Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
I must have spent at least forty minutes trying to decide how to close out my handwritten note to Auggie. Sincerely? Warmly? Thanks for the amazing memories? I tried them all on a piece of scratch paper to see how each one would look before permanently marking up my pretty notecard, but nothing looked right to me besides the word love on its own.
Love, Charlotte.
I was this close to writing that. But then, I chickened out. And now, I’m regretting those four extra letters so much. W-I-T-H. Why’d I chicken out and include those, rather than taking a full leap of faith?
I check my phone again. Still nothing. Should I call him? I look at the clock.
No. I told myself I’d let Auggie call me after finding that stuff in his mailbox.
The hotel phone on the nightstand next to me suddenly rings loudly, making me jump an inch off the mattress.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Miss McDougal. There’s a delivery for you here, and the delivery person is asking for your room number, so he can bring it to you, personally. Apparently, you need to sign for it. I told him I’m not allowed to divulge a guest’s room number without permission. Do you authorize me to give him that information, or would you prefer for me to sign for the delivery and keep the package at the front desk for you?” She speaks to someone on her end of the call. “Yes, sir. I understand that.”
I’m not expecting a package. Perhaps my new employer sent me a welcome fruit basket or something. Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait until morning. I’m not in the mood to get out of bed for any reason, but especially not to open my door to some random delivery dude. “Will you sign for it and keep it at the front desk for me, please? I’ll get it in the morning.”
“Charlotte!” a male voice shouts. Auggie? Was that Auggie’s voice? I’ve no sooner had the thought than Auggie’s voice sounds directly in my ear this time. “It’s me, Charlotte. Auggie. I’m here in the lobby of the hotel.”
“What?”
“I was trying to be sneaky and surprise you at your door, but they won’t give me your room number. So much for that idea.”
I can’t believe it. I’m overjoyed. I sit up in bed, quaking with adrenaline. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you just text to ask my room number when you got here?”
“Because I was trying to surprise you.”
I laugh. That’s so Auggie. I quickly give him my room number and sprint to my door and then stand in the doorframe, trembling with anticipation. A few minutes later, there he is. Augustus Vaughn. Sprinting down the hallway toward my room.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” I shout, as he draws closer to me.
When he reaches me, he wastes no time. He takes me in his arms and presses his lips to mine. My heart soars as Auggie kisses me. It’s only been a week since I’ve tasted his sweet kiss and smelled his glorious aftershave, but it’s felt like a lifetime. A gray, drab, lonely, sad, pointless lifetime.
“We have a lot to talk about,” he says breathlessly. He leads me into my hotel room and the heavy door clanks behind us. “But first off, I need to tell you something. Something urgent.” He holds my face and looks deeply into my eyes. “I love you, Charlotte McDougal. With all my heart and soul. Forever and always. There’s nobody else for me.”
Tears prick my eyes. “I love you, too. Forever and always, too.”
He looks shocked. “You do?”
I laugh. “You flew all the way across the country, not knowing if I’d say I love you back?”
“Well, I was hoping. But you signed that note ‘with love.’ It felt like you were reserving plausible deniability.”
I crack up. “I’ve been regretting my word choice, ever since. Let me set the record straight now. Love, Charlotte. Please. Because I love you. So much, it hurts.”
“I love you so much, it feels like my heart is going to physically burst.”
“I want all my strings attached to you, Auggie. I want to be a team again. But for real. In life.”
“That’s all I want, too. I’ll apply to vet schools in New York. There are several to try. And if I’m not successful at first—”
“No, you don’t have to do that.” I grab his hand. “Thank you for offering, but I don’t want to start my new job tomorrow. I thought I did. I thought this job was everything I could ever want. But when I got to Dallas, my world felt gray and drab and pointless without you. I realized you’re the most important ingredient to my happiness. I’ll figure out the rest. The only thing that matters now is that I’m with you.”