Chapter 53 Origami Sea
ORIGAMI SEA
RIPLEY
Sheriff Simmon flips her notebook closed, then pushes her beige hat farther on her head. “Thanks for all the info, Ripley. That’ll be real useful,” she says, standing on the farmhouse porch.
“No problem,” I say.
“And you too, Haven,” she says, nodding to my sister.
“Happy to help,” Haven says.
Sheriff Simmon knows us both because she goes way back. She’s been the sheriff in Darling Springs for about fifteen years.
“You’re taking him in on trespassing?” Banks confirms, his arm locked protectively around my waist. He hasn’t let go of me since he handed off that asshole to the authorities. Chris contacted them while we were in the maze, and they arrived quickly.
“Yes, we are. Assault too,” the sheriff adds.
“Good. Thanks for coming so quickly,” he says.
She nods, then says to me, “We’ll be in touch. And thanks again for sending Chloe my way. She’s great with Baxter.”
“Glad to hear. Spicy Chihuahuas are her specialty.”
“He’s the spiciest.” She and her deputy return to their vehicle, where Ian Joseph stews in the backseat, handcuffed.
While Sheriff Simmon was taking Haven’s statement, Banks told me Ian Joseph has been freelancing recently for some online celeb sites, trying to make a fast buck or two to get out of debt.
He’s the one who snapped the picture of Banks and me outside Prohibition Spirit the other night and set it loose online—not my ex.
Guess Ian remembered, too, that Banks had called me his girlfriend once upon a time, and he had a bone to pick.
Ian’s also the one who took the shot of Haven and me inside that night.
And based on what Banks told the sheriff—a bunch of people had taken Chris and Haven’s picture when they left the wrap party—it seems Ian was among them and followed the car unseen to the farm, then parked far away and entered on the other side of my property.
Haven was right when she said some photographers are really good at staying hidden to get the shot they want.
He must have stayed out of sight earlier this week at the bar, and again tonight.
But that guy is off my property now, cruising into custody.
There are still too many people here though—Chris and Daveed, Haven and Wanda, Grandma and Vega—when I only want to be with the man holding me.
So I can tell him how I feel.
I’ve hardly had a chance to think about what it means that he’s still here. But he called me his girlfriend, and I can’t help but love that. Even so, I’m going to say my piece as soon as I get a second alone with him.
Grandma hugs me one more time, making sure I’m okay, then Haven clears her throat and says, “Everyone leave.”
I blink. Whoa. “Someone’s bossy.”
“Yes, that was the whole point of my coming here. Go and enjoy your midnight picnic,” she tells me.
Right, the picnic. I’d forgotten about that, but Chris and Daveed picked up the food in the maze that Hudson didn’t eat. I’m not hungry, though, so Haven thrusts the picnic basket at Grandma, and Banks says to me, “Your sister makes a good point. We should enjoy this.”
And I do want to be alone with him desperately, but still, I ask Haven, “What did you mean—why you’re here?”
But she waves me off and heads to Wanda’s car. Another switcheroo.
I don’t bother with the hostess thing and say good night. I just wave and head to the cottage with the man and the dog.
Banks keeps his arm around me the whole time, his fingers running along my arm like he can’t bear not to touch me.
When we reach the cottage, I say, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
“There’s something I want to tell you too,” he says, reaching for the doorknob.
“You go first,” we say in unison, then laugh.
He opens the door, holding it for my dog and me. I’m about to say I’m in love with you when my gaze lands on a sea of origami on the bed.
My hand flies to my mouth. “What is that?” I ask, breathless, full of wonder.
“It’s for you.” He sounds nervous but hopeful—the opposite of how he was thirty minutes ago in the maze when he was tough and terrifying.
I love all sides of him, including this tender, romantic one.
“I enlisted your sister’s help to keep you busy so I could do this,” he explains.
So that’s what Haven meant.
I walk slowly to the bed, in awe of the gorgeous array of pink, red, and white folded letters of the alphabet.
I pick up the first one. It’s the letter I. Then I read the others, neatly arranged on the bed.
I’m sorry.
I love you.
Let’s try again.
So simple. So…everything.
I can’t believe he professed his love to me in origami. Emotions swim up my chest, filling me with joy and happiness, with possibility and soul-deep love. I spin around, my throat tight as I say, “I love you too. So much.”
Banks crosses the room in a flash, lifts me in his arms, and holds me close. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When I saw that guy with his hands on you, all I could think was I can’t let him hurt the love of my life.”
The intensity of those words echoes like a loud, bright bell. “The love of your life?” I ask, looking back at him.
He sets me down, cups my cheeks, and nods earnestly. “When you know, you know.”
My smile is so wide, it can’t be contained. “I know too. I feel the same.”
He ropes his arms tighter around me and peppers me with kisses. “I can’t let you go. You’re worth it. You’re worth everything. I can’t put work in front of you. You’re what I want most in the world.”
My eyes shine with tears. “You’ve got me then.”
He pulls back and holds my face, his chocolate eyes filled with promise. “We’ll make this work. You’re worth it,” he repeats as if making sure I’ve heard him.
But I did. “We’re worth it, Banks. We are.”
He kisses me again, with an intensity that says he fears he almost lost me tonight. With a passion that says he doesn’t want to let go.
I don’t either.
I melt into his kisses. I glow under his touch. And I want all of him.
I pull him to the bed, the back of my knees hitting the edge of the mattress.
“Hold on,” he says, then sweeps the origami onto the floor.
“It’s a mess,” I shriek playfully.
“And I don’t care,” he says, then he peels off my clothes and lays me down. His clothes vanish next, and soon, he’s sinking inside me.
I wrap my legs around his waist, my arms around his shoulders, and I pull him close, deep inside me.
It’s different this time. It’s somehow even better. Once more, we come together in the cottage.
Only this time, we won’t be a secret in the morning.
After we wake the next day and shower, we get on our bikes and ride into town. We grab coffee together and hold hands as we walk along Main Street, a road so familiar I could close my eyes and still find every shop.
As we near the crosswalk, Banks peers ahead with curious eyes. I follow his gaze to the end of the block where a man’s popping out of a real estate office.
“I think that’s…Sawyer,” Banks says.
“Is he someone you met on one of your various shopping excursions for toys or bikes?”
With a smile, Banks shakes his head. “All good guesses. Actually, I ran into him at Mister Fox, with Monroe. We played pool one night.”
Banks calls out to the dark-haired man who looks a touch out of place in his button-down shirt and charcoal slacks.
Sawyer’s more business-y than most people I see in town.
When he hears his name, he turns around.
It takes him a few seconds, then he must recognize my guy since the corner of his lips curve up and he says, “Banks.”
We catch up to him on the corner of the street, and Banks makes quick intros, then nods to the real estate office. “Is that ‘maybe’ turning into a definite?”
“Maybe,” Sawyer answers, but it’s said in a hopeful tone.
“Aren’t you elusive?” Banks jokes.
“I don’t want to jinx anything,” Sawyer says, then turns to me. “I might be opening a business here.”
“You should,” I say, ready to sing Darling Springs’s praises. Except, wait. “It’s not a competing lavender farm, is it?”
“Ripley will fight you on that,” Banks warns.
“I would never dare. Not when there’s a world-class one already here,” Sawyer says.
I look to Banks approvingly. “I like him. You may keep him as a friend.”
“Thanks,” he says dryly.
I turn my focus back to Sawyer. “I hope it works out. This is a great place to live and to run a business. Ideally, one that sells my lavender at checkout.”
Sawyer flashes a confident smile. “If the deal comes through, I’ll sell your lavender. That’s a promise. And hopefully I’ll see you both around.”
“Yes, and for another round of pool since I like taking your money.”
“I don’t like that part. But I do need some pool,” Sawyer says, then sighs heavily as he meets Banks’s gaze. “So much stuff to figure out.”
“Then that round should be sooner rather than later.”
Sawyer gives a nod, then heads in the opposite direction, passing the dog day care where Chloe sometimes works. He pauses briefly at the window. For a second, I wonder if she caught his eye, but I probably just have romance on my mind.
I focus on Banks, squeezing his hand. “You look good in Darlings Springs.”
“Good thing I plan to be here quite a bit.”
It sure is.
We start making plans for what happens now that the job is over and our life together is beginning.