I Saw Her Standing There (36 page)

He hugged her—tightly—but he didn’t say anything. And then he let her go, because it was what she’d told him she wanted.

Lucy looped the strap of her computer bag over her shoulder and reached for the handle on her suitcase. She forced a smile for him and then walked away, all the while resisting the urge to look back. She’d made her decision. There was no point in looking back.

Once again feeling like she was wading through hip-deep snow, she went through the motions at security and moved like a zombie through the airport in search of her gate. She held it together on the short flight and in the cab ride home from LaGuardia.

Only when she reached the comfort of her own bed did she finally give in to the tears that had threatened to consume her for two days. She cried until her eyes and chest ached, until there was nothing left but the loneliness she’d inflicted upon herself.

Other than to tend to essential needs, she never moved from her bed for the rest of the night. Hours later she realized she’d been waiting for him to call her. But he didn’t call. He wouldn’t call again. She’d seen to that. It had been the right thing to do, even if it hurt like hell right now. It would only be worse a month or six months or a year from now.

It was for the best. If she just kept telling herself that, soon enough she might actually believe it.

During the next two weeks, she threw herself into work with an almost religious fervor. She worked twelve, fourteen and even sixteen hours a day, stopping only for an occasional meal with her sister and Simone or her dad, all of whom repeatedly expressed concern. But Lucy didn’t want to talk about it—not with her family and not with Cameron, who called several times hoping to talk it out.

Lucy had put her off each time, telling her best friend she wasn’t ready to talk about it. She didn’t tell Cameron she might never be ready to talk about it.

The goal of every day was utter exhaustion so she would fall into bed and drop off the cliff without taking even a minute to dwell on the agonizing pain that made its presence known every minute of every day, no matter how hard she tried to run from it.

Still trying to convince herself it was for the best, she worked late into the night on the second Friday without a weekend with Colton to look forward to. When her eyes gave out on her just after nine, she packed up a bag to bring home to get her through the long weekend that stretched before her.

She locked up the office and set out on foot for home, stopping to pick up takeout. Everything reminded her of him, even the takeout box that stirred memories of a picnic they’d had at Battery Park. In the short time he’d spent with her here, he’d managed to touch almost every aspect of her life. She saw him in her apartment, in her office and at many of her favorite local haunts. She heard his voice and his laughter in her dreams, and a thousand times each day she thought of something she wanted to tell him.

As that second week came to a slow, quiet, painful end, she finally began to question whether living like this was better than living with him any way they could.

That question was weighing heavily on her as she walked the final block home. She was so deeply mired in her own head and unhappy thoughts that she nearly tripped over the large foot on the bottom stair that led to her front door. The near fall finally jarred her out of the contemplation, and she looked up to bitch out the owner of the offending foot.

The words died on her lips when she saw Colton sitting there, beer in hand, smile on his face, as if he had not a care in the world. “Working late, huh?”

For a second, she was too stunned to speak. “What . . . What’re you doing here?”

“I had some business to take care of in the city, so I figured I’d stop by to see how you’re doing.” He took a closer look at her, no doubt seeing the deep, dark purple circles under her eyes, the pale pasty skin, the dull, lifeless hair that had required more energy than she could bother to muster. “How’re you doing, Luce?”

“Great. I’m great. You?”

“Fantastic. Never been better.”

“That’s good.”

“No, wait,” he said after a long awkward pause. “That’s not exactly true. I’m actually terrible. I’m a goddamned mess, and it’s all your fault.”

She couldn’t hear this. She couldn’t go backward. Not when it had taken everything she had to move forward for the last few weeks. “Colton, please don’t—”

“You’ve had your say, Lucy. Now I’m going to have mine.” He got up and headed for the door to her building, using the key she’d given him and apparently forgotten to get back. “Are you coming?”

The part of her that still favored self-preservation wanted to run for its life. But the other part of her, the part that loved this man with her whole heart and soul, had realized the moment she laid eyes on him that there was nowhere she could go to fully escape the power of what she felt for him.

So she went up the stairs and through the door he held for her. She trudged up the two flights of stairs knowing he was behind her, coming with her to say whatever it was he had to say. She stepped into her apartment and sucked in a sharp breath when she saw it was filled with flowers of every imaginable kind.

She turned to him, overwhelmed with questions, but the words escaped her.

He relieved her of the bag she’d carried from the office, took her hand and led her to the sofa. A wrapped box with a bow on top sat on her coffee table. He pointed to it. “Open it.”

Lucy’s hands trembled as she tugged at the satin bow and unwrapped the book that looked like one of the journals he kept on the mountain. “What is this?”

“Look at it.”

She looked first at him and then directed her attention to the book, which was filled with drawings of the two of them—in her apartment in the city, on his mountain, with the dogs, with his family, with her family, at her office, in his bed in the cabin. The drawings were heartfelt and amazingly true to the time they’d already spent together. “This is . . . it’s incredible, Colton. You’re so talented.”

“Keep going.”

She turned the pages until she came to one that was marked
Chapter 2
. The first page carried a heading that said
Life in New York
that showed them eating dinner on her sofa while watching TV. On the next page they were in her bed. The story unfolded from there on the streets of New York, at her father’s home, with Simone and Emma at their apartment, on a sidewalk café and at her office.

The heading on the next page said
Life in Vermont
, and it showed her working at the desk space he’d made available to her in the retail store while he chopped wood outside. He’d included a picture of Sunday dinner at his parents’ home and a scene at the beach at Lake Champlain.

Touched and filled with longing for all the things depicted on the pages, she stopped for a moment to deal with the flood of tears that cascaded down her cheeks.

He took the book from her. “This is my favorite part.” The heading said
Chapter 3: Colton and Lucy, Life Together
. The first picture was one of Colton with her dad. “That was my first order of business in New York. Speaking to your dad.”

Startled to hear that he’d been to her father’s house, Lucy said, “Why?”

“Keep reading.”

The next page included a picture of a wedding and pregnant Lucy and another of Colton grinning widely as he held a baby who had red hair. “Colton . . .”

“We could have all of this, Lucy, every single thing on these pages and so many other things we can’t yet imagine. All you have to do is agree to be with me in any way we see fit. We’re both self-employed and can make up the rules of our own lives. One week here, one week there, one week in the Caribbean on a beach together, two weeks in Vermont, three weeks in New York. Together every day.”

She wanted what he offered so badly she could almost taste it. “You can’t be away from the mountain for that long.”

“Yes, I can. Max is coming on board full time, and my family has decided to buy the place next door that’s been on the market for some time now. We’re going to add to our acreage and hire some more help. I’ll have Max with me to help manage everything. The only time I absolutely have to be there is from January to April. I figure you can come and go as you need to then.”

“What about when you’re here? What would you do?”

He pointed to a picture he’d drawn of a store with two men talking. “The last time I was here, I spoke with the owner of a gourmet shop who’s interested in stocking our syrup in his store. I suspect there are many others who might be convinced to carry our product once they hear about it. That’s what I’ll do while I’m here—sell syrup.”

She ran her hand over the leather-bound book full of drawings. “You’ve thought of everything,” Lucy said, truly wowed by the obvious time and effort he’d put into showing her how their unconventional life together could work.

“Except for one thing—protecting that tender heart of yours.” He knelt before her, took the book from her and placed it on the table. “I’ve loved you from the first time I ever laid eyes on you. I’ll always love you. I’ve missed you more than you could ever know these last two weeks, and I never want to be away from you again. I want you to have the commitment you need to believe that we can really make this work, so I’m asking you, Lucy Mulvaney, to marry me and to live with me in our two places, to make a life with me that works for both of us.” He produced a ring that he held up to her, almost daring her to take everything he offered. “Will you marry me, Lucy?”

She stared at the ring and then at him, trying to process everything he’d said. “Yes.” The single word seemed somehow insignificant in light of all he’d said to her, but judging by the joyful light in his eyes, it was the only word he needed to hear.

Blinking back tears, he slid the ring onto her finger and took her into his arms.

She returned his embrace, holding on for dear life to him and his assurances that they really could make this work as long as they had love and commitment to depend on.

He drew back from her and framed her face with his big, rough hands and kissed the tears off her cheeks before focusing on her lips. As he kissed her and held her, all of Lucy’s worries drained away, gone in a sea of desire and love and need for the one thing she couldn’t live without—him.

“You have no idea how happy you’ve made me—or how relieved I am that you said yes,” he said.

“You have no idea how happy I was to see you sitting on my stairs. To say I missed you doesn’t do justice to how awful I’ve felt the last two weeks.”

“My grandfather told me two weeks would be long enough to make you feel bad enough to say yes.”

Lucy gasped and then laughed. “So he coached you through this?”

“He told me what I needed to do, and he was right. But two weeks was way too long to be without you.”

“What about Sarah and Elmer? I’m not allowed to have pets here.”

“They’re with Cameron and Will this weekend, enjoying some time with their cousins, and the good thing about my gigantic family is that there’s always someone who’d be willing to help us out with them when we’re here.”

“So Cameron knew you were coming?”

“Yes, but she didn’t know why. No one does, except for my gramps. He helped me pick out the ring.”

Lucy took a good long look at the gorgeous diamond set in a platinum band. “It’s beautiful. You guys did good.”

“I went with simple over fancy because I thought you’d like that better.”

“I love it, and I love you. Thank you for this, for showing me how foolish I was to think I could live without you after everything we’d shared.”

“I was prepared to let you go if that’s what you really wanted, but Gramps told me it wasn’t what you really wanted. It was what you felt you
needed
. Want and need were two very different things in this case.”

“He’s very wise.”

“Thank goodness he helped me to see the difference.”

“Thank goodness is right.”

He reclined on the sofa and brought her with him, arranging her so she faced him, their legs intertwined. The way he looked at her made her melt from the inside out. “So we’re really going to do this?”

Lucy nodded. “We really are.”

“Could we start doing it now? Because, you know, it’s been a really long two weeks.”

Laughing as she caressed his adorable face, she said, “Yes, Colton, we can start right now.”

“W
e have a problem,” Elmer said as he slid into the other side of the booth.

“What kind of problem?” Lincoln asked.

“I heard a rumor that Nina and Brett are selling the diner. He got a position overseas to teach next year, and they’re looking to unload the place quickly.”

“How is that our problem? And is this why you made me drive all the way over here to meet you for lunch?”
All the way over here
in this case meant a sandwich shop in St. Johnsbury.

“I didn’t want anyone to overhear us. There’s going to be a lot of interest in that little gold mine of a diner. We have to keep this top secret.”

“Keep
what
top secret?”

Elmer looked at his son-in-law with exasperation. “Are you paying attention? We can’t let anyone know we’re interested in the diner.”

“Interested in the diner? Have you lost your mind? I’m not interested in the diner.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Please, enlighten me. Why am I interested in the diner exactly?”

“And here I thought you were such a smart guy.
You’re
not interested in the diner.
Hunter
is.”

“He’s never said so to me. How do you know that?”

“Lincoln, have you been drinking?”

“No, I have not been drinking in the middle of the day, as you well know. How about you stop talking in circles and give it to me straight?”

Elmer leaned in, speaking quietly. “Hunter wants Megan, Nina’s sister. If Nina sells the diner, where does that leave Megan? And where does that leave Hunter?”

“Ahhh, okay. I’m starting to get the picture.”

“Thanks goodness. I was beginning to worry about you for a second there.”

As Linc scowled at him, Elmer ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup.

“That sounds good,” Linc said to the waitress. “I’ll have the same.”

“So what’re we going to do about this situation?” Elmer asked when they were alone.

“I don’t know what we can do. We just committed to buying the acreage on the mountain. That on top of the website . . . I don’t want to get us overcommitted. Hunter would never allow that to happen.”

“Hmm,” Elmer said as he stirred cream into his coffee. “That is a problem.”

“How’d you hear about all this anyway?”

“Cletus’s son works at that fancy school where Brett teaches. He heard rumblings that Brett applied for an overseas position and got it. After he did a little extra digging, he found out they’re planning to sell the diner before they go.”

“What about Megan? What will she do?”

“That’s the big question. I’ll be honest with you . . . I don’t get what our boy sees in that girl. Don’t get me wrong . . . She’s very pretty. That’s undeniable. But she can be . . . What’s the word? Cranky. Extremely cranky. But from what I’ve heard, Hunter sees past that. If he wants her, we can’t let her get away.”

“All this time, she’s been right across the street from where he works all day every day, and he hasn’t done a thing about it.”

“That’s because she’s been carrying a torch for Will for years. Apparently, she’s only just recently given up on him, which opens the door to other possibilities.”

“So you’re actually suggesting we buy the diner to keep Megan in town in the hope that Hunter might actually—finally—do something about these so-called feelings he has for the pretty but cranky waitress who’s worked across the street from where he works for years?”

Elmer squirmed in his seat. “When you put it like that, it sounds kinda farfetched.”

Lincoln’s laughter had other patrons looking at them with curiosity. “How do you propose I go around my CFO to buy this diner you want me to acquire for my CFO?”

“I’m not proposing you go around him, per se. I’m proposing you make him think it was his idea.”

“And where’s the money coming from? He’ll never go for it after we just agreed to buy the property to expand the sugaring facility.”

“If you can get him to agree to the purchase, I’ll come up with the money.”

“We’ve had a good run, you and me,” Lincoln said, eyeing his father-in-law skeptically. “We’re three for three, on a roll and running the risk of getting a little full of ourselves and our successes. But this one . . . I don’t know if she’s the right choice for him.”

“That part ain’t up to us. We’re just here to give a little
encouragement
where we can. The important stuff . . . That’s up to
them
.” Elmer sat back in his seat, gazing at Lincoln shrewdly. “So . . . Are we getting into the restaurant business, or what?”

Lincoln let out a deep sigh, knowing defeat when he saw it. “I guess we’re getting into the restaurant business.”

Elmer smiled. “Excellent. If it goes the way I think it will, this one counts in my column. That’ll make us tied at two, even though Colton should count as mine since I saved the day there.”

“I already told you—Lucy came to us through Cameron, and she was my doing.”

“I’ll give you that, even if I know the truth about how Colton managed to pull off an engagement.”

“You’re a worthy adversary, Elmer Stillman.”

“And don’t you forget it.” He held up his coffee mug in a toast. “Number four, here we go.”

Lincoln touched his mug to Elmer’s. “Here we go.”