Page 56 of Sweet Escape at Bayside
He kissed her cheek and whispered, “I love you.”
She turned her face into the crook of his neck and said, “I didn’t know her, but I know how it feels to be an outsider, and I wish I had known her. I would have kicked anyone’s butt who made her feel bad.”
Before he could respond, the band started playing, and the entire crowd began singing Bruno Mars’s “Just the Way You Are.” All around them, people belted out the lyrics. Violet reached into Andre’s pocket as she sang and handed him the paper she’d given him earlier. He scanned the lyric sheet, but he didn’t need it.
He pulled her into his arms, singing every word with her. He might have started out singing for the young woman they were there to honor, but when the last words left his lips andhisbeautiful girl’s trusting green eyes gazed up at him, each and every word was meant for her.
By the time they got home, Andre was drunk on love. He knew the first thing Violet would do was go to the inn to get Cosmos and bring him to the cottage to sleep, so he let her guide him. They went in through the kitchen door, and Cosmos trotted out to greet them. When Violet crouched to pick him up, he darted down the hall.
“He’s a pest,” Violet said, following Cosmos.
He was aperfectlittle pest.
Violet peered into the dining room. “Cosmos?”
The pup yapped and she crossed the hall to the living room. She stood stock-still in the entryway, and Andre watched as she took in the mass of leafy plants surrounding the canvas tent, above which the guys had hung twinkling white lights crisscrossing the ceiling, just as he’d planned. The flaps of the tent were tied back, revealing colorful blankets and pillows, in the center of which Cosmos lay with his tongue out, panting happily. A small end table he’d found at a yard sale that looked a lot like the one that had been in his tent in Ghana was draped with one of Violet’s beautiful batiks. Candles sat ready to be lit beside a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Andre wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressed a kiss to her cheek, and said, “Surprise, sweetheart.”
She turned in his arms, happiness glimmering in her eyes. “How did you do all this?”
“With help from Dean and Drake. But we didn’t tell the gossip girls. I was afraid they’d spill the beans.” He pressed his lips to hers, and then he said, “It’s the closest I could come to being out in the wilderness. I wanted to set this up outside beneath the stars, but I was afraid you’d freeze.”
She wound her arms around his neck and said, “It wouldn’t matter if we were in the rainforest, the desert, at the beach, or in Antarctica, as long as we’re together it’s perfect. I love everything—the tent, the lights, the plants. But mostly I loveyoufor lovingusenough to take us back to the place where we began.”
Chapter Fifteen
VIOLET LAY SNUGGLED against Andre Friday morning, gazing up at the peak of the tent while trying desperately not to think about him leaving next weekend. They had eight more days together, and each one seemed like a step on a plank leading up to the hardest decision of her life. She wanted to take his hand and fly into their next adventure. Oh, how she missed it all—being in the field with Andre, traveling, waking to the noises of an unfamiliar village, helping people who didn’t have the advantages they had in the States, and becoming one with nature in a way she couldn’t in modern society.
But at the same time, she couldn’t imagine leaving Desiree.
Thoughts of her sister brought more anxiety. They had alotto talk about, and serious talks were like rabid dogs—Violet avoided them at all costs. She knew Desiree would be on cloud nine from her honeymoon. How could Violet break her heart by telling her she was thinking about leaving?
Violet closed her eyes, bathing in memories of the last few weeks. She didn’t try to dodge the confusion, anger, or hurt of when she and Andre had first reconnected. That pain had helped them become stronger in the same way the missing years between her and Desiree had led them to their unexpected common ground.
Cosmos made a noise, and she glanced at him, sleeping soundly against the crook of Andre’s body. The pup who had once driven her batty had become a reminder of what unconditional love was all about.
The same way Andre has.
Memories of the amazing night they’d first made love came rushing back—she could still feel their bodies as one, still see the powerful look of true love in his eyes and hear the intensity of his emotions as he’d said,I can’t imagine a single day without you in it. Come back to Boston and marry me, Daisy.She’d been as elated as she’d been terrified.Oh, how she’d loved him. Never in her life had she dreamed of, much less experienced, a love so deep and real as the love they shared. But she’d tried to imagine what life with Andre would be like in Boston, and reality had hit like a freight train. No matter how in love they were, the idea of staying in one place, of being a properdoctor’swife, was suffocating.
But now he’d changed his world because of the things they’d talked about and maybe even because of the love they’d shared. Was it so much to ask for her to do the same?
But hehadn’tasked her to come with him this time, and that brought another level of panic, despite her indecision.
I can’t imagine a life without you, either.
She thought she had eight days to figure things out, but what if he didn’t want her to go with him, but wanted to try a long-distance relationship? Could she live with that? Could he? Maybe it was time to face all her fears.
She looked at his peaceful face, silently hoping she wouldn’t mess things up. She mustered all her courage and kissed Andre’s lips.
“Mm.” His arm slid down her back, holding her tighter. “How’s my girl?”
“Well satisfied and…” She cringed at how harsh that sounded, which was weird in a frighteningly good way. His eyes opened and she said, “Welllovedand stressing out.”
He lifted his other arm slowly, trying not to wake Cosmos, and threaded his fingers into the hair just above her ear, cradling her cheek. His warm brown eyes drifted over her face, and his lips curved up in a reassuring smile. “There’s not much I love more than waking up to your sweet face. We’re in our magical tent, babe. No stress allowed.”
“It would be easy to let reality fall away, but I know the next week will fly by, and then we’ll be standing on the edge of that awful plank with the world spread out before us.” Words tumbled from her mouth faster than she could think. “And I can’t stop imagining all that’ll be left on solid ground. Desiree and the life we’ve built here. The family we’ve created. That stupid dog. And you haven’t even asked me to go with you, so for all I know…” Tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t even say that he didn’t want her to go, because she knew that wasn’t true. She lowered her face to his chest and held on tight, as if her words alone might catapult her into darkness.
