Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 97525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Forever. It had sounded ominous on her lips.
***
Despite the wind, the helicopter set down easily on Farallon Island. We opened the door to two men in tuxedos, waiting with outstretched arms to help us out of the chopper and along the irregular ground. Layana immediately took off her heels, and her bare feet were nimble on the uneven surface, a genuine laugh spilling from her as she gripped my arm tightly and climbed over the small hill of rocks, the slick surface of my dress shoes making the journey treacherous.
Just what I needed. I could picture the headline: COUPLE STUMBLES TO UNTIMELY DEATH JUST MOMENTS BEFORE PROPOSAL. Not that there had ever been a timely death.
It was all worth it when she cleared the rocks. I heard her gasp at the sight of the small table, set on a flat rock with white linen, candles, and champagne. The table was framed by a landscape of rock and sunset-tipped waves, the sunset all purples and pinks above the jagged skyline of San Francisco.
Sitting, we accepted flutes of champagne as a small fire was lit in a pot beside the table. It was all just as I imagined, the small island was a perfect, private sanctuary for this moment.
"Wow. You went all out." She smoothed her fingers over the white linen tablecloth, staring down at it.
"All out would have coordinated a whale sighting. Their union wouldn't agree to my offer, but I'm hoping we see some tonight." I nodded to the waves. "I was told this is the spot to see them breach."
A moment of silence fell as she wrapped her coat tighter and looked out over the water. I wished for a whale, for nature to prove its support of our union with one dramatic show of grace. In my right pocket, folded and unfolded a hundred times, was my speech. I didn’t need the paper. I knew the words, had recited them perfectly this morning while shaving. I’d changed the order ten times, the wording twenty. The weight of the paper had been comforting all day, yet suddenly the speech seemed wrong. I threw away the plan and reached for her hand. "You know I love you."
Her gaze moved to our hands. "I know."
No. I needed to see her eyes. To have that connection, to read her. The Layana I knew didn't avoid eye contact and I forged on despite her meekness. "You know that I will do anything for you to make you happy."
She finally looked back up. "I know."
Standing, I moved next to her chair and knelt, pulling out the box that held our future. "I love you with every piece of my heart and vow to spend every day of the remainder of my life making you happy. Let me do that for you, Layana, and please do me the honor of spending the rest of your life as my wife." I cracked open the box, and even in the dusk, the blue diamond glimmered. I held it out, realizing—as soon as I saw her face—all of the red flags in this situation.
The flush of her cheeks.
The tremble of her lips.
Regret in her stare.
Moisture glistening in her eyes.
She closed her eyes tightly, and a lone tear dripped down her cheek. I stared at her face and felt every piece of my carefully constructed world break.
She wouldn't give me a reason. Wouldn't do anything but cry as I studied every line of her face before she covered it with her hands. She gave a stiff shake of her head, and I closed the lid, putting the ring box back into my pocket, a place that had already grown cold in the last few minutes, the scrape of my knuckles against the cashmere of my coat a sickening texture. Something was wrong. Something had happened and broken the perfection of us.
I needed to find out what has happened. This was a problem. An equation. One to be fixed. We were fixable. Nothing would change that.
I would wait however long she needed. I would fight, until the day I died, for her.
For us.
There wasn't, and would never be, anyone else for me.
Chapter 21
Our relationship had been perfect. He was a gorgeous, brilliant man, one who loved me with every spare inch of his heart.
Spoiled me.
Listened to me.
Valued me.
And I loved him—still loved him—passionately in return. I’d already made plans for us. Big plans that sucked up large parts of my heart. Plans involving a house full of children, us growing old as one, a joining of our lives that would never end.
Then, our trip to Belize. One night and every fantasy I had of happily ever after, of children and marriage: gone. I was faced with a hole of deceit and had to decide if I wanted to jump in or walk away.