Page 4 of Submit

When we first got together, Will and I would spend our weekends exploring. Always on the lookout for independent coffee shops, bookstores, wineries, etc…I’ve always been drawn to small businesses, admiring those who took that leap of faith to make something that was their own. Will and I had that in common before his company really took off and his caseload was significantly increased.

When he first started working for V&V Industries, they hadn’t yet worked their way into the American market like they have now and the environment was much more intimate and the workload more manageable. I’ve watched as my fiancé - the word still feeling weird even in my thoughts - has become a shark in the boardroom, coming home with stories that portray him as a cutthroat business man trying to completely wipe out the competition. I’m not sure if that was always his style and I was just too infatuated to see it or if he has gotten more aggressive as the company has grown, but Idoknow he’s good at what he does. No other member of the company has ever been given such a valuable project at such a young age.

I can’t say I love the change in him though.

Not because I don’t love an alpha male, but simply because it doesn’t suit Willem. I know it sounds very judge-y, but he’s too soft in the middle with shoulders slightly too narrow, and a voice that isn’t quite deep enough to try and pull off that commanding tone. Although, maybe that makes him a great weapon. He’s the dark-horse no one saw coming.

“That sounds great,” he replies, pulling me out of my own head and closer to himself. “I was thinking along the same line. Why don’t you do some research about activities on the island? Pick something that interests you and we could maybe learn something new together on the weekends.”

His words shock me.

He hasn’t made an offer like this in quite a while. I feel him smile into my neck. “Do you remember the time we took that bartending class?”

I can’t hold back my laugh. “Oh God. I’ll never forget that as long as I live. You kept doubling the amount of liquor in all my drinks and I gotsodrunk twenty minutes in to the two-hour class I ended up sleeping on the floor at your feet while you finished learning how to perfect your lemon drop martini!” To this day, he makes the best I’ve ever had, but I really have to watch his liquor content.

“Come on, you haven’t even seen the inside yet.” Will releases me from his embrace and takes me by the hand as I reluctantly leave the porch to follow him inside.

“This place is unbelievable,” I breathe truthfully as he leads me around.

He beams at the compliment and he eyes me like he’s seeing me for the first time in a long time. “You’reincredible, Lib. You’re the strongest woman I know and I sometimes forget all the shit you’ve been through. I hope you’ll be happy here. Thatwewill be happy here.” The sincerity in his voice rocks me. For the recent past at least, I’ve felt more like a tragic trophy that Will wanted to sport more than the woman he was truly in love with.

“I think we’re off to a great start.”

We’ve paused just inside the living room which has double glass, sliding doors that open onto the porch where I can already tell I’ll be spending most of my time.

“The company has already gotten your temporary visa, but until we’re married and your paperwork comes back, you can’t work, but please feel free to spend your time volunteering, sightseeing, or taking classes at the college in town. I thought it might be good for you to learn Dutch,” he adds almost as an afterthought. The truth is that he has been after me to learn Dutch for a while and the other truth is that I really should have made the effort since it’s his first language. Being American though, I grew up taking Spanish in school and carried that through college. It came easily and I fell in love with language as I picked it up quickly. Hopefully Dutch will be the same.

“That’s a great idea. I’ll plan to start those classes as soon as I can and tomorrow, I’ll look for something for us to take on together,” I declare, determined to settle in and make more of an effort to live a life I won’t regret. Now that we’re in Aruba, I have this feeling that I’ve been a passive participant in my life for quite a while, always waiting for someone to tell me where to go next and what I’ll be doing. It’s time to change that and break out of my shell for the first time in my life.

The look of absolute pride that Will gives me transforms his face. He looks younger and more carefree than I’ve seen in months and immediately I know this place is going to be good for both of us.

He leads me around the kitchen, the home office, the guest room, and I suck in a sharp breath when we enter the master bedroom. I’ve just stepped into luxury far beyond what I’m used to.

A ceiling fan blows the warm air around even as the cross breeze blows my silky hair around my shoulders causing a shiver to run through me. The entire wall in front of me is glass and faces the back of the house. I have a clear view of the infinity pool and the ocean below it. The king-sized bed is dressed in white to match the walls. The décor is sparce and definitely needs my touch, but the seashell display and the black and white photographs of the surf are mesmerizing.

My stomach rumbles embarrassingly as I stare in awe at our new bedroom.

“I called ahead to have a service stock our kitchen and I had a restaurant deliver dinner. I figured this is a lot to take in and instead of worrying about getting to the grocery store, we could just settle in to our space tonight.” A quick flash crosses his face, almost like regret before he starts talking again. “But maybe that was the wrong thing to do? I know you love to cook and maybe making something would help you feel more at home? I could put the take out in the fridge for tomorrow if you’d rather?”

He’s trying.

He’s acting like he really wants this to work. I’ve missed this. I’ve missedhim.

“Take out is perfect tonight. Thank you, Will. You’ve been so thoughtful.”

I can’t stop the thought at enters my mind next and pray he can’t read it on my features:I hope it lasts.

Back in the kitchen, I dish the contents of the containers onto plates. “Will, how areyouhandling the move? It’s a big change for you, too.”

“I’ll confess, I’m glad to be back on Dutch soil.” He talks easily while his hands are busy. He seems unguarded and relaxed for the first time in a while. “I’m really excited about the windfarm project. I’m just ready to get started and although I know it will be good for me, forus, I wish they weren’t making me take a mandatory week off first.”

The Dutch, in general, have a pretty incredible work/life balance but my in-laws - specifically my father-in-law - instilled a pretty strong work ethic in Will, who has always been eager to please his parents despite the physical distance between them and the lack of communication. I know his dad still keeps tabs on him and is measuring his success to that of himself which adds pressures of its own no matter how close or distant the two of them may be. Will makes comments in passing but that’s all I have to go on really since I’ve never met his parents. I don’t fully understand what his dad does. Will has mentioned that he’s a CEO of a textile company or something, but he’s always vague and I prefer not to pry since I hate when people ask me about my past. Mostly it’s the pity in their eyes that turns me off…I’m still not sure what Will’s excuse is.

~

THE NEXT SIX DAYS are a dream come true. It feels like I’ve fallen in love with Willem all over again. We’re given a tour of his office space downtown. We even have dinner with his new boss, Marcel and his wife, Dania. Thankfully, not much time was spent discussing business but rather it felt like an informal get-to-know you. After dinner however, the men go to smoke a cigar leaving Dania and I to acquaint ourselves better. We have a decent time making small talk but seeing as she and her husband are much older than Will and I, we didn’t form an immediate bestie-bond. She seems shy and hesitant to speak about anything of importance, not revealing much of herself for me to connect with.

When the men join us for a final drink, Marcel asks about how I’m adjusting to Aruba while talking directly to my chest. Slimeball vibes radiate outward violently as he doesn’t even make an effort to raise his eyes.

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