Chapter 19 #2
Lila stared. “So you’re not going back to Cornwall?”
He shook his head slowly. “No. I’m not.”
She exhaled a shuddering breath. The tension easing from her shoulders even as her pulse quickened. “Portland,” she repeated softly. “That’s only six hours away.”
“Exactly,” he said. “But the research center I’d be working at is on the coast, just out of Moon Creek Falls.
” The porch light caught the gold flecks in his eyes.
“I had to go, Lila. Not because I didn’t care, but because I did.
I needed to know if what I felt was real.
I thought maybe it was just the magic of Clear Creek. ”
“And?” she asked.
He smiled. “It’s real.”
She looked up at him, tears stinging her eyes. “You’re sure this time?”
“I’ve never been surer of anything.”
Through the window, music swelled again. Grandma waltzed with Doc; Luke was trying, and failing, to dance with Polly.
Lila laughed softly, the sound catching in her throat. “If you’re planning to kiss me again, do it now. Before Irene or somebody else gets it in her head to fetch us.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. The kiss was slower this time. Deeper. A promise more than a plea.
When they broke apart, she leaned her forehead against his chest. She thought of his new job. “You know,” she murmured. “You really do have terrible timing.”
He laughed quietly, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Yeah, but I’m getting better at it.”
The door swung open behind them. “Hey!” Luke called. “You two done out here, or should we bring the cider?”
“Make it hot cider!” Ethan added. “They’ve been out here a long time!”
Caleb grinned from the doorway. “You gonna tell Mom, or should we?”
“Tell her what?” TJ called back.
Luke cupped his hands around his mouth. “That you finally grew a spine and kissed the girl!”
The laughter that followed was instant and loud.
Lila groaned. “They’re impossible.”
TJ smiled. “You’ll get used to them.”
“Will I?” she teased.
He tilted her chin up, eyes glinting, as he brought his face to hers. “You planning to stick around long enough to find out?”
Her answer was a whisper against his lips. “Try and stop me.”
He kissed her again, and somewhere inside, Grandma cheered. Lila hadn’t even caught her breath when the door creaked open again.
“All right, all right!” Grandma called. “If you two keep that up, we’ll have to start planning a wedding!”
TJ laughed softly against her hair. “She’s not wrong. I think half the town’s watching.”
“Let them,” Lila whispered, grinning through the happy blur of tears.
He leaned back just enough to look at her. “Good. Because they’re going to see this, too.”
Her brow furrowed. “See what?”
TJ was already reaching into his coat pocket.
Lila’s heart stumbled as he dropped to one knee right there on the snow-dusted porch.
The crowd inside gasped. Someone squealed as Grandma yelled, “Mercy, somebody get the camera!”
“Lila Comfort,” he began, voice steady, his eyes bright, “I’ve crossed oceans for research and mountains for data. But nothing, and I mean nothing, has made me feel the way coming home to you has.
Her breath hitched.
He smiled, that crooked grin that undid her completely. “You’re the only thing I’ve found worth staying for. I left because I had to be sure. Now I am. And I’m not going anywhere again, unless it’s wherever you’re headed.”
Tears streamed freely now. “TJ… are you sure?”
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.” He held up a small velvet box. “Marry me, Lila. Marry me, and you’ll never have to wonder again if I’m coming back.”
For a heartbeat, she couldn’t speak. Then she nodded, laughing through her tears. “Yes. Oh my goodness, yes!”
The porch erupted. Ethan cheered as Luke whistled. Caleb shook his head and muttered something about finally while Grandma waved her lace handkerchief like a victory flag.
“Guess we’ll be attending a wedding at the old church.” Doc chuckled.
TJ rose and slipped the ring onto Lila’s trembling hand. It fit perfectly, and he kissed her again.
Snow began to fall in earnest, soft flakes glimmering in the porch light.
“Would you look at that,” Grandma said from the doorway, dabbing her eyes. “A Christmas miracle come early.”
Lila laughed through her tears, resting her forehead against TJ’s chest. “You realize you just proposed in front of all these people, right?”
He grinned. “If I hadn’t, Grandma would’ve done it for me.”
“Don’t tempt me, boy!” Grandma sniffed.
Ethan whooped again. “So when’s the wedding?”
“Tomorrow!” Luke shouted. “Before he changes his mind!”
Caleb groaned. “You two are hopeless.”
TJ ignored them, brushing a stray curl from Lila’s cheek. “Whenever you’re ready,” he murmured. “I’m not going anywhere this time.”
She smiled up at him, tears catching the porch light like tiny stars. “Then I guess you’d better stay right here. At least until you have to report to your new job.”
He pulled her close, their laughter mingling with the cheers behind them.
Inside, Grandma clapped her hands. “All right, everyone! Enough swooning! Somebody get more cider! We’ve got an engagement to celebrate!”
Lila turned toward the door, still laughing. “You realize you’ve just given them something to talk about for the next decade?”
TJ laced his fingers through hers. “Good. Let them talk. I’ve got nothing to hide anymore.”
As the celebration inside the big pink Victorian got underway, Lila thought about her dream. A little coffee kiosk somewhere with the scent of espresso mixed with the smell of pine and mist.
She smiled up at TJ. “You know. If you’re going to be studying coastal ecosystems at that little research center, I should probably open a coffee stand nearby.”
His grin was immediate. “Near the ocean?”
“Or a forest,” she corrected softly. “Someplace with a great view.”
He leaned down, kissed her one more time, and whispered, “Then that’s where we’ll start.”