelings anymore. But all those years apart, deep down I must have known that if we spent time together again, I wouldn't be able to keep from loving you again."
He embraced her, holding her against his chest as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"I can understand why you'd be scared about falling back in love with a man who hurt you."
She shifted slightly so that she could look into his eyes. "I was, but I was also worried about hurting you again by not being the partner you needed me to be, or the partner I wanted to be for you."
"Are you still worried about that?"
"We've both grown. We've both accepted our faults. And we're working on having an amazing relationship." She paused before adding, "You said it's been really hard to hold anything back from me, but I don't want you to do that, Trent. I don't want either of us to hold back anymore."
"I don't want either of us to hold back anymore, either. But if you still need more time before we officially take the next step and decide to move in together, I want you to know that I'm here and I'm yours, no matter how long it takes."
He cupped her face between his hands the way she loved and took her in a sensual kiss that made her head spin and her heart go crazy. Then he rose to his feet and reached for her hand.
"Dance with me."
He drew her in close and they swayed to the music. With the stars shining down upon them and the music in the distance, surrounded by candlelight and the sweet sounds of the bay, they danced and kissed and danced some more. Reese had never been so happy, and she didn't want this magical night to end.
"I love you, Trent," she whispered against his chest.
She felt his heartbeat quicken against her own as he gazed deeply into her eyes and said, "I want to give you something I've held on to for so long and dreamed about giving to you. But if it's too much too fast, or if it brings back bad memories, I'll understand if you don't want it." He reached into his pocket, and when he opened his hand, nestled in the center of his palm was a black velvet bag. She could tell by the way his eyes moved between her and the bag that he was nervous, just as she was. With a shaky hand, she withdrew the most gorgeous diamond bracelet.
"Trent," she whispered, too emotional to say anything more. It was an elegant strand of canary diamonds, and each sparkling yellow diamond was surrounded by a circle of white diamonds, creating beautiful florets. Each of those florets was separated by a cluster of four chocolate diamonds. "I've never seen anything so exquisite."
He took it from her hand and fastened it around her wrist. Then he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it.
"I had it designed for our six-month wedding anniversary. I was going to give it to you the night I found your note." He ran his finger over the beautiful bracelet. "I wanted it to emulate dandelions."
"I love it." She tried to swallow past the lump forming in her throat. "This is so beautiful and thoughtful, and I'm so sorry. You must have been so upset..."
br /> He gazed openly and lovingly into her eyes. "We were both hurting back then, but now we can start fresh. No more apologies. This is our new beginning, made better, richer, by the scars of our past."
She pressed her hands to his chest as he sealed his lips over hers, their bodies still moving in time to the music, their hearts dancing in the same frantic rhythm and their lives intertwining even more powerfully.
As he removed her sweater and lowered her to the blanket, blocking the bay breeze with his own body, they didn't rush to come together the way they usually did. He kissed her forehead, the corners of her mouth, the dip beneath her ear. The slow loving was even more intense than their fevered unions. He ran his hand up her thigh, beneath her dress, caressing her skin, heightening her anticipation as his mouth made a slow path across her shoulders.
And then their bodies came together and the music fell away as the sweet sounds of the sea whispering through the leaves gave way to their tender and passionate whispers of love.
Chapter Thirty
THE NEXT DAY Trent didn't go to work at the resort and Reese didn't paint. Instead, they spent half of the day in bed making love, then reading passages to each other from the books she'd given him.
He'd missed these moments with her. So damn much. Hindsight really was twenty-twenty. Never, ever would he make the same mistake again.
It was almost dinnertime by the time they decided to shower and dress and venture out for a walk down to the water to kick off their shoes. They followed the residential streets out to Main and walked sidewalks they knew by heart, stopping to talk to friends along the way.
"When we first met," Reese said, "I was floored by how many people you knew. It was like no matter where we were, people singled you out."
"That's part of the Rockwell curse."
"But isn't it a blessing, too, because everyone on the island has always watched out for you and your family?"
"You're right, it is a blessing. Although," he added with a slightly crooked smile, "it means I usually have to budget an hour in when I'm running an errand that should only take five minutes."
"You handled it so well, Trent, even back then. You were always polite and you never got annoyed at all of the interruptions."
"I think it was worse than ever that summer because they'd never seen me date anyone seriously before, and then suddenly I was desperately in love with my girlfriend, who I couldn't stop kissing and dragging into alleys and behind bushes to have my way with her."
"I'm glad you didn't date every pretty girl on the island before me."
"And I wouldn't have blamed you for dating all the single guys who wanted to be with you after our divorce, but honestly, I'm glad you didn't."
"None of them were right for me."
"That's because they weren't me."
"No, they weren't," she agreed as she rested her head against Trent's shoulder. She wrapped her hands around his arm and he pulled her in closer. Always closer.
As they rounded the corner and walked down the hill, the lights of the resort shone brightly in the distance and sounds of laughter grew louder as they reached the beach.
Chugger, Ethan's golden retriever, bounded up to Trent, whining for attention. Trent and Reese both crouched to love him up. Chugger licked Trent's chin as they petted him.
"I wonder where Ethan is," Reese said.
Trent looked around and spotted Chandler sitting in his wheelchair facing the water. When Didi spotted them, she waved.
"Chugger must be here with Chandler and Didi," Trent guessed. "Are you up to saying hello to them?"
"Of course I am." Once they were out on the beach, she immediately reached out her hand to Didi. "I'm Reese. And it's such a pleasure to meet you."
"It's wonderful to meet you, too, Reese." Didi smiled warmly.
Chandler turned, and as his eyes trailed over Reese and Trent holding hands, his lips curved up in a smile. But just as quickly as the smile had appeared, he pressed his lips into a firm line.
Trent suddenly wondered how many other times he had missed Chandler's flashes of emotion.
"Hello, Reese," Chandler said in his characteristically sober tone. "It's very nice to see you again."
After Chandler's earlier reference of that Nicholson girl, Trent was delighted by his grandfather's kind greeting.
Reese beamed at his grandfather. "Hi, Mr. Rockwell. It's lovely to see you again, too."
Chugger stepped between Chandler's knees to be petted, and Chandler automatically pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Even though Chandler had lavished Chugger with attention since the first week Ethan brought him home, given the standoffish way he usually acted toward people, it still surprised Trent to see him give so much affection to the pup.
Now that they'd had a nice, brief encounter, he didn't want to chance it turning sour. "Enjoy your time on the beach," he said as he took a step away, pulling Reese along with him.
"Good night." Chandler nodded curtly.
As they walked farther down the beach, Trent heard Didi say, "Your grandson seems very happy," to which Chandler replied, "As well he should be."
"You're right," Reese said in a low voice that only Trent could hear. "Your grandfather did seem happy for us, and Didi seems really nice."
Reese truly had seen something good in his grandfather, long before anyone else did. "She seems to have really bonded with him, which is weird considering he fired so many nurses before her."
As Reese and Trent kicked off their shoes and rolled up their jeans, she mused, "That just goes to prove that there's someone special to fill every role in a person's life. You're my special person, and I'm yours."
Carrying her shoes, Reese walked toward the water as if she hadn't just sent his heart into a spin.
"Are there any roles that I don't fill?" he asked.
She tapped her chin, as if she were really thinking it over, then said, "You're a best friend, but you can't fill the space of a best girlfriend."
"I would be everything for you if I could."
"You very nearly are," she said with a smile, "although I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you wouldn't enjoy girls' spa days, getting mani-pedis and catching up on island gossip."
A moment later, Reese dipped her toes in the water, then immediately ran back up to the dry sand. "Cold! Cold! Cold!"
"It's September in New England. What did you expect?" He laughed as he scooped her up into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. "I'll keep you warm."
"I need to store some of the coldness in my body for later, because you don't keep me warm, Trent. You make me scorching hot, all the time." She twined her arms around his neck and kissed him back. But too soon she was wriggling out of his arms and running down the beach, dragging him alongside her.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Here." She stopped and took both his hands in hers, with a wide grin. "Do you recognize this spot?"
It was dark now, save for the light of the moon dancing across the water, and in the distance, the beam of the lighthouse split the inky sky.
"This is where we exchanged our vows," he said softly.
"This is where I gave you my heart, Trent, and where you gave me yours."
"You were so beautiful in your wedding gown, with your hair falling over your shoulders. And when you looked at me with so much trust and love as you said your vows...I know we said no more apologies, but I wish I could erase the hurt of the past."
She cupped his face, in the same way he always touched hers, and gazed into his eyes so intently it was like she could see through to his soul. "You know what? I don't want to erase the hurt or any of the past. I'm glad I remember what it felt like when I left and that I know what you felt like when you came home to an empty apartment. That hurt is what drove us both to better ourselves, and it deepened our love for each other, which enabled us to be so much better this time. We're more giving, more aware of our own faults and of each other's needs. Our love is inescapable and unbreakable. It
's totally consuming, and fast, and crazy, and too darn wonderful to even try to deny. All this time we've spent together has been like a dream come true. My parents are expecting me to come to their house for breakfast tomorrow, and I want you to come with me this time to share our joy with them."
"Reese..." He gathered her in his arms as he tried to slow his racing heart. He hadn't realized how desperately he'd longed to hear her complete and utter acceptance of their relationship. "There's no place else I'd rather be than by your side."
Chapter Thirty-One
THEY FOUND REESE'S parents outside in the backyard. A sparse forest of pitch pine trees separated their house from the neighbors' on either side. Their yard was lined with Knock Out roses, forsythia, and hydrangeas, as well as pretty flower beds that were past their spring and summer blooms. Beside the patio there was a rose garden, and it looked as though the trellis had come unsecured from the deck. Reese's father was standing thigh-deep in the center of a cluster of rosebushes, trying to simultaneously hold the roses back and nail the trellis into place.
Judith opened her arms as they approached. "Honey. Trent. I'm so glad you both made it." She embraced Reese, and then Trent stepped in for a warm hug.
"Thanks for having me over." Trent kissed Reese's forehead. "I'm going to help your father before he ends up with prickles all over."
"Okay." Reese waved to her father.
"Thank you," Judith said. "He's having a heck of a time with that trellis."
"We'll get it fixed up." Trent crossed the patio. "Hi, David. What can I do to help?"
Reese's father had one hand on the wooden trellis and the other on the rosebush. He grimaced and said, "If you have a trick for making the thorns on the rosebush not poke me every few seconds, that would be great."
"Here, let me get in there." Trent moved beside him and held back the thick rosebushes. "I spent years helping my father with our gardens. I'm used to being poked by these buggers. I'll hold them back while you nail up the trellis."
They worked in silence for a few moments before David said, "Reese seems happier than she's been since she came back to the island a decade ago."
"So am I, David. I'm glad we have a few minutes alone to talk." Trent took a deep breath as David lowered the hammer and turned to face him with a serious gaze.