~Lena~
I could live here.
I’ve been in Italy for three weeks, and if I wasn’t so damn homesick for my Gram, I could absolutely move here.
The Boudreaux house is on the coast, not far from a bustling city that I can’t pronounce. I’ve been pretty secluded, but have gone to town a few times a week for supplies, and just to see other people.
While at home, I’ve managed to write two hundred pages of a book. I have no idea if any of it makes sense, but it’s been fun to use my imagination and invent make believe characters. The scenery has been a wonderful inspiration. I’ve spent many hours out on the deck, overlooking the sea, with my laptop in my lap, typing furiously long into the night.
Coming here was the right thing to do. My mind is clear, and I know without a doubt that I did the right thing when I left Mason. And he must agree because aside from the first call on the day I left, he hasn’t tried to reach me.
The breeze is blowing today, keeping me cool in the hot Italian sun. I have a wide-brimmed hat on my head, sweet tea beside me, and my laptop open with my document pulled up.
It might be the best day ever.
The ocean is a bit choppy because of the wind, but there are still plenty of sailboats to watch.
My doorbell rings, making me frown. I wasn’t expecting Mallory until the end of the week, but maybe she decided to surprise me.
I jump up and run to the front door, excited, but stop in my tracks.
“Hi,” Mason says with a tentative smile.
“You’re here.”
“I’m here.”
I blink rapidly, looking him up and down. Jesus, he’s a tall drink of water.
And he’s here.
“Why are you here?”
“Because you’re here.” He smiles again, widely, and I narrow my eyes. “Can I come inside?”
“No.”
He nods. “I’m sorry to hear that. Does it help if I mention that I’ve come a very long way to see you?”
“You wasted the trip,” I reply and move to shut the door, but he shoves his hand out, stopping it.
“No. I didn’t. Please let me talk with you. Ten minutes, fifteen tops.”
I sigh and step back. “Ten minutes.”
I turn and walk away, certain he’ll follow me, returning to the deck. I sit in my lounge chair and motion for him to sit next to me, but instead he sits on the foot of my chair. He’s watching me closely.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re tan.”
“Did you come all this way to discuss my tan?”
He laughs, surprising me. “That’s right, you’re sassy.”
“Every day.”
“I didn’t come here to talk about your tan. I came here to find out why the woman I’m in love with left my bed in the middle of the night and disappeared.”
“I have no idea. Did you put out a missing persons bulletin?”
“Now you’re being difficult,” he says and rubs his hand over his mouth.
“I’m really bad at this,” I admit with a sigh. “Look, I thought I was doing us both a favor, Mason. Your aunt’s letter was beautiful, but it didn’t change anything. You’re still you and I’m still me, and we both knew that at the end of the trip we’d be going back to our own lives.
“So, I left before it could get awkward and weird.”
“I see.” He stands now and leans on the railing of the deck, looking out at the water. Finally, he turns to look at me. “I’m sorry that I was so quiet that night. After I had a chance to think about it, it occurred to me that you probably thought I was an ass.”
“No, you had a lot on your mind.”
“I did. And you should know that when I need to think, I do get quiet. It doesn’t mean that I’m angry, or avoiding you, or that it’s even about you. I’ve just climbed inside my own head.”
“Okay. That’s actually good to know.”
“And you should also know that you couldn’t have been more wrong. When I woke up the next day to find you gone, I was a crazy man. Poor Sandra.” He shakes his head and shoves his fingers through his hair. “Let’s just say that I wasn’t a very nice guy that morning.”
“You shouldn’t have taken it out on Sandra. It was my decision.”
“I know. I was angry.”
“Now you know how it feels,” I reply. “At least I left you a letter.”
“Is this what it was? Revenge?”
I sigh in frustration and stand to pace the deck. “No. That’s not what I was thinking when I left. I was honest when I said that I was just avoiding the awkward goodbyes later.”
“But I didn’t want to say goodbye,” he says, surprising me. “That was never my intention.”
“You’re going back to Chile, Mason. And then somewhere else after that. Egypt? China? Freaking Peru? I don’t know, but you’ll be gone.”
“No.” He hurries to me and takes my hands in his. “Damn it, we could have avoided all of this if you had just stayed. Aunt Claudia’s letter hit me like a punch across the face. I read the letters that Charles sent her before he died, right before we left on our trip, and it made me start thinking. Her letter only reinforced what I had already been thinking.”
“And what is that?”
“That I want to be with you. I want to spend every damn day of my life with you, Lena. I love you so much I can’t see straight, and I know now that I never stopped loving you. I told you that you knocked everything out of focus for me before, and it wasn’t until I was finally with you again that everything came back into focus.
“You make me laugh. You make me think. You make me fucking crazy. I can’t keep my hands off of you. There are a million reasons that I love you, and I plan to spend the rest of my life listing all of them for you.”
“Wow.” He cups my face in his hands, and wipes away a tear that I didn’t even realize was on my cheek. “I spent a really long time trying to get over you, Mason, and I never could. I thought that I knew the score this time, and that when it was over I could go back to my life.”
“But?”
“But I can’t,” I whisper. He leans his forehead against mine. “I love you, too.”
He wraps his arms around me, lifting me off the ground and twirling me in a circle, and then kisses me in that sweet way he does that makes my toes curl.
“Wait.” I press my hand to his chest. “We love each other, but it doesn’t change your job.”
“Last year, I was offered a job at Tulane, teaching archeology in the graduate program.” He smiles and brushes my hair off my cheek. “I called and they said the job is still mine if I want it.”
“Do you want it?” I whisper.
“You’re looking at the newest professor at Tulane. I want to be wherever you are, Lena. There may be times that I’ll want us to go on an adventure, but I’m done being gone for months or sometimes years. Aunt Claudia was right, the most important thing is being with the person you love.”
He reaches in his pocket and pulls out the most beautiful sapphire and diamond ring I’ve ever seen.
“Is that—?”
“Aunt Claudia’s? Yes.” He’s staring into my eyes as he takes my hand. “Lena, I love you. I can’t wait to start our adventure together. Will you marry me?”
I don’t even hesitate. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He slips the ring on my finger and kisses me.
“Can we change our names to Jones?”
“Just call me Indie.”