10. Reid
CHAPTER 10
Reid
The next day, I woke up with a sense of urgency. I couldn’t stop thinking about everything that Lilian had done for me. The way we had spoken all night about commitment and connections. The love we shared for our careers and of course the future. I stood there, suddenly nervous. She looked beautiful in her simple work attire—a blue dress with a white apron tied around her waist, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. The morning sunlight streamed through the windows, highlighting the gold in her eyes.
“I have something for you,” I said, my voice steadier than I expected.
Lilian approached me, her brows furrowed as she licked her lips tempting me. “A gift? What’s the occasion?”
“No occasion,” I replied, shifting the package in my hands that I had spent the last few hours hand crafting away. I wasn’t normally a craftsman by trade but knew how to use the odd tool. “I just wanted to make something for you. Something in which I hope you’d find useful.”
“Make me something? I’m confused, Reid.” She stated. I carefully unwrapped my package to reveal the little wooden box and showed it to her. It was just big enough to hold her ring with an engraved truffle on top remembering how special they were to her. I wanted her to have a special place to hold her ring as long as she needed to—whether that be just whilst she was in the chocolate shop in the day or longer until she was actually ready to remain mine.
“Reid?” Lilian questioned, her eyes full of unshed tears. “It’s beautiful.”
“You can now keep your ring safe. It’s your decision for how long but you know that I’m always thinking of you—” I replied, tapping my chest. “Right in here. I want you to be mine always and forever, Lilian, but when the time is right for you. This way you know I’m always close by.”
“You made this... for me?” Lilian replied in awe. Her fingers trailing over the wooden carved top. “Reid, I love this. It means so much—” She choked out. “I want to be your fiancée now you silly man.” She chuckled. “We can have a long engagement and wait but knowing you were thinking of me from all perspectives…”
“I’ll always be thinking of you. I don’t want to go back to the man I was before I knew you—really knew you—was half alive,” I said firmly. “I was just going through the motions, hiding behind work and the walls I’d built to keep everyone at a distance.” I admitted. “The thing is I realized how much I wanted the mornings like this where I can bring you imperfect gifts that make you smile. I needed evenings where we could talk until we lost track of time. I want... everything, Lilian. With you.”
“That’s a lot of wanting, counselor.” Lilian chuckled as she tilted her head to the side.
“I’m a man who’s not ashamed to show his woman that she’s his,” I replied, my voice low.
“Is that so?” Lilian chuckled as she walked toward me and pulled me down kissing me, slowly and deeply so that the oxygen in the room became thin and made my head spin. The bell above the shop door jingled announcing the arrival of a customer, and Lilian reluctantly pulled away. “I should get to work,” she murmured, though she made no immediate move to leave my embrace.
“I should let you,” I agreed, equally reluctant to let her go. “I really don’t want to though.” Finally, with a sigh, she stepped back and smoothed her apron.
“Dinner tonight? My place? I’ll cook. I can tell you all about my plans too.” Lilian uttered.
“It’s a date,” I replied, smiling at how right those words felt. “But I’m intrigued by these plans, sweetheart.” My pulse quickened as she looked at me, her gaze lingering just long enough to make my breath hitch. I saw her eyes drop—just for a second—to the open collar of my shirt beneath the tailored jacket. She was holding something back; I could feel it. I knew if she told me now, I’d be all in, right beside her as she chased down her next big idea—after all Lilian was ambitious. An unstoppable force with whatever plan she had next up her sleeve. I leaned in close, my lips brushing the edge of her ear as I murmured tickling the hairs on end, “But I know how to tease it out of you tonight.” Her shiver told me I’d hit my mark.
As I left the shop, nodding politely to Miri and Evander, I couldn’t help but feel that something fundamental had shifted in my world. The morning light seemed brighter, the breeze off the bay sweeter, even the familiar sounds of Starlight Bay waking up felt somehow new.
For the first time in years—maybe ever—I was looking forward to the future with genuine excitement. Not the calculated anticipation of closing a case or winning an argument, but the wild, wonderful uncertainty of building something with someone who made me want to be better, braver, more open. I had no idea where this road would lead but as I walked with a skip in my step toward my office, I knew with absolute certainty that I wanted to travel it with Lilian by my side.
They’d be no more dares, no more games, just the beautiful, terrifying reality of two people living their lives to the fullest.