12. Tessa #2
“How did you know?” Tessa asked as Greer moved them to another group of boulders relatively close to the group the photographer had glanced toward. “How did you know he’d propose there?”
“I didn’t,” Greer said, leaning against another boulder and pulling her into him, much like he’d done before. Only this time, Tessa got comfortable in his embrace, setting her forearms down on his, her fingers dancing over the inside of his elbows.
“That’s impossible,” Tessa said, shaking her head. “You’d never have gone over there if you didn’t have some idea.”
It was dark out, so she wasn’t entirely sure, but just as the nearby firelight caught Greer’s beautiful features, it also showed off the tiniest tinge of red to his cheeks.
Was he blushing?
“What you said got me thinking,” he said, clasping his hands around her and resting them on the small of her back.
He glanced up at the sky as he seemed to become suddenly shy.
Just when she thought she had gotten to know every version of him, he went and opened the door to another hidden part of himself.
“If I were going to propose to someone, and it had to be here, where would I do it?”
“Yes, but there are several places,” she said, looking around.
Sure, there were the lovely rocks on the water that they stood near, but on the opposite side of the beach held another set, just as nice.
“He could have done it up on the Boardwalk overlooking it all. Made her feel like she was on top of the world.”
“He could,” Greer said, a serene smile taking over his expression.
“He could have even taken her out on the water. Rented a boat for the occasion? What woman would say no to a moonlit proposal?”
“Is that what you’d want?” he asked, smoothing a flyaway hair behind her ear. While it wasn’t particularly windy, Tessa had noticed that the breeze off the water was much better than the oppressive heat of the day they rode into town on.
“Maybe? I honestly haven’t thought much about being engaged.
” Which was entirely true, sadly. Despite having had boyfriends, dates, and her most serious relationship to date with Troy, not once did she think about taking anything further with any of them.
In her heart, she’d known they were all wrong.
And it wasn’t just a matter of annoying habits or poor table manners.
Tessa had always been a magnet for the wrong sort.
Not necessarily wrong for everyone, but definitely wrong for her.
Until she decided to take a chance on a fake boyfriend.
Greer locked his gaze with her and spoke very carefully. “Me neither.”
And suddenly it dawned on her why he’d been so shy earlier. He’d thought about being engaged for the first time as well.
To her.
“Oh my gosh!” someone muffle-squealed nearby. It was loud enough that everyone in their area turned toward the surf to see a young man standing in a few inches of water, holding a young woman close.
Right in the same spot Tessa and Greer had been in.
“Oh my gosh,” Tessa repeated, turning her head and gripping onto Greer’s arms just a little tighter.
It was happening!
Tessa held her breath as she watched the two of them together.
They were a handsome couple to start with.
The young woman’s honey blonde hair was halfway down her back, straight as an arrow, but gently blowing in the breeze along with her blue and white gingham sundress.
She held onto him, her arms around his waist as she attentively listened to whatever it was he was saying.
The young man had short-cropped, dirty blond hair, which appeared somewhat wet, like they’d spent the afternoon swimming and enjoying a nice vacation.
Now he wore a short-sleeved off-white button-down shirt with a pair of faded brick red cargo shorts.
As their conversation suddenly became serious, the young woman stood still as the young man began to step back.
The entire beach seemed to hold its breath, the only sound being the waves as they touched down on the beach around them.
He pulled out a ring box, holding it between them before he dropped to one knee in the surf.
A fevered burst of excited murmurs peppered the crowd, everyone waiting for her answer.
And when they saw her nod excitedly and mouth the word “Yes!” the entire beach roared in approval.
Tessa could feel herself break into a massive grin as she clapped along with the crowd.
This couple looked positively smitten with one another, the young woman flinging her arms around her now-fiancé, who picked her up off the ground and spun her in a circle, splashing everywhere as he did.
While she’d never actually witnessed an engagement happen before, there was no arguing that there was something positively magical about it.
And when she looked back at Greer, she saw something in his expression that she wasn’t prepared for. A tender look, soulful eyes, and a yearning for a partner. Someone to take on a forever adventure.
He felt it too.
“Tess,” Greer said, suddenly serious. She noticed his outstretched arm, pointing toward the group. The couple had now moved back out of the water and were accepting hugs all around from their… family and friends.
“Do you think…?” Tess let her sentence drift as she watched a shorter woman with curly red hair run straight to the blonde and envelope her in a hug. It was very obvious that this wasn’t a fringe relative, nor a polite embrace.
“I’d bet money that was her mother,” he said, finishing her thought for her. As Tessa turned fully to watch, she felt Greer’s chest press to her back, his hands on her hips like he preferred that resting spot to anywhere else on his own body.
“Tierney,” she whispered.