Chapter 38
Leif arrived at Ringpynten and paused to shift his bags from one hand to the other, careful not to bruise the blue delphinium poking from one of the totes.
He wiped one hand on his dress pants and straightened his tie.
He wanted the night with Ella to be perfect.
He’d brought chocolate, champagne, and a fondue pot.
He suddenly panicked, thinking he’d forgotten the cheese, but he unzipped his duffel bag and was relieved to find it tucked next to the vegetables.
He shook the tension out of his shoulders.
He couldn’t recall ever being so anxious.
This was their final night together, unless he could convince her to stay.
He halted at the sight of Ella sitting on one of the patio chairs.
She was wearing a hip-hugging yellow dress and a cowboy hat, and she was strumming her guitar.
This was exactly how she’d been the first time he saw her.
He hadn’t believed in love at first sight before that day, but he did now.
When she started humming in that beautiful voice of hers, it took his breath away.
He knew that he couldn’t let her go and that he was going to fight for her.
“Hey there, Sunna,” he said brightly, and she laid her guitar on her lap to greet him. “No, don’t stop playing—it sounds so nice!”
“It’s something I started writing today.” Reaching for the pencil and notepad on the table, she erased a word and replaced it with another one.
“Can I hear it?”
Ella considered this as she wrote several more words on the paper. She placed the pencil back on the table and began to strum and sing.
Lookin’ back
For someone who gives a damn.
I’m someone, and you gotta do the things you can
And I couldn’t
See when things were going wrong
And I wouldn’t change my ways and now he’s gone
She stopped and settled the guitar into the case at her feet. “That’s as far as I got with the lyrics,” she explained.
“It’s good.”
Her voice was like velvet and sunshine. He ached to scoop her up in his arms and hold her forever . . . except soon she would be gone. Right now he felt a twinge in his chest, but he knew by tomorrow, it would be a gaping void in his heart.
Even so, he refused to ruin tonight. Ella had encouraged him to live in the moment and appreciate the now, so he smiled and offered her the champagne and flowers. This final date of theirs had to be something to remember.