Page 110 of We'll Meet Again

They’d be taking Billie’s rental car back to Charlotte, so Ethan was having to part ways with his beloved truck once more. Only this time, he decided he would eventually have it shipped over. He told Billie he fully intended on making London his home, and that meant having Lula Mae around.

Admittedly, it was a great truck. He’d taken her out in it several times since she arrived, and it drove wonderfully. Not that Billie was the best judge of vehicular quality, but it was smoother than she expected, and well maintained on the inside. Ethan had put a lot of love into it.

Billie hurried down the front stairs. Jazz music floated from the truck’s cab, and she heard Helen Forrest’s voice crooning -Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again, it’s been a long, long time. The tailgate - a word Billie never thought she’d need to know the meaning of - was dropped, and she could see Ethan’s trainers poking out from the bed. She came around to the end and found him lying on his back and staring up at the stars.

One thing he had added to the truck since Billie’s arrival was a makeshift bed in the back. He put down two mattress toppers covered with a sheet, a couple blankets, and what felt like about fifty pillows. Billie often blushed just looking at it, recalling the things that had taken place there.

“Hey, you,” she said, giving his leg a good tap.

He raised his head to look at her. “Hey, darlin’. Care to join me?”

“Your grandmother’s nearly got dinner ready.”

“Just for a minute.”

He flashed her that sweet, dimpled smile of his and of course she gave in. After he helped her up, she crawled over to lay beside him, finding her designated spot beneath his arm. From there, she could hear his heart beating steadily. She looked up, following his gaze, and admired the beautiful sight. The stars were so much clearer here, showing up in abundance and glittering against the inky black sky. Like diamonds against black velvet. She never got views like this in London. She’d miss them.

“Can we come back next year?” she asked him.

“We can come as much as you want,” he told her. “Warms my heart that you like it here.”

“I love it here,” she said. “Although at some point, I do want to see more of Charlotte. Where you grew up and things like that.”

“It ain’t as pretty as this.”

“I don’t care about pretty. It’s a part of you, so I want to see it.”

He pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’ll never say no to you, darlin’.”

The song switched to Vera Lynn’s rendition of “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Billie shifted more onto her side so she could see Ethan’s face.

“You’re really into this stuff, aren’t you?” she asked.

“It’s just so familiar,” he replied. “And now that I know why, I can just enjoy it.”

“I know what you mean.”

Billie had always felt a melancholic ache in her heart when she heard the music of that time, and Tessa often had it playing. But now, it brought her comfort. It relaxed her and wrapped her up as if she were in Ethan’s arms.

“We may have to steal some records from Tessa,” she said.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned. “We’ll offer a bribe, like decent people.”

She giggled and settled further into him. “Speaking of Tessa, d’you think I should tell her to find another flatmate?”

“You wanna move out?”

“Well…I just thought, y’know…you and I might want to…live together.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

She nodded, but was suddenly nervous. Were they not on the same page? She thought, after everything, he too would want to start their lives together. And didn’t that begin with sharing a home?

“You don’t think it’s too soon?” he asked.

She shook her head, pushing down the sting of that remark. Though she couldn’t say she blamed him. “How could it be? We’ve got a lifetime to catch up on, after all.”

He scrubbed a hand over his chin thoughtfully. “A lifetime, huh?”

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