Page 23 of Forever Foolish

“I agree,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her as the television lights flickered in the distance. He wasn’t even watching the screen, but rather it was a distraction to keep her here, in his world, a little longer. Holding her close would never get old, and she made him feel whole— complete. “I love our time together, and our relationship is the best.”

Chloe angled her chin upward, stretching to kiss his chin as her little elbow dug into him, making him chuckle. Yeah, these moments were the ones that people wouldn’t understand. They could be doing nothing, just hanging out, or they could be in the same room together, and it was like paradise. Just her existence made him feel whole – and he would be lost without her.

“My beloved queen,” he whispered again, squeezing her slightly in a hug as she settled back against him with a happy sigh.They would figure this out somehow,he thought silently.

7

CHLOE

Are you up for dinner tonight?

Please tell me that is code for something dirty…

Hahaha – no, my queen.

You know me.

I do know you – sad sigh.

Chloe, we’ve talked about this – and it’s just dinner. I thought I’d invite my parents over.

“Oh gee… can we?” she muttered under her breath, wondering if they said something or if they were trying to come into their little world once more to find something wrong. She really did like his parents, but she always felt like they were always judging her or looking for her to make some mistake. “They’re his parents, and I’m sure it will be the same for J.J. when mine come visit next month…”

Great! Sounds good.

Perfect.

Mom wanted a roast, and I happened to have one from an order that never picked up. Mr. Murray and I split it – at cost – and I’ve got quite a freezer full of deer meat now.

Chloe rolled her eyes, feeling ungrateful. Sometimes deer meat had a weird gamey taste to it but she would never say that to J.J. because he worked so hard prepping it. If she didn’t know, then maybe it wouldn’t make a difference, and it wasn’t like his job bothered her. She’d seen him at the butcher shop a few times, popping in to surprise him. It was just sometimes a girl wants some fattening pasta, you know?

That sounds divine.

Maybe we can do spaghetti or something next week?

Will do. See you about six?

You betcha, honey!

Putting away her cell phone, Chloe focused on the video program before her, discussing the next series of flights and practice exercises that she would be participating in. Being here in Alaska gave her a chance to see the world from a different point of view. No one would understand just how beautiful and wild this part of the country was. She saw the glacier off in the distance, the way the fog clungto the ocean in the early morning, the ships off the coast. It was a different life – and surprisingly, she discovered that she didn’t miss her old one. Sure, she missed her parents and her family, but she had found a home here and couldn’t wait to show them next month.

Getting off work,Chloe went and changed into something more appropriate than her coveralls if his parents were coming over for dinner. If they were going to be looking for something, she wanted them to see her as a potential spouse for their son, not some tomboy who liked to play with airplanes.

Donning a dress that would be completely impractical in two months, she smiled at her reflection. J.J. always said she looked like an angel in white and this dress was a fluttery spring concoction with little faded shadows of flowers dropped all over it in a random pattern. There on her collarbone was the mistletoe charm he’d given her, starting them down this entire path. That was when she realized things were changing and that he was looking at her differently… and she was responding in kind.

Things had changed and it was a beautiful, smooth transition between them into theunthinkable, theimpossible, theimprobable, she mused with a chuckle, turning to grab her purse.

“Undeniable,” Chloe whispered aloud, walking toward J.J.’s truck. He had insisted she use it to get around town because the butcher shop wasn’t too far from his house. Things would be different when the snow fell, but for now, he insisted because it was a ‘nice walk in the mornings’ – and she wasn’t about to argue.

On my way – do you need anything from the store?

Nope. Just you.

♥?

She smiled at her phone, seeing the little red heart texted from him. J.J. really was the sweetest man, always so patient and kind toward her. Maybe she would just drag him to the justice of the peace one of these days, and both of their families could just get over their problems. His parents seemed to be a little more accepting, while her parents didn’t want to discuss it over the phone. They had changed subjects repeatedly, turning toward her career, mentioning the base nearer to them, or talking about anything else when she called.

Not ten minutes later, Chloe pulled up at J.J.’s house… and hesitated. There were two cars parked on the street, one with paper plates. As she looked at the front door, she saw J.J. standing there, smiling at her. Turning off the truck, she climbed out.

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