Let Me Love You (21 page)

“Lucy!”

Joey’s voice made her insides quiver. She ran to him. His eyes lit up when he spotted her. She leaped into his arms, her heart dancing with sweet relief as he pressed his body to hers. He caught her and held her tight.

“You’re here,” she breathed against his neck. “You came.”

Cupping her chin, he pulled back to gaze deep into her eyes. “I’ll always come for you.” He looked over her shoulder and smiled. He snatched Janice and Skylie and hauled them against him. “Don’t know what I would’ve done without you, girl. You’re my life, you know that?”

“Yeah,” Janice said, nuzzling against him. “I do.”

He buried his head in Lucy’s hair. “I was talking to you, too.”

She laughed, but her throat felt scorched, so the sound came out unnatural and forced. “Take us home.”

“Can you girls walk to the plane?” he asked, giving them a quick check for injuries.

“Yes, we’re fine.” Lucy kissed his cheek. She couldn’t help it. “Let’s go.”

Without saying a word, he led them to the plane and helped them inside. Once they were seated and belted, with Lucy in the copilot’s seat and Janice and Skylie in back, Joey turned the plane in the tiny clearing. The wings brushed the trees, and as he brought the plane around, Lucy had the fleeting thought that the runway wouldn’t be long enough for them to take off safely.

Wouldn’t it suck to make it out of a fire, only to die in a plane crash during the rescue?

She held her breath and laid her head back against the seat. Joey revved the engine, shoved the throttle forward as far as it would go, and took off across the clearing.

He reached over and covered Lucy’s hand with his.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but could you please fly the plane with two hands?” Skylie piped up from the backseat. “I’m freaking out back here.”

“Uncle Joey!” Janice hollered over the roar of the engine.

He glanced back as they barreled through clouds of dense smoke. Lucy looked back too, just in time to see Janice smile and give her uncle a thumbs-up. He grinned shyly, and although Lucy couldn’t explain it, she knew everything was going to be okay. He handled the plane so confidently. As if he hadn’t taken a six-year hiatus. He was cool and in control. And adrenaline must’ve been sparking through Lucy’s bloodstream, because watching Joey handle the plane so effortlessly, finding them in the middle of the forest and scooping them up, made her weak with desire.

She wanted this man. For a thousand todays. She could rely on him. Trusted him. Felt absolutely, completely safe with him. More than that, she felt cherished and loved. Like an angel. Joey was the puzzle piece missing from her life. She’d never felt this kind of love. Not ever.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said. “I’m going to get you out of here safely.”

She nodded as fear eased its way back into her body. They weren’t out of danger, yet.

“Lucy?” Joey’s voice broke.

She glanced at him.

“I love you.” He squeezed her hand. “This won’t be the last time you hear me say that.”

“I know. I love you too.” The plane bounced over mounds of dirt and grass, slamming them against the sides of the plane. “Though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t try to fight it.”

He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of her knuckles. “I know you did.”

“What are we going to do now?”

He pulled back on the yoke. “We’re going to live every day as if it were our last…and we’re going to fall deeper in love than two people have ever been.”

She sighed, blinked back tears, and held on tight as he lifted them out of the smoke and into the heavenly twilight.

One year later

Glancing out the window at her feet, Lucy held Joey’s hand as he landed the helicopter on the helipad near her property. He set down, propellers whipping dirt and leaves into the vineyard beside them. He killed the engine, looked over at her, and smiled. The orange-red glare of the sunset made his face glow like honeyed amber. Judging from the angle of light slanting over the grapes, there were only a few minutes of daylight left.

“That was amazing,” Joey said, swiveling to face her. “Thank you for encouraging me to do this. You’re brilliant.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, well…”

He planted his lips on hers, and her toes crinkled.

“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have had the guts to get my helicopter pilot’s license. You truly are an angel…except you lent me your wings to fly.”

Her stomach flipped, the way it always did when he looked at her this way.

“Come on,” he said, removing his headset. “I’ve got another surprise for you.”

“Another one?”

He’d been surprising her all week. First, he’d competed in the Grape Stomp Jubilee, dressed as Fox Mulder—black suit and tie, with an Area 51 badge and all—and won. Who knew he could stomp so fast? Next, he’d taken Lucy to the air show and competed in the race, flying his Cessna. It was glorious to see him fly. So breathtaking. He placed second overall, and Lucy had expected him to exit the plane disappointed, with a giant chip on his shoulder. To her surprise, he emerged with a stunning grin. He congratulated the winner, ran into the stands, and scooped Lucy off her feet.

Since rescuing Janice, Skylie, and Lucy from the fire at Birch, Joey acted as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders, allowing him to experience happiness like never before. He was goofier. Laughed more and frowned less.

He even had an adventurous streak she hadn’t seen coming.

The last year with Joey had been the same as the last week. He was full of surprises. He was thoughtful and tender, more than any other man she’d ever met, yet he was a man’s man. Rough when he had to be. Or rather, rough when she liked him to be.

Shuddering from the thought, she removed her headset and followed Joey out of the helicopter. He snatched a duffel bag from behind the pilot’s seat before he slipped out the door. Standing on the pad, he extended his hand to help her out.

She never ceased to be amazed by how he treated her. At first, she’d thought it was an act he couldn’t possibly keep up, but she’d been sorely mistaken. Joey wasn’t only a gentleman in his actions, but deep down in his heart.

He’d become one of the best parts of her life.

After she took his hand and exited the helicopter, he led her to the edge of the helipad facing her vineyard. Zin scrambled onto the helipad, yelping and whimpering when he jumped up on Lucy’s legs. She patted the adorable pooch and gave his back a good scratch. His owners hadn’t come forward in the year she’d kept him at the winery, and she was thankful. He’d found a home with her, with them, and she loved the little guy.

Joey pulled a flannel blanket out of his duffel bag and spread it on the ground as the sun disappeared behind them. Lucy sat cross-legged in the center while Zin curled up in the corner, huffing when Joey sat beside her.

“Joey,” she crooned. “What do you have up your sleeves?”

“Nothing. I’m not clever enough to be a magician.” Grinning, he pushed up the sleeves of his shirt to show nothing hiding there. He dragged his duffel closer and unzipped. “We’re remembering where we were last year around this time.” He took out two wineglasses and a bottle of StoneMill Red Velvet. “Our first date was right here, looking out over your grapes, underneath these same stars.”

She stuck out her bottom lip, fighting back tears. “You’re the sweetest.”

“So you keep telling me.” He filled the glasses and handed her one as darkness fell over them, revealing specks of stars twinkling in the early night sky. “What do you want to drink to?”

“Love,” she said quickly. “No, scratch that. Let’s drink to our future.”

They clinked glasses.

“Isn’t love in our future?” he asked, taking the first drink.

“Yes, but there are other things too.” Things she’d been thinking more and more about as the year trickled by. “Like moving in together. Marriage. Children.”

He choked.

“Are you okay?”

He put up a hand as he continued to gasp for air. “Did you just say marriage and children in the same breath?” He put his hand to her forehead. “You don’t have a fever…are you still the Lucy I fell in love with?”

“In the flesh.” She sipped on the wine, savoring its silky sweetness. “But if this last year is any indication of how the rest of my life would be if I married you, I know I’d be blissfully happy. I never thought I’d be able to say that, but it’s the truth. I feel it in my heart.”

He stared, and brushed his free hand over her thigh. But he didn’t say anything.

“Joey?”

Still he stared. Unmoving.

Worry shook her to the core. If he was one of those guys who said he wanted marriage and children, and then froze when it was put in front of him, she was going to
kill
him.

The skin shrank over her bones. Zin softly licked her leg, as if he could feel her unease and wanted to comfort her.

“Would you say something?” she said.

Joey set down his wineglass beside them, dug into his bag, and brought out a tiny black velvet box. “I’m so glad you feel that way, because I have something for you. I’ve been holding on to this for months, unsure of when would be the absolute perfect time to give it to you.”

Oh God, he was going to propose.

She was going to marry Joey Brackett.

A twinge of fear pricked her, but the second she gazed into those gorgeous caramel-toned eyes, the worry melted away to nothing. She’d been afraid before, but that was before she knew how well they fit together. How downright
happy
he made her. How she couldn’t imagine living a single day without him.

Her breath hitched as he took her glass and placed the box in her palm. Her hands trembled as she spun the box in her hand and realization set in.

“Second-guessing your words?” He set her glass beside his and scooted closer, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Do you need me to count to three for you?”

She bumped him, eyeing the box. “No, it’s just…”
Too much. Perfection. A dream coming true—one she never knew she wanted.
“I’m happy.”

“That’s good,” he said, kissing her shoulder. “Now open the damn box.”

With a giggle and a deep breath, she opened it up…and the air whooshed from her lungs.

No ring. In its place rested a slip of paper with a bunch of numbers on it.

“What’s this?” She held it up.

“Coordinates.”

She frowned, disappointment setting in.

“Do you remember when you said you wouldn’t ever get married because it wasn’t in your stars?”

She nodded, confused.

“Well, I got you one.” He lay back and pointed to the sky. “Now you can make this star, and your future, whatever you want.”

“Oh, Joey!” She fell back and landed right in the crook of his arm. It was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her. “Where is it? Show me!”

“There.” He pointed. “See the Seven Sisters? They’re right where they were the last time we pointed them out.”

She nodded against him, relishing the scent she’d grown to know as his.

“Your star is to the left, right below.”

“I’m following.”

He moved his arm across the sky, pointing. “See that really bright star? Just to the left…that’s yours.”

It was dainty and faint, burning softly in the night.

“That’s mine?” she asked.

“All yours.”

She huddled into him. “No one’s ever bought me a star before. That’s the coolest gift I’ve ever received.”

“Since you can write your fate into that star, what’s it going to say?”

She bit her bottom lip, thinking. “It says I’m going to live the rest of my life with you at my side, however we slice it. Friends with benefits, dating, marriage, whatever.”

She didn’t know how badly she wanted him to slip a ring on her finger until she popped open the box and saw paper. She ached to be his bride. It was the oddest sensation. Maybe he’d never ask, thinking she didn’t want the same things he did. Although she wanted to marry him, simply being with him would be more than enough.

He dropped his hand to his side. “It sparkles like a diamond, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does.” She stared at the little star,
her
star, looking down on her from above, just like her parents looking down on her from heaven. They would’ve enjoyed seeing her this way—happy and in love. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

Joey’s arm came into her line of sight. Pinched between his forefinger and thumb was a
huge
diamond ring.

“What’s…” She couldn’t finish. “Joey?”

“I couldn’t give you a star that sparkles like a diamond without getting you the real thing to wear on your finger.” He rose up to bended knee. “Preferably the third finger on your left hand.”

Melting inside, Lucy sat up and covered her mouth with her hands. The ring had to be over two carats. Princess cut with a halo of diamonds surrounding the main stone and intricate diamond-crusted sides.