Forty-Four
S cott’s arms felt right wrapped around her and his powerful chest felt safe. Lauren wanted nothing more than to stay where she was, right against him, but Scott had other plans. Before moving away from her, he pressed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. She wanted more from him, but it would have to wait.
Instead, he pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “Lauren, trust me I’m never going to hurt you. I’m never going to get in the way of what you want to do or what you need to do. OK?”
His words brought everything back. The pain caused by the fear of something happening to her father. The devastation she experienced when she told him to walk away. And the ache brought about by the idea of Scott not being in Iron Creek.
“I can work from anywhere, Lauren, but if I want to be with you, I have to be here full time.” It was as if Scott read her mind. “I don’t want to do this half-way, Lauren.”
She wanted to believe his words. When she looked into his eyes, she thought she saw the truth of his words, but she didn’t know if it was because she wanted them to be there or if he meant them.
And then it hit her. She needed to stop thinking and worrying. Even in high school, Scott had never deliberately hurt her. In high school, he could have led her on while dating Olivia, but he didn’t. He could have led her on before he left town, taking advantage of her feelings for him, but he didn’t.
Scott was giving her a chance to say, ‘let’s pretend I never told you to walk away’. Lauren wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t going to ignore the opportunity.
“OK.” It wasn’t a tough decision to make when she took the time to think it through. “OK to everything.”
Scott pressed his lips against hers once more and pulled her closer to him before leading her down the hallway.
A large red balloon with a postcard attached to it was tied to the doorknob.
“I know I’m not a prince, Lauren.” He turned his head and brushed his lips across her forehead.
He remembered.
When they were in grade school, they released balloons with self-addressed stamped postcards attached to them. Lauren had claimed a prince would find her postcard, and she’d marry him and then they would live in the lake house. She never thought for a minute that he’d remember the balloons or the future she had dreamed of as a six-year-old girl.
Lauren wanted to say so much right then, but if she opened her mouth, she’d start crying. The absolute last thing she wanted to do in front of him right then.
She tore the postcard from the ribbon. On one side, someone had written her name in big bold letters. The other side held the rest of the message.
Wanna play house?
She held the card against her chest, never wanting to let it go.
He remembered everything.
Lauren looked at Scott and smiled at him through the tears she didn’t bother trying to stop anymore.
It might have taken him twenty-three years, but he was willing to give her what she wanted when she was six years old. “I love you.”
Scott opened the door and held it for her and brushed his lips across the side of her neck and whispered the same words back to her. He looked at her, his blue eyes so bright they practically mesmerized her so she couldn’t look away. “I wanna play house with you, Lauren. Just you.”
She pulled his arms around her waist and held him close.
Looking around the large bedroom with Scott by her side she wondered if she was dreaming.
A dream explained everything.
She couldn’t stand the possibility of none of this being real and pinched Scott’s arm.
He winced and rubbed his bicep where her thumb and forefinger squeezed his skin. “What was that for?”
“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”
“You’re supposed to pinch yourself, not someone else. But I promise, you aren’t dreaming.”
She looked up at him and focused on his smile. His lips begged her to kiss him.