When her phone dinged with a confirmation email that contained her itinerary, a feeling of pure joy overcame her as she put down the phone and snuggled in to sleep.
If this was what going wild felt like, she couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow would bring.
Chapter Thirteen
“A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike.
And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle
that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”
—John Steinbeck
After everyone left, Hannah stuck around to help Charley finish cleaning up.
“You don’t have to stay,” Charley said. “I can do it.”
“I don’t mind, and I wanted the chance to talk to you.”
“About?”
“What’s going on with Tyler.” Hannah picked up a towel and began to dry the dishes that Charley was washing.
“Everything is fine with him. I don’t want you to think otherwise.”
“I don’t. I see you guys together. I can tell you’re both happy.”
“We are.”
“So why do you think he’s about to upset the applecart?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.”
“Let me ask you something… Would being married to him really be so awful?”
“No! Not at all. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I have no question in my mind about that. I just don’t get why we have to make it official and legal to do that. I love the idea of us being together because we want to be, not because we’re legally bound to each other. I know that’s hard for you to understand after having been married twice.”
“Not so hard. I get where you’re coming from. It means something to you that both of you are here only because you want to be, not because you have to be.”
“Yes, that,” Charley said, sighing. “I know it’s an unconventional philosophy, especially in a family like ours that’s all about marriage and kids. I’ve just never wanted that for myself, and being in love with Tyler hasn’t changed my mind about any of it.”
“You need to make sure he understands that.”
“I know, but the thought of revisiting that subject makes my stomach hurt. I want him to be happy, too, and part of me thinks if it really means that much to him, I’d go along with it. That’s how much I love him.”
“You shouldn’t sacrifice something that’s important to you to make someone else happy. That doesn’t work long-term.”
“What if I’m all wrong about this, and I end up screwing up the best thing to ever happen to me?”
“It’s not wrong to be true to yourself, Charley. You can’t lose yourself in the process of making someone else happy.”
“How did you get so wise about these things?”
“I’m wise about everything. You should know that by now.”
Charley rolled her eyes and laughed. “Jeez, I walked right into that trap.”
Hannah laughed and then hugged her sister. “You don’t need to worry about screwing things up with Tyler. That man is wild about you.”
“Yes, he is,” Tyler said from the doorway, startling them.
“Hey.” Charley released Hannah and turned to him. “I didn’t hear the door.” On a quick glance, Charley noticed his dark, wavy hair was messy from the knit hat he’d removed, and his blue eyes looked bluer than usual. He was wearing contacts more often these days, and she was still getting used to him without the glasses he usually wore. What had he heard them say?
“I gathered that,” he said. “Did you ladies have a nice time?”
“We did, as always,” Hannah said. “But I’m going to head home to see if Nolan succeeded in putting Callie to bed.” She kissed Charley and Tyler on her way out. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Thanks for the cleanup help, Han.”
“Any time.”
After the door closed behind Hannah, Charley took a tentative look at Tyler. “I’m not sure what you overheard.”
“Just your sister saying I’m wild about you, which I am, but I’m wondering why she felt the need to remind you of that.” He came to her, placed his hands on her face, compelling her to look up at him. “What’s going on inside that head of yours, Charlotte?”
Determined to be honest with him, Charley swallowed her fears. “I, uh, I’ve been picking up on a vibe.”
“What kind of vibe?”
“I might be wrong…”
“You won’t know for sure unless you tell me about it.”
She swallowed hard. “I’ve gotten the feeling over the last couple of weeks that you might be thinking about what’s next for us, and I’m sort of concerned about that.”
“Ah, damn, Char. I’m really sorry you were worried. I’ve been working on a little surprise for you, but it’s not what you think.”
“Oh. Really?”
“Yeah.” He took her by the hand. “Come on. Let’s get comfy, and I’ll tell you about it.”
As they got ready for bed the same way they always did, side by side in the huge master bathroom, Charley tried to think about what kind of surprise he might have in store for her. She liked to stay one step ahead of the people in her life, but Tyler was the exception to that rule. He could be harder to read than some of the other people she knew, and that, in turn, made him endlessly interesting to her.
There were times, such as this, that she couldn’t believe she’d once found him boring. She’d not been bored once since she got to know him better and realized that under his quiet, unassuming exterior was a deeply intelligent, passionate, fascinating man whom she loved with all her heart.
Falling off a cliff had turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to her, because it had given her the chance to really know the man who’d insisted on caring for her after the accident—and every day since then.
He got in bed after her, bringing a small gift bag that he handed to her. “Half that gift is for me, so don’t get too excited.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“Do we need an occasion for me to give you a gift?”
“No, but I don’t have anything for you.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I do?”
“Uh-huh. Open that, and I’ll tell you.”
Charley fished out a velvet jeweler’s box from the tissue paper and glanced at him before she opened it. “Oh, Tyler… What…” Inside were two rings, one bigger than the other. The smaller of the two was all diamonds that glittered in the glow from the bedside lamp.
He took the smaller of the two and held it up for her to get a better look at it. “Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful,” she said, fighting a feeling of dread. “But I don’t want—”
He touched a finger to her lips to stop her. “I know, sweetheart. I heard you from the beginning when you said you don’t want to get married, but I want everyone else in the world to know you’re taken.” He slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand and then held up her hand to see how it looked.