Page 22 of Meant To Be

The following morning, the road was clear, and the inn was a bustle of activity between staff coming in to clean up and guests packing and hustling around to help. We said goodbye to our new friends and exchanged numbers.

Just as he was about to climb into the car, Jack glanced over from where they parked beside us. “Don’t forget what I said.”

“Huh?” I returned brilliantly.

“I think y’all are meant to be.”

I gave him a quick hug. “I won’t,” I said, keeping my tone light and teasing.

A few minutes later, Dylan closed the trunk, glancing over. “I can drive if you want,” he offered.

I shrugged, genuinely not caring one way or the other. “That’s fine.”

As we began driving away, the sunshine was blindingly bright, and the sky sharp blue. I looked around as Dylan drove, my eyes taking in the destruction of a swath of trees with rocks tumbled around on both sides of the narrow road where the slide must’ve occurred.

“What did Jack say?” Dylan asked.

I surprised myself by answering honestly, “He told me not to forget what he said.”

“About us?”

My heart gave a funny little pitter-patter in my chest. I glanced over, wishing I could read his mind. I just needed a quick peek inside. I expected him to look amused.

Instead, his gaze was somber. “What do you think about what he said?” he prompted.

My chest tightened, and emotion rose swiftly inside. I glanced out the window. “I don’t know, what do you think? You’re the one who said you don’t believe in love.”

When I risked another glance in his direction, he was looking at the road ahead. His jaw clenched tight as his fingers gripped the steering wheel.

“I did. I didn’t expect you, Piper Ellis.”

“Well, I mean, of course not. You didn’t know you would see me after I got ditched at the airport. You didn’t even know this weekend was going to happen.”

He rounded a curve in the road. Just ahead was a viewing platform off to the side, overlooking a valley.

Dylan pulled the rental car over and parked, facing the view. We looked out over the valley for a moment or so. I took a slow breath, letting it out quietly. I knew these mountains well. The stunning Blue Ridge Mountains were home, where I’d grown up. Even though it was late morning and a bright sunny day, the telltale blue haze was still visible as I looked out over the mountain range.

I’d been out West and knew the mountains there felt different. They were bigger, more of a distant presence. These mountains felt like they cradled you. They were older and had settled into the earth more deeply, surrounding you with little dips and valleys. I looked around, seeing many trees knocked over, some bent permanently from the weight of the ice that had fallen during the recent storm.

Dylan cleared his throat, and I glanced over toward him. My heart started kicking faster, and anxiety spun in my chest.

“What is it?” I asked, my question falling through the soft hum of the heaters blowing into the car.

He turned to face me, and I was startled to see a flicker of uncertainty in his gaze.

“I didn’t expect you,” he repeated.

I swallowed. “Um, I didn’t expect you either.”

I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going. My pulse kept racing, and the fresh sense of connection and intimacy flickered to life in the air between us.

We sat in a rental car, looking out over a pretty valley. Yet this moment felt suddenly momentous. I felt like I was standing on a precipice, about to leap. Metaphorically speaking and literally, I suppose I was. In another few days, I would get on a plane to Alaska, stepping into a new phase of my life.

“What is it?” I was frightened of the answer and braced myself.

His shoulders rose with a quick breath. “I think I love you.”

I had prepared for him to tell me all the obvious things. We were about to visit my brother on the last day before my flight. Meanwhile, Dylan was scheduled to fly out another week after I left for Alaska.

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