“I’ve got sand in my ass,” I said.
The silence over the phone was priceless. There weren’t many times I could render my brother, Tripp, speechless.
“Do I want to know why you have sand in your ass?”
I let out a chuckle. “Romance on the beach, my good brother.”
“Oh, hell. Sex on the beach is not one of my favorite things.”
“Well, when you’re with the woman you love and she says she wants you, it means fucking sand in your ass and between your bal—”
“Stop right there, bro. Sounds like y’all are having fun. Does she think you’re leaving today or did you break down and tell her?”
I walked over and shut the bedroom door. Corina and her mother had gone for a walk along the beach, but I didn’t want to risk her coming back and overhearing.
“She is clueless. Thinks we’re heading back to Texas today. Her mother knows, of course, because I asked for Corina’s hand in marriage.”
“Awe, look at you being all traditional. Cord’s right, you have turned into a fucking Smurf.”
I laughed and pushed my hand through my wet hair. “It was the least I could do. Corina’s family is amazing. Her mom is great. I’m not sure how she did what she did as a single mom after Corina’s father died. I think she and Mom would get along.”
“Yeah, I have the highest respect for single parents. I’ve seen a sad case or two come through our San Antonio office. I’d like to rip the heads off of some of these loser dads who knock up a girl and then take off. Dicks.
Walking to the window, I saw Corina and her mom sitting on the beach, staring out over the water.
“Do you think I’m moving too fast, Tripp? Asking Corina to marry me?”
“Not at all. Nothing says y’all have to turn right around and rush to have the wedding.”
I let out a deep breath. “I don’t want to fuck this up. I always feel like I’m walking on water, so afraid to screw up again.”
“Mitch, Corina loves you. She trusts you one hundred percent and I have no doubt that if you asked that girl to marry you, she would jump into your arms screaming yes. From the moment the two of you laid eyes on each other, it was obvious. Trust your heart, dude.”
Smiling, I leaned against the windowsill. “You been taking lessons from Dad or something?”
Tripp laughed. “Let’s just call it personal experience. Had I listened to my heart back in the day I would probably be…”
His voice trailed off. I knew what he was going to say. He would probably be with Harley right now.
“You’re right about Corina,” I said, changing the direction of the conversation.
“You giving her grandma’s ring?”
My heart soared at the idea of Corina wearing our grandmother’s emerald ring. When dad’s mom passed away two years ago, we all drew for the ring. Waylynn and Amelia had passed on it, giving us guys the chance to someday give it to the person we wanted to marry. I lucked out. It had been in my safe until the night of the fire when I’d taken it out and was looking at it, dreaming of someday giving it to Corina. When I heard the call about the fire, I put it in the side drawer of my nightstand. My mother would have killed me if she had known.
“I hope she likes it,” I said. “I mean, if she wants to go and pick out a diamond, I’ll understand.”
“Nah, not Corina. She’ll love it and treasure it, especially when she hears the story. How you going to do it?”
I let out a gruff laugh. “Shit, I don’t know. I’ve been trying to think of different places, times of day, what would be the most romantic. I’m coming up with nothing.”
“Why don’t you just do it when the time feels right?”
“So, you’re saying carry the ring with me everywhere I go until the mood strikes me and then pop the question?”
Tripp let out a chuckle. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Huh. He has a good point.
“I like that idea. Go with the flow. Let it come naturally.”
I glanced out the window to see Corina and her mother standing on the beach. They were embracing, and I couldn’t help but watch them. My heart broke when they wiped tears off their faces.
“Listen, Corina is headed back in. Tell everyone hey for me. Oh, did Waylynn get the permit to start back up with the dance studio?”
Tripp groaned. “Fucking hell, what a damn nightmare. Old lady Hopkins was convinced Waylynn was going to be running some sex shop in there. At one point, Waylynn leaned over and told me she was going to open a sex toy store in Oak Springs just to piss off the old woman. Then she smiled and said the locals would probably all enjoy it and was going to pitch the idea to Dad as an investment opportunity.”
I trembled at the mental image my brother had given me. A shop full of Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Hopkins and their friends shopping for sex toys.
Blah.
“Does Waylynn want to give him a heart attack? Jesus.”
Tripp laughed. “Anyway, Judge Hill sided with Waylynn and informed Mrs. Hopkins that just because she walked into the building while a private sexual act was being performed, didn’t mean anything illegal was going on in the building.”
“Please tell me Dad was there.”
My brother laughed harder. “Dude, I had to look at his face. It was fucking priceless. He was white as a ghost. Waylynn slid down in her seat almost to the floor.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Damn. That would have been a moment to see.”
The bedroom door opened, and Corina walked in. She looked beautiful, her cheeks slightly chapped from the cold wind coming off the lake. When she smiled, my heart felt like it grew ten times larger in my chest.
“Hey, Corina just got back from her walk. Tell Mom and Dad I said hey and that we’ll see them soon.”
“Will do. And, Mitch, follow your heart. Don’t overthink it too much.”
“Gotcha. I’ll talk to you later, bro.”
“Later.”
The call ended and I slipped my phone into my pocket. My heart ached when I looked into Corina’s eyes. She’d been crying.
“You okay, dove?”
Her chin trembled, and I knew she was trying to hold back her tears. I held out my arms and she rushed into them, pressing her body against mine.
“I’m going to miss my mom so much. I can hardly stand the thought of leaving her.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I pressed my lips against her head. “I know. I’m so sorry, baby.”
Corina’s buried her face in my chest as she cried. I honestly couldn’t imagine living away from my family. My parents were my rock—the solid foundation that kept everything together.
“She’s going to be all alone.”
I lifted Corina’s chin so she met my gaze. “What do you mean?”
“Rick took a job in New York City. They’re moving when they come back from the honeymoon.”
My heart dropped. “Oh. That really sucks.”
“I wish she would come to Texas and visit Oak Springs. I think she’d love it there. She told me this was her home, and she couldn’t leave it. Mitchell, I hate the idea of her being so alone with her kids so far away.”
The pounding of my heart nearly rattled my brain. “What are you saying?”
Corina’s eyes widened. “No! I’m not saying I want to stay here, gosh, no. I want to be with you, in Texas.”
I let out a huge breath and closed my eyes.
Thank God.
When I opened my eyes, I watched a tear roll down her beautiful face. I brushed my thumb across her cheek and wiped it away.
“Don’t cry, baby. I can’t stand it when you cry.”
“Maybe we can come back for Christmas? We could have a white Christmas.”
Smiling, I started hatching a plan in my head. “That sounds like a great idea. Let’s do it.”
Her face lit up and a breathtaking smile covered her face.
“I love you, Mitch. I love you so much.”
With my hands on her face, I leaned down and kissed her softly. “We should probably get the luggage in the car and head to the airport.”
With a slow nod, she chewed on her lip. “Yeah, we should.”
After I loaded up the car with our suitcases, I turned to see Corina and her mother hugging.
Stepping back, Corina took her mother’s hands. “I’m so sorry I’m leaving you.”
Lori wore a brave grin. “Corina, I’m not crying tears of sadness. These are happy tears. I’m so happy that both of my kids found love and happiness. That is all I ever wanted. Stop worrying about me, sweetheart. I’ll be fine. Now I want you to stop feeling sad.”
When she glanced at me, Lori’s grin grew even bigger. “You take care of my little girl.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I will.”
Turning her attention back to Corina, Lori kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, my sweet girl. Now go on before you miss your plane.”
Corina hugged her mother again. “I love you too. I’ll call you when we land.”
Lori walked over to me and opened her arms for a hug. “It was so nice to meet you, Mitchell.”
“The pleasure was all mine, Lori.” As we hugged, I whispered in her ear, “Thank you for your blessing.”
She squeezed me harder and whispered back, “You make her happy.”
We stepped apart and looked at each other. I wanted to tell her I would do everything in my power to make sure her daughter was always happy. Instead, I nodded and smiled.
I opened the door for Corina and held her hand while she got into the car. My heart raced along with my mind.
This was it.
In the next few days I would be asking Corina to marry me.
Holy shit.
Panic started to take root in my gut—not because I was afraid of asking her to marry me. Far from that. It was because I so desperately wanted to make it special for Corina. A memory that would last us a lifetime.
As we drove down the streets of Chicago, I took in all the trees that were beginning to change colors. Glancing to my right, I noticed Corina doing the same.
“You okay?” I asked, taking her hand in mine.
She nodded. “I will be once we get back home and settled. Work will take my mind off things.
Little did she know we were not heading back to Texas. We were going to Banff.
Gripping the steering wheel, I took in a deep breath.
This was it.
Time to fill Corina in on the change of plans.