Chapter 30
SATURDAY
THE WIND CARRIED a trace of wet sand, water reeds and memory. How many picnics had the two of them had here? How many bonfires with friends? Taylor picked this spot as the last one on his grand nostalgia tour.
Chelsey stood on the banks of Mink Creek, her shoes kicked off and toes buried in the warm, silty sand.
The water glittered under the late-afternoon sun, lazy ripples licking the edges of the worn dock like they had every summer since forever.
Only today matters weighed heavy on her mind, but her soul was lighter. How was that possible?
She’d texted Dan earlier that morning and asked if they could talk on Monday. He asked if later that morning would work out for her or a week later since he was going out of town.
That’s how she found herself standing in the doorway of Dan’s office, suddenly wishing she’d waited until next week, but that was a coward’s way out. She owed it to herself and Dan to have this meeting in person.
Dan looked up from a stack of contracts and smiled the kind of smile that had become suspiciously common lately. Softer and lighter. The smile of a man who had recently fallen in love and wanted the whole world to be happy with him.
“There you are,” he said. “Come in. You look like someone about to confess to tax fraud.”
“I’m not confessing anything.”
“Phew. Sit down anyway.”
She sat, smoothing imaginary wrinkles from her shorts.
He folded his hands. “You’re turning down the offer.”
Chelsey blinked. “I was going to start by asking how your week has been, but we can get right to the heart of things.”
“My week has been busy and good, all at the same time. But that isn’t why you’re here.”
She sighed. “Yes. I came to tell you no.”
Dan nodded once, not looking offended or surprised. “All right.”
That calm response knocked half the battle out of her.
“That’s it?” she asked. “I’ve prepared well-rehearsed reasons why I need to say no, plus all the gratitude I can express.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying her kindly. “Tell me the real reason.”
Chelsey clasped her hands. “I think I’ve gone as far as I can here.”
His brows lifted slightly.
“I’ve loved this work,” she said quickly. “I have. I built something here that I’m proud of, something that’s helped others. But lately…” She searched for the right words. “Lately it feels like I can do it all with my eyes closed.”
Dan said nothing, so she kept going.
“And maybe that sounds ungrateful.”
“It sounds honest.”
She swallowed. “I think I want something new. Different. Something that feels…” She hesitated. “Alive again.”
Dan’s expression gentled in a way that made him look less like her boss and more like someone who’d weathered a few seasons.
“I get it,” he said.
Chelsey gave a short laugh. “Do you?”
He glanced at the framed photo on his desk, then back at her.
“When you find someone,” he began, then smiled at his own wording. “I mean something… new and intriguing and unexpectedly right, it changes the shape of everything you thought you wanted.”
Chelsey stared at him. “Was that advice or insight into Dan Walker?”
“Yes.”
She laughed despite herself.
Dan leaned forward. “Listen to me. Titles are just brass letters on a door. If this job feels like the wrong next step, don’t take it because it looks impressive. Take the path that makes you curious.”
“That’s a risky business strategy.”
“But an excellent life strategy.”
She mulled over what he was saying. She had a lot of experience in business…could the same be said about life?
“You’re not disappointed?” she asked quietly.
“Chelsey, I didn’t offer you CEO because I need a warm body in the chair. I offered it because you’re capable. If you choose something else, that doesn’t erase that.”
The knot in her chest loosened.
“So…we’re good?”
He came around the desk and held out a hand. She stood and hugged him instead. She blinked to keep the tears from spilling. This felt like goodbye, the end of a chapter of her life.
At the door, Dan said, “And if this new and intriguing thing has a first name and lives in another country, just know I saw it coming before you did.”
Her face warmed instantly.
“Goodbye, Dan.”
He chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”
Taylor stood on the shore skipping rocks and trying not to glance at Chelsey every ten seconds.
“Five skips,” he said, squinting against the glare of the sun on the water.
“Two and a plop,” she corrected, hands on hips.
He grinned, loving her banter, then walked over and handed her a flat, palm-sized stone. “Your turn.”
She turned it in her fingers, hesitating. “You brought me here for a rock-skipping contest?”
“I brought you here because I hoped the quiet would help me say something without messing it up.” He was sure his heart was leaving an indent on the inside of his ribs with how hard it pounded.
Chelsey threw her rock gracefully, resulting in four clean skips. She was always better at it. She sat on a nearby fallen log and turned her attention to him.
Taylor shoved his hands in his pockets, his eyes on the water. “This place has always been kind of a checkpoint for me.”
She looked over. “Like a save point in a video game?”
He laughed. “Exactly. When I left for college, I came here the night before. When I left for Asia…same thing. Every time I come home, I end up back here like I’m trying to see if I still fit.”
“And?” she asked.
He took a breath. “I’m not sure if I fit here anymore. But I’m not sure I don’t, either. And I’m realizing maybe it’s not about the place.”
She leaned forward, expectant, and watched him with guarded curiosity.
He turned to face her fully. “I want to talk about seven years ago, when I walked away from you and my home.” He glanced up at the sky and took a deep breath before catching her gaze and holding it.
“I am so sorry. Those four words are too weak compared to the heartache you’ve carried all these years.
I often wondered how you were doing and how much I hurt you.
I’d made up my mind that you were fine, had found a new love, and were married with three kids. ”
Chelsey wrapped her arms around her own waist as her cheeks reddened.
“But deep inside my secret heart, I hoped you weren’t married or hurting. I stayed away so long I started to believe my lies.”
She laughed and awkwardly touched her hair.
“—a feeling hit me so hard I honestly thought I was having a heart attack.” He crossed his arms over his chest, as if he could protect himself from her as she grinned at him.
“Good to know where I stand.”
“I’m in love with you, Chelsey.” His eyes pleaded with her to understand and to follow. “I always have been.” He dropped his gaze again and dug around in the sand with the toe of his gym shoe.
So much had changed over the last week and a half.
He felt like he was on the ride at the carnival called Rocket, which launched the riders into the air before coming slowly back down.
No matter how many times he tried to figure out the count before liftoff, he was always wrong.
The ride was thrilling, heart pounding and made him a little dizzy.
All of what he felt right now as he confessed his love and vulnerability to her.
“I talked to Wendy,” Chelsey whispered. “I told her I was thinking about selling my house. And seeing new sights. Trying exotic foods.”
Taylor blinked. “Wait, really?”
She nodded. “But then I thought—what if you don’t want to travel anymore? What if you want someone rooted? Someone who doesn’t panic at customs or pack six kinds of hand sanitizer?”
“I want you,” he said, voice low and certain.
He took a step toward her and stopped when she held up a hand.
“Whether it’s here with you and your porch swing and PTA meetings, or on the other side of the world learning how to order noodles in seven languages…
I want whatever version of yourself you want to give. ”
Chelsey took a shaky step forward. “And what about you? Are you brave enough to maybe come back?”
“I want to be where you are.” Taylor took a confident step toward her and pulled her into a hug. “I’m supposed to fly to Singapore at the end of the month.”
He hurried on as her smile slipped.
“The big job I was supposed to start next month got postponed until the fall.”
“What does that mean?”
“Can I spend the rest of the summer with you?” Taylor’s voice cracked a little on the last word. “If that works for you? I can help you with your events. Anywhere.” He held up his hands with a laugh. “I’m good at digging ditches.”
Chelsey cupped his face and smiled. “I turned down Dan’s offer.”
Taylor sat back, stunned. “Why? You love what you do.”
“Did you really mean what you said earlier? When you said it’s not where you are but who you’re with that matters?”
A slow grin spread over Taylor’s face.
“I meant those words, Chelsey Marie Hooper.”
Chelsey kissed him softly on the cheek. “I love those words, Taylor Andrew Compton.”
He studied her for a very long moment. “Do you believe them, too?”
Chelsey kissed Taylor on the other cheek. “I want to start a new chapter with both of us starring as the main love interest who finally gets together in the end, no matter the setting.”
Taylor reached for her hands. “I think I’m ready to write it. Wherever it takes us.”
She let him take her hands and he kissed each knuckle. A soothing sense of peace washed over him. The smile she gave him was a bit wobbly. “You know what I was thinking about the other day?”
“What?” He held her hands to his chest.
“The first time you kissed me. Right after roller skating. I had a Coke Freeze mustache and glitter in my hair.”
He laughed and leaned closer. “You kissed me back anyway.”
“I’m very generous,” she teased, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“If you’ve forgiven me, my affections and wishes have not changed toward you, but one word from you will silence me forever.” He placed a finger on her lips when she opened her mouth to talk. “In the movie, Elizabeth just listened.”
She nodded soberly with a glint of anticipation in her eyes.
He cleared his throat. “If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love—I love—I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”
Her smile grew with every word he spoke. And just like in the movie, she took his hand in hers and without looking away, kissed his knuckles. “Well, then.”
She leaned back to get a better look at him. “Mr. Compton, are you completely, and perfectly, and incandescently happy?”
“I am, My Goddess Divine.”
She closed her eyes as he kissed her nose.
“I love you, most ardently.”
He started to kiss her on the forehead, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “That wasn’t from P&P.”
“No, that was Chelsey plus Taylor forever. Are you duly impressed?”
She leaned into him. “Yes, Mr. Compton, it did or I wouldn’t be standing here right now wishing you would kiss me.” She pulled away for a moment. “Have you ever thought about buying a long jacket and walking across a moor at sunrise?”
“I need more kisses to persuade me.” He winked at her. “See what I did there?”
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s see how I can help.”