26
Sunny
Something in Linc’s posture made me tense. An underlying hint of nerves in his usually calm voice set me on edge. But I wasn’t prepared for what he revealed as he lifted the cover on the larger of the two boxes. I was prepared for a concept model. But not this.
It was a house. Even as a model, it took my breath away. Shaped like a U with a courtyard in front and a large secluded backyard, it was spectacular.
For a moment, I was stunned and silent. I couldn’t move, Linc’s words playing and replaying in my head.
“Our future.”
I blinked. This was the house he wanted to build for us? A home for us to share? I tore my gaze from the model to meet his eyes. His warm, filled-with-love eyes that assured me what I was thinking was exactly what he meant.
“For us?” I questioned.
He set down the lid and leaned on the table. “For you,” he replied.
I blinked at the moisture gathering in my eyes. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“Let me show it to you.”
“Okay,” I sniffed.
He hurried around the table and pulled me into his arms. “If you hate it, I can change it all. I promise.”
I shook my head. “I already love it. I’m just overwhelmed and confused.”
He winked. “Let me help.”
He bent over and carefully lifted off the roof. Unlike the community center, this model was fully developed inside.
“This side of the house—” he indicated the left “—is bedrooms. Our master suite, and two others. The right side has two more guest rooms or extra kid rooms and a home office for me. The center of the house has a kitchen on one side, and a huge family slash dining room on the other.”
“All one floor?”
“Yes. All the front-facing rooms will have huge windows to let in the view and the light. In the front courtyard, there will be a deck with lots of seating. The backyard off the kitchen will be fenced in and private with lots of room for the kids to run around. Sliding doors that open fully on the back and front to let the breeze blow through. A pool and maybe a hot tub out back.”
“Kids?”
He grinned. “Until we have them, I’ll chase you. Naked.”
I giggled at the image.
“There’s a large laundry room on our side, and a smaller one on the other side for the guests.” He winked. “They can do their own damn laundry.”
“Or as the kids get older and move across the house, they can do it themselves,” I stated wryly, getting into the spirit.
“Yes,” he laughed. “Perfect.”
“Where will you build it?”
He touched my nose. “Right here.”
I gasped. “Here?”
He smiled, stroking my hair, letting a curl wrap around his finger.
“This place holds the memories that got me through those years away from you, Sunny. It was the happiest I had ever been after my mom died. It’s special to me. It was the summer of us—and now I want it to be our future.”
“You’d really build here?”
“Right here. This would be your view for the next several decades. Favorite trees and all. The house has been designed around them.”
“You-you’d be okay with that? So close to Mission Cove?”
He sighed. “I don’t mind being close to Mission Cove, I simply don’t want to live in it. I figured it was a compromise. I wouldn’t be right there all the time, but it’s only a six-or seven-minute drive to the bakery for you.”
“You don’t mind it, then? That I still would want to work?”
He gaped at me. “I don’t want to own you, Sunny. I want you to be your own person. I know what the bakery means to you. I support you one hundred percent. But one day, if you decided not to work, to sell the bakery or keep it and let someone else run it, great. Whatever you want to do. As long as you do it with me beside you.”
I looked at the beautiful gift he was offering me. A life with him in this gorgeous house he had helped design. I could see how much care had gone into the details and how much this meant to him.
A memory stirred. My younger self, staring at Linc, knowing deep in my heart that we were meant to be. That the boy I loved would be the man I grew old with. I had thought that dream was gone, but it was real and it was right in front of me. I wasn’t letting it go this time.
“I love it,” I told him. “I don’t want to change a thing about it.”
His eyes lit up. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He hesitated. “I have two more things to show you, Sunny.”
“I’m not sure how much more I can take.”
“These are much smaller. But important.” He tapped another building adjacent to the house. “This is the garage.” He lifted off the roof, revealing two small model cars. He lifted out the charcoal-gray Mercedes. “This is mine.”
I chuckled, the sound dying in my throat as I saw the vehicle left in the model garage. A bright copper-colored SUV. One I had seen very recently—right outside this tent. He lifted it up, holding it out to me on his palm. “Yours.”
I blinked. Looked at him. Turned my head in the direction I knew the SUV was sitting right now. Blinked again.
Was he serious?
He took my hand, leading me outside. Under the moonlight, the vehicle glowed, the sparkle in the paint bright. Linc opened the door, and I slid behind the wheel, shocked into silence. I ran my hand along the leather of the steering wheel. Touched the smooth dashboard. I had never owned a new car before. I drove Uncle Pete’s car in Nova Scotia and all the way here. When it died, I went back to walking. The van I utilized for the bakery was old and used, but it was all I could afford.
This one was so pretty.
“Put your foot on the brake and press the start button.”
The engine roared to life, the dashboard lighting up, buttons and knobs appearing in the dimness of the interior.
“My own little truck.”
Linc chuckled. “SUV.”
“Linc,” I whispered. “I can’t take this all in. I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s all yours, Sunny. All of it. The house, the SUV, my heart, and my love. The only word you have to say is yes.”
I glanced toward him, wondering why his voice had changed. As if he had moved.
He had.
He was on one knee, holding up a tiny square package. “One last box to open tonight,” he said. “One last surprise.”
Tears sprang to my eyes. He warned me he’d be doing this big. I’d had no idea how big.
“Marry me, Sunny. Live with me here and make a lifetime of memories with me. Give me what I want more than anything in the world. The right to call you mine. Please.”
There was no hesitation. Without a thought, I flung myself from the little truck and into his arms. We fell back onto the damp earth, landing with a dull thump as I knocked the breath out of him, pressing hundreds of kisses to his face.
“Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, Linc.”
He laughed into the open sky, wrapping his arms around me. He let me prattle on, probably because he was too shocked, or perhaps winded, to move.