A Timeless Romance Anthology: Spring Vacation Collection (12 page)

James took a step forward, but at her raised eyebrow, he halted and put up both hands as if to show he meant no harm. “I
had
to find you. When you weren’t home—”

“You went to my apartment?” Why that surprised her, she didn’t know.

“What else was I supposed to do when you wouldn’t answer your phone or reply to my texts?”

Maybe he did care. The safe shell she’d constructed around her heart softened a tad. But only a tad. She wouldn’t be sucked into his world of girlfriend limbo again.

“I was so worried that something had happened to you, that maybe you’d been in an accident or something.”

“Wait. You came looking for me to be sure I was
safe
? Because if I wasn’t, oh,
dead,
of
course
I’d answer your every beck and call?” The shell hardened. “What about—about—” She couldn’t get the words out.
What about humiliating me? What about leading me on? What about discarding me after I gave you my heart?

“Hope told me you’d gone to visit your mother.”

Tess’s arms were still folded, but as much to hold herself together as to pretend she was strong. Because she wasn’t strong, not even almost. James could crook his finger, and it would be all she could do not to melt into his arms. But she couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t.

He’d known she was safe—on her way to California. So why follow?

“How did you find me? I never gave you my mother’s address.” She sighed. “Hope, right?”

He nodded. “I sort of managed to get her to tell me.”

“I can’t believe her.”

James continued, speaking over Tess. “And when your car wasn’t at your mom’s, I called Hope to ask where else to look. She told me to drive down here, and I found your car. Wasn’t hard to recognize.”

Emotions clashed inside Tess. Her thoughts were little more than a tangled jumble. She clung to one clear thought. “Hope helped you—twice? She
swore
she wouldn’t say a word to you, because—because—”

He raised his gaze to hers again. “Because I’m a fence-sitting jerk.” He said it so matter-of-factly that it sent a stab into Tess’s heart.

“Yeah.” The single word came out in a whisper of surprise. Her brow furrowed. Needle pricks at the corners of her eyes threatened more tears. None of this made sense. Why was James here? What was last night about? What should she do? “I-I don’t understand.”

“But
I
finally do.” This time when he stepped closer, she didn’t protest. He hesitantly reached for her left hand, and then her right. Tess let him hold the fingers of both hands—just her fingers. Her eyes were locked on their hands—they fit together like puzzle pieces.

She shook her head and swallowed, but as she opened her mouth to protest, James spoke first. “You were right to leave. I have been a total jerk. I’ve taken you for granted. I made promises I didn’t keep. I haven’t respected you for the smart, funny, hard-working...
hot
woman you are.”

Tess couldn’t help but smile a bit at that.

He squeezed her fingers. “And then, when you left last night, my world fell apart. I finally realized that if you aren’t in my life, nothing else matters.”

The shell around her heart was cracking, and a glimmer of light peeked through. She studied his eyes. He seemed to be studying hers. His were bloodshot, and—was she imagining those tears at the corners?

“I’d give up everything for you,” he said. “My parents can go hang if they don’t approve. I want to be with you, always.” He closed the distance and pulled her close. “Oh, Tess. I wish I could show you how much I love you.” He rested his head against hers.

She nestled into his embrace, inhaling his musky cologne, but she didn’t quite dare to relax. Instead, she pressed her hands against his chest—oh, that chest—braced to push him away. For good, if she needed to.

“What’s the point? You’re going to New York, and you’ll be too busy for me... again.” She gazed at the faded maroon markings on his shirt, waiting for his answer.

James reached down and lifted her chin so their gazes met. At the expression in his eyes, goose bumps shot down her arms, and her middle erupted as if a cluster of butterflies were trying to escape. “I gave up the internship.”

“But that was your dream...” How could he turn it down, especially after he’d told his family and friends all about it? Unless...

“I don’t care about some snooty internship,” James said with a shake of his head. “Not if it means losing you. I’ll sell used cars if I have to. But I won’t be apart from you for another day, not if I can help it.” He stared at her for a long moment then slowly lowered to one knee. “Marry me, Tess,” he whispered.

She couldn’t answer for several seconds; her mind spun with everything he’d said—it was like everything had rewound. This was the moment she’d imagined for so long, but it was nothing like she’d pictured it.

When she didn’t speak, color drained from James’s face. He stood again, holding her hand to his chest, pain in his eyes. Tess could feel his heart speeding up.

“Please,” he whispered. “Tell me I’m not too late.”

Emotions coursed through Tess, making her tears finally fall. “No,” she finally said.

His voice hitched as he said. “No? I—Tess, please.”

Tess laughed, sending happy tears down her cheeks as her exhaustion and emotions got the better of her. “I meant
no,
you’re not too late.”

James’s entire body shuddered with a sigh of relief. He pulled her close and held her as if he’d never let her go. When he finally pulled back, he leaned in and kissed her long and hard. She’d missed his kiss all night, but this was no ordinary kiss. It was enough to make her toes curl in her shoes. She came away lightheaded.

“So what time do you think we can find a jeweler open?” James asked, stroking the bare finger her left hand. “We need to put ring on that
today.
”

“After we tell my mom, and she feeds us breakfast,” Tess said, slipping her arm around his waist as he rested his arm on her shoulders. They walked back toward the beach together, Tess resting her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t suppose that when we tell your mom, we could leave out the part about me driving after you all night because I was a total idiot?”

“I think we could manage that,” Tess said. She stopped at the edge of the boardwalk, and James took her cue and paused in his step too.

“Something wrong?” he asked hesitantly.

“No,” Tess said. She nodded forward, where dawn was breaking. “It’s a new day.” She went on tiptoe and kissed his cheek—deliciously rough with a hint of stubble. “A new day for us.”

About Annette Lyon

Annette Lyon is a Whitney Award winner, the recipient of Utah’s Best in State medal for fiction, and the author of ten novels, a cookbook, and a grammar guide as well as over a hundred articles. She’s a senior editor at Precision Editing Group and a cum laude graduate from BYU with a degree in English. When she’s not writing, editing, knitting, or eating chocolate, she can be found mothering and avoiding spots on the kitchen floor.

Find her online at
http://blog.annettelyon.com
and on Twitter: @AnnetteLyon

Other Works by Annette Lyon

Lost Without You

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Without-You-ebook/dp/B003VIX1IG/

At the Water’s Edge

http://www.amazon.com/At-the-Waters-Edge-ebook/dp/B004NIFOEC/

Band of Sisters

http://www.amazon.com/Band-of-Sisters-ebook/dp/B005LKE8MA/

Band of Sisters: Coming Home

http://www.amazon.com/Band-Sisters-Coming-Home-ebook/dp/B00AYNQCWS/
 

The Newport Ladies Book Club: Paige

http://www.amazon.com/Paige-ebook/dp/B008SFPMSY/

House on the Hill

http://www.amazon.com/House-on-the-Hill-ebook/dp/B005LJYZNI/

At the Journey’s End

http://www.amazon.com/At-The-Journeys-End-ebook/dp/B005LJYZRO/

Spires of Stone

http://www.amazon.com/Spires-of-Stone-ebook/dp/B005LKE870/

Tower of Strength

http://www.amazon.com/Tower-of-Strength-ebook/dp/B005LKE8IO/

Chocolate Never Faileth

http://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Never-Faileth-Annette-Lyon/dp/1608610470/

There, Their, They’re: A No-Tears Guide to Grammar from the Word Nerd

http://www.amazon.com/There-Their-Theyre-No-Tears-ebook/dp/B004HO5G86/

The Golden Cup of Kardak

http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Cup-Kardak-ebook/dp/B005FH2JJI/

Visit Annette Lyon’s Amazon Author Page

http://www.amazon.com/Annette-Lyon/e/B001K8ET9O/

Dancing at the Flea Market

by Heather Justesen

Chapter One

It had already been an insanely long day when Mara’s plane finally touched down in Corpus Christi, Texas. She threaded through the crowd and found the luggage conveyor for her flight, where she waited for her suitcase, exhaustion pulling at her as much as her heavy carry-on did. Her meager sleep the previous night and short nap on the flight from North Dakota hadn’t been nearly enough.

She shifted her carry-on farther up her shoulder, holding her heavy winter parka on the other arm then pushed her long brown hair out of the way. Bags kept flowing from the machine and whirling past her. They stopped coming, but hers hadn’t appeared, and all of the other passengers had cleared off. Mara was alone. She checked the sign again. Yes, this was the right spot. Her heart beat a little too fast; a sinking feeling said her bag hadn’t made one of the transfers during her two layovers.

She was still standing there with the vague hope that a miracle would happen, and her suitcase would magically appear, when she heard a shrill voice calling her name.

“Mara!”

She turned and saw Anna, her old college roommate, running toward her, wearing too-high heels, a short skirt, and a sleeveless top, her blonde curls bouncing as she ran. Mara wondered how Anna could be so energized after her long flight from Vegas.

Mara met her partway and moved her coat to her other arm. They hugged tightly. “It’s so good to see you!”

“I know. I can’t believe I finally convinced you to leave the snow for a few days for some sun.” Anna adjusted her carry-on over her own shoulder; it was only big enough to hold her makeup, and maybe a swimming suit. “Where is your other suitcase? Didn’t your plane arrive like half an hour before mine? I haven’t picked up my bag yet.”

Mara glanced back in time to see a whole new load of luggage start to shoot onto the conveyor. “Looks like mine got lost somewhere en route.”

Anna’s pink-lip-sticked mouth fell open. “Oh, no. Please tell me you packed a swimsuit and change of clothes in your carry-on. I mean, your bag will probably come in tonight or tomorrow, but you have to have something to wear to dinner and at the beach. We’re on vacation, and it’s spring break, baby.”

“We’re way too old for the spring-break crowd,” Mara said, thinking that at twenty-six, she would feel like a cougar even looking at college guys. “But I did pack a change of clothes in my carry-on.”

“Oh, good.” Anna snagged Mara’s arm. “Come on. Let’s grab my stuff, and then we can go talk to someone about your luggage.”

By the time they made arrangements for her lost suitcase and picked up their rental car, it was after three. Anna turned the car west, heading for the mainland and the condo complex where they would be staying, talking almost as fast as she drove. “We have to do some shopping tomorrow; I hear there are great boutiques nearby. Oh, and I can’t wait to show you the great swimming suit I bought for the trip.” She stopped to suck in a breath. “Look at all of these gorgeous beaches.”

“Beautiful,” Mara agreed.

“Remind me again why we’re staying at an inland lake instead of at a hotel out here?” Anna adjusted her sunglasses.

“Noisy, obnoxious college students with spring-break fever.”

“And they’re a bad thing because…”

Mara poked her friend, knowing she was only half joking; Anna would be eternally twenty-two. Mara sat back, getting into the vacation mindset—it had been too long since she put real life aside and let herself go with the flow. That was one of the reasons she’d agreed when Anna bullied her about this trip—Anna was totally fun and spontaneous and would insist Mara get involved instead of allowing life to pass her by while they vacationed.

They arrived and checked in at the condo complex a little before dinner. The building was tan stucco, and looked like it had recently had a facelift.

“This is what I’m talking about.” Anna lowered her sunglasses to peer over the top at some half-clad college men who were striding up the boardwalk from the shore.

“Come on.” Mara grabbed the enormous suitcase Anna had shoved into the trunk and staggered under the weight before setting it on the ground beside her. “What do you have in this thing, rocks?” She didn’t bother to wait for an answer as she rolled the suitcase away from the car. “Let’s go get changed and grab some dinner. After being on the go all day, I need decent food and a relaxing evening to recuperate for the lake tomorrow.”