Chapter 34 – Violet
Life settled into a semblance of routine after dinner with my family. That night marked the return to sleepy small-town life. The Underwoods and Owen were in jail, with bail unlikely now that they’d all been deemed flight risks.
Even Anya’s parents had finally made national headlines, the feds circling closer until there was nowhere to run. She didn’t say much when the news broke, just showed up to yoga looking lighter, as if some unseen weight had finally shifted off her shoulders.
Things at the Salty Pantry were slow, but that gave me time to experiment with new recipes for the shop.
My new caramel salted croissant was a hit with locals and visitors alike.
I spent less and less time at my house and more at Lee’s.
I wasn’t quite ready to let my house go, but more of my things had migrated to the drawers and closet space he’d cleared for me.
Winter weather meant fewer Saturday hikes, but I used the time wisely, snuggled up with Lee watching movies. Rae would start dragging us out again soon. April was around the corner, meaning busier days at the shop.
I stayed late at the Salty Pantry to complete quarter-end inventory, preparing my restocking order. My phone buzzed.
Lee: What time are you coming home?
Vi: Be there in 15. I can make grilled cheese or something fast tonight.
Lee: I’ve got dinner covered.
Had I read that right? Lee’s idea of cooking was unwrapping a protein bar. But I trusted that he’d pulled together something for dinner. Curious and touched that he offered to cook, I locked up, making it up the hill and down the street to the house in record time.
Hints of spring were everywhere, daffodils waving gently in the breeze. A few lilacs looked nearly ready to bloom. It’d been a warmer-than-average day. Thin clouds swept across the horizon, lingering to the west. Sunset would probably be spectacular.
I slipped off my shoes, following the cussing up the stairs to the kitchen. Pots and pans littered every available surface, but Lee looked up with a broad grin, clearly proud of himself.
“Welcome home. Dinner is just about ready. Let me just turn the stove off.” He drained a pot of pasta before returning it to the stovetop.
“What’s the special occasion?” I glanced from him to the stack of dishes.
He grinned sheepishly. “I’ll clean it all up later. I know I’m not a tidy cook. But I wanted to make you dinner. I thought we could eat out on the patio tonight. Wine?”
His words almost ran together. I resolved to compliment his cooking, no matter what.
He was clearly nervous about how everything had turned out.
He slipped out of a navy apron, revealing casual slacks and a simple dark tee that stretched across his broad chest. Freshly showered, he smelled of soap and garlic as he gripped my waist, dropping a quick kiss on my mouth.
“I missed you today.”
His words turned my heart into a puddle. Lee could be an absolute bear when the writing wasn’t going well, but the rest of the time he was impossibly sweet.
“I missed you too.” I pushed up onto my toes for another kiss.
Even when he wasn’t with me, he was my person.
My partner. I had friends. I’d had lovers.
But I’d never had a relationship quite like ours.
Not that we didn’t disagree or argue. But the bedrock of our friendship, the level of trust and love built over decades, meant we never started from zero.
Our foundation was unshakable, and it gave me a sense of security I’d never experienced before.
Loving Lee felt effortless, weightless, because I never questioned that it was mutual. My love for Lee could be easy and free because I knew he loved me back at a bone-deep level.
While I’d been lost in thought, Lee had been ferrying plates of pasta to the balcony. He extended his hand. “Dinner is served. C’mon, Cupcake, sunset is in a few minutes.”
I stepped out onto the balcony and blinked. “You’ve been busy today.” I worked around the sudden tightening in my throat, hiding the way my heart rate picked up.
He’d overhauled the tiny deck. The small bistro table and chairs were the same, but he’d spruced the table up with a low-profile bouquet of daffodils.
Tiny fairy lights were strung in the eaves, giving the tiny porch a magical quality.
In the distance, the Salish Sea glittered.
The fading rays of the sun illuminated the water as it sank behind the hills, lighting the clouds in pinks and purples.
“I hope you like it.” Lee pulled out my chair and scooted me forward before taking his seat. He held my gaze. “I warned you I’d keep asking.”
My heart took flight, my pulse pounding an eager tattoo in my wrist. The romantic setting. The attention to dinner. If he truly meant to ask the question I’d been dreaming of, I couldn’t claim it was impulsive. Clearly, he’d been planning tonight. Meticulously.
“Garlic bread?” He held up the basket.
I bit my lip. Not the question I was expecting. Maybe his plan was to edge me into oblivion. To make me so eager for him to ask that I’d jump into a “yes.” Totally unnecessary, but absolutely adorable.
“Sure, thanks.”
“Don’t let it get cold.” Lee gestured to my plate. “I hope it tastes okay.”
“It smells delicious.” And if it tasted like dog food, I’d eat it anyway, because Lee had clearly put his heart and soul into tonight’s dinner. Luckily, it tasted as good as it smelled.
Lee asked me about my day, inquiring about the new products I was considering for the store, then shared how he was faring with his latest manuscript.
He always seemed reluctant to talk about his writing, as if speaking about it would kill his muse, but at certain points in the process, he’d open up, talking about his characters or where he was stuck.
Those were my favorite conversations about his work.
He lit up when he spoke about his stories, as if the people in his books were real to him.
He cleared our plates and refreshed our glasses, coming out with a blanket tossed casually over one shoulder. He extended a wineglass to me and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders. We stood at the rail, admiring the fading rays of the sun as the last beams illuminated the island to the west.
Lee turned to me, his blue eyes gentle and loving as he touched his glass to mine.
“Violet Fenwick, I want to spend every day just like this. Enjoying the little moments and big ones with you.” He took a deep breath, his gaze locking with mine.
“Our love is the kind they write stories about, and I want to keep writing our story for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
My heart stuttered, a hot rush filling my chest. For a beat, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but stare.
“Yes.” I sniffed. Emotion swelled, the lump in my throat making it difficult to push words out. “I want to spend all my days with you, Lee.” My words were thick, but I was smiling. Beaming.
He exhaled, something between relief and joy, and slipped our glasses onto the table, gathering me in his arms. The first brush of his mouth was tentative, the second achingly sweet.
Sealing the kiss in my memory – loving and peaceful, with the hint of anticipated pleasure underlying the caress.
It was the calm before the storm. The promise before paradise.
Lee and I had taken our sweet time finding forever in each other, but I couldn’t regret one step of our journey.