Chapter Forty-Three
Wren was so quiet on the way back to the house.
“I threw our sandwiches in the fridge before I left the house, but they might not be as tasty as they would have been earlier,” Jeff observed. “So I put in another order. We can swing by and pick them up on the way back to the house.”
Reaching out, Wren laid a hand on his cheek. “I can’t believe it’s finally over.”
“I’m just so glad you’re safe,” he admitted gruffly. For some reason, he felt like crying. Probably because he knew that she would be returning to California soon. “When we get home, I think you should take a hot bath and relax. It’s been a rough day.”
“You’re not mad at me for leaving?” she asked.
“I’m only upset at Kate,” he growled. “I went into panic mode when you weren’t there, and I skimmed through all the videos. And then I called Kate. I’ve never been so angry at her in my life.”
“She was right though,” Wren said dully. “What right did I have to come in and decorate your house and then just leave, so all you’ll have left are the memories?”
“Damn it, Wren,” he growled. “I don’t give a damn what Kate had to say. I would have rather had this time with you than have nothing of you at all. I suppose I shouldn’t say this, but I love you. I don’t think I’m capable of loving anyone but you, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to make your life miserable and beg you to stay. You never made any promises, and I don’t expect them from you.”
“Oh, Jeff. This has been the best summer of my life,” she confessed.
He shrugged. “No one’s telling you not to come back. The best things in life are worth waiting for. Despite all the anxiety about your stalker, it’s been the greatest summer of my life too, so let’s enjoy the time we have left and try not to think too hard.”
She sighed, giving him a dreamy smile. “Alright. You’re right, about everything you know.”
“Always,” he muttered, pulling into the parking lot of the Crystal Rock Tap.
A few minutes later, when he walked out with the sandwiches, he found Wren sound asleep.
Smiling, he drove them home. They’d go back and fetch her SUV tomorrow.
* * *
Wren woke while Jeff was carrying her into the house.
“Shall I take you upstairs to the tub, or would you like to try and eat?”
“I’m hungry,” she admitted. “I’d better try to eat.”
He rested her feet on the kitchen floor near the island. “You sit down, and I’ll take care of everything else.”
She yawned. “Okay.”
Jeff ran back out to the truck, grabbing the food along with the packages in back. Slipping the ring box in his pocket, he carried the large gift bag into the house along with the sandwiches he’d just picked up.
“Here,” he said, handing over the gift bag. “I was going to save this for later, but you can open it now if you’d like.”
She smiled widely as Jeff reached for some plates for the sandwiches.
“Oh, Jeff,” she said, sounding breathless a few minutes later when she stared at his gift. “This has got to be the most beautiful accent lamp I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s handmade,” he admitted. “There’s an artisan who takes orders through the gift shop at the Inn, and I gave him some specs so he could make it just for you.”
It was a pair of dragonflies, exquisitely painted in shades of rosy-purple and teal, and once she plugged it in, it created a smoky glow from within.
As Wren ate her sandwich, she kept gazing at the lamp, and Jeff could swear there were tears in her eyes.
“Let’s take it upstairs and put it on the dresser for now,” she murmured, once they were done eating.
After a long hot bath, they made love, slowly, tenderly. Jeff wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to survive having to let her go. It would be like the better half of him was gone.