Thomas had the good sense not to try to argue. He just nodded. “You’re right.”
“You didn’t trust me,” she continued. “I asked you to and you didn’t. Give me one good reason I should listen to anything you have to say.”
“Okay,” he said. “Okay. How’s... I believed you thought you were right about Ted. I didn’t doubt that for an instant, but I thought you were mistaken because I was projecting. I couldn’t believe that someone who knew you as well as Ted did wasn’t completely, head-over-heels in love with you. Like I am.”
Tasha felt tears spring to her eyes. “Okay, that was a good one. But still. Thomas.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said, taking her hands and pulling her over to sit with him on the sofa. “You’re right. I should’ve trusted you.” If only he’d stopped there. But he said it. “But...”
He realized he shouldn’t’ve said the b-word, even before she narrowed her eyes and pulled her hands free. He shook his head.
“No, just say it,” she said, glancing over at the front desk, double-checking that the clerk had gone into the back room—that they truly were alone. “You started, so finish. But what?”
He cleared his throat. “I don’t know why you just didn’t tell me.”
“Because I promised Ted that I wouldn’t,” Tasha informed him. “The only reason we’re talking about this right now is because I finally got a chance to talk to him. He told me it was okay to tell you... what you’ve already figured out because of Jeff.”
“Still,” he said. “You couldn’t have given me even just a little clue—”
“No, I couldn’t.” She was absolute. “He’s keeping his sexual orientation private, at least for right now. Do I wish he’d come out and live his life openly? Of course I do. It’s the twenty-first century. The world is way more welcoming than he thinks. I think his mother is, too, but that doesn’t give me the right to give you little clues that out him to you. And believe me, I thought about it. He’s in love with someone else. How easy would that’ve been to say to you? It’s true, he is. But if I said something like that and you pushed me in terms of who...? As soon as I use even vague they pronouns, well, there’s another little clue. Or am I supposed to lie at that point, and say she?” She shook her head. “I didn’t want to lie to you.”
“You could’ve said, There’s something important that you don’t know.”
Tasha looked at him. “And that’s not another giant, flashing neon clue? If I said that to you? There’s something important about Ted that you don’t know? You’re gonna assume, what, that he has six toes on his left foot? No. Nope. You’re gonna assume he’s gay. Which, I repeat, should not be an issue today, but sure as hell is with all the hate out there, being intentionally stirred up among the deplorable, the fearful, and the willfully ignorant.”
Thomas nodded. She knew he understood. “You know, what you said about his mother...? When we were on that conference call, it was Queen Wila who made the request for Jeff Willems to be released and brought to the hospital. She said, I’m sure my son would appreciate his support.”
Tasha shook her head in disbelief. And there was a potentially amazing twist. What if, all this time, the queen’s seemingly active dislike was because she knew—or at least suspected—that Tasha’s relationship with Ted was fake. “Will you do me a favor and tell Teddy that? I’m not sure he’ll believe it if it comes from me.”
“I will,” Thomas said. “And I really do appreciate that you made Ted a promise that you wouldn’t break. I get that. I respect that.”
“But you didn’t,” she said. “Respect it. Instead of saying There’s something you don’t know, which, by the way, is pretty damn obvious because there’s a lot you still don’t know about me—I said Trust me.” Her voice shook. “And you chose not to.”
Thomas nodded. Looked her in the eye. “That was a mistake,” he said. “I am sorry. More sorry than I can say.”
She waited, and there was no but this time.
And this time, when he reached to take her hands, Tasha let him.
“I hope you can forgive me,” he said. “And I hope this maybe helps you see that I’m not perfect. I try to be, but I make mistakes all the time. I get things wrong.”
“I never said you were perfect,” she reminded him. “I said that I thought you were perfect for me. But if you don’t trust me...”
Thomas nodded. “I do,” he said, but then quickly corrected himself. “I’ll learn to. It might take some time. I can’t promise you that I won’t make more mistakes, because I’m used to being older than you. It’s hard not to think of you as... young.”
“Cue the intro for Sixteen Going on Seventeen.”
“Ouch.” Thomas winced. “That guy was a condescending asshole.”
“And a Nazi,” she agreed. “Luckily, I was born canny and careful. And in your defense, I had to nearly wrestle you to the ground to get you to write upon my empty page.”
He was laughing now. “Oh, my God, that song. I know those lyrics too damn well. How many times did you make me watch that movie?”
“Make you?” she said, laughing, too. “You always wanted to watch it. How about Sound of Music, Tash? you’d say. Why don’t we watch Sound of Music, Tash.”
“Because I preferred Doe a deer to Bridges of Madison County, which was, like, four hours of sex scenes—which is some kind of amazing feat of physics, because the movie’s two hours and fifteen endless minutes long.”
And now they were both smiling at each other, their fingers tightly entwined.
“I love you,” Thomas said softly. “I promise I’ll try to be less of a condescending douche. Please forgive me, because you’re it, Tash. I want you in my life, forever. Without you...” He shook his head. “Nah, I can’t even imagine that. First time ever, in my entire life, I’ve got no plan B.”
Tasha’s heart leapt as she looked into the eyes of the man she’d loved for as long as she could remember. “Forever’s a long time.”
“It can be.” He paused then, and said it. “Tasha, will you marry me?”
And there it was. The life she’d always dreamed of, with Thomas King by her side. Filled with laughter and sunlight and limitless joy to balance out life’s inevitable hardship, sorrow, and pain.
“Rio and Dave are leaving tomorrow instead of tonight,” Thomas told her. “Air traffic’s still shut down—the world’s on fire. We’re gonna fix it, we’re gonna win, but it’s gonna take time. I need to get back to San Diego as quickly as I can—I really should go with them in the SUV. Will you come, too? I know I can talk ’em into stopping in Vegas, so we can get married right away. We can plan a party for later—as big as you want, with Alan and Mia and the girls—”
“And all of Team Ten,” Tasha said.
“And all of Team Ten,” Thomas agreed. “After we get back to Coronado, things’ll move pretty fast. I expect to go wheels up right away. I don’t know where I’ll be sent or how long I’ll be gone. That’s why I wanna do it in Vegas. I don’t want to wait another second to start my life with you.”