Just You (18 page)

I’m sure my expression showed some doubt.

“Nothing is wrong with your Mom or the others?”

He’d had to go away on a job for the magazine in the week, he’d been acting odd before that, and even odder since he came back; like he was uncomfortable. If I didn’t know any better, my battered belief in people would think he was having an affair, the way he’d been acting all secretive and holding back on me since he’d been told about this trip to take part in a shoot for the magazine–and yet, I had heard Kevin ask him to go, so I knew the trip was genuine.

I looked ahead again as we came up to the opening of the paved area on the right, where the sculpture of Alice in Wonderland stood.

There were more kids there. I pulled on Justin’s hand. To go look at it for a moment.

He let my hand go as we walked over and then rubbed his palm on the backside of his jeans. He was nervous, but he wasn’t admitting it, and I didn’t know why.

There was a boy, maybe around four or five, gripping the bronze ears of the March Hare and dangling from them like the Hare was a climbing frame. Kids were always climbing all over it. Another little girl sat on one of the mushrooms gripping the dormouse, like she was joining in the tea-party.

I sat down on the bench that ran in a three-quarter circle about the sculpture, caught by a sudden sense of longing and happiness as the girl’s mother walked up behind her, touched her shoulder, and leaned over to join in the game. A man came up then and touched the woman’s shoulder as another little girl who looked so like the one on the mushroom, but older, ran around to the other side and climbed up the figures to claim a seat on Alice’s lap.

Alice in Wonderland.

My fingers gripped the cold bench as Justin sat next to me, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward.

I felt like Alice in Wonderland. I’d lost faith in life, in people, love and happy endings. But now I had that back. Justin may have been in a weird mood but I didn’t doubt him at all. I knew I could trust him. I believed we’d have our happy ending.

I glanced at him.

His head was down, like he was focusing on something mentally. Maybe it was just something at work stressing him out. I think the shoot he’d been called out to do had been some sort of big deal.

Letting go of the bench, my hand then lifted and settled on the firm muscle of his back. He hadn’t even worn a coat, he just had a black cotton T-shirt on but I could feel he was warm beneath it. “I love you.”

His head turned to look at me, the movement of his muscle stirring beneath my fingers, and he gave me a broad wide reassuring smile; some thought hovering in the depths of his brown eyes. “I love you, too. Come on, let’s go hire a row boat out, seeing as the day’s so nice.”

I smiled too. “That would be fun.”

His fingers wove in between mine and clung a little too aggressively to be normal as we queued, and when I offered to go halves on the boat hire, he discouraged me with a grunt. “No, just let me pay. This is my thing.”

“Okay.” Something was definitely up if Justin had got snappy.

I’d wait until we were out on The Lake and then I’d probe him carefully, and see if I could pull whatever it was out of him. I guessed he needed to talk it out, and then he’d be okay after…

A guy held the row boat as Justin gripped my hand and I climbed in. Then as I perched on a wooden bench at one end, he got in and occupied the one at the other end.

“Have you rowed before?”

“Yeah, but do not expect perfection…” He threw me a smile, and a glint caught in his eye, flashing a hint of his usual self.

As the guy pushed us off, Justin gripped the oars firmly, leaning forward and dipping them into The Lake. Then with a strong stroke, he leaned back and the boat cut through the water, as little splashes and ripples stirred either side of us.

“I used to row lots. There is a lake in the grounds of my parents’ house. I can take over–”

“Maybe after…”

After what?

I didn’t say anything, just leaned to one side, dipped my fingertips in the water and enjoyed the sensation of it as he pretty skillfully cut us a path out into the middle. He wasn’t a bad rower at all. “We’ll have to bring Dillon with us and come and do this again.”

He smiled. “Yeah.”

“He’d love it–”

“Yeah, and he’d be fighting me to have a go on the oars, and crash us into the bank…” He laughed.

He was relaxing now; his gaze was warmer.

I sat up, smiling at him. “This day is perfect isn’t it?”

A deep breath pulled into lungs suddenly, swelling his chest, and the anxiety that had been hovering for hours, maybe days, suddenly flooded his eyes, and stiffened his posture. My gaze left his as he moved, pulling the oars into the boat. What on earth was going on that he was so messed up by it?

Leaving the oars in the brackets, he shifted off the seat, one knee dropping onto the hull of the shallow boat as his other stayed raised, and his hand pulled something out of his jeans pocket.

“Here–”

“Justin, kneeling in a boat is not a good idea,” as it rocked unsteadily, and his hand lifted, with something gripped in his fingers.

He caught hold of my other hand as the sunlight catch whatever he gripped. It sparkled.

Oh my God.

My gaze spun to meet his and his brown eyes were glowing with love and questions now, shining like dark amber. “Yes, it is a perfect day. But what makes it most perfect, Portia, is that I’m with you. I want to be with you forever. I want to marry you. Not in a hurry, just whenever. But I want to make sure I’ve claimed you now so you know just how I feel and everyone else does too. Will you marry me?”

His eyes burned with emotion. The same emotion gathered inside me in a storm, spinning in excited turmoil.

My hand shook as I clasped his fingers, absorbing the solidity of his grip. He was reliable, my best-friend–everything I’d ever dreamed of. “Yes.” There was no doubt in me, but the word came out on a stunned breathless whisper. I swallowed, took a breath and said it more clearly. “Yes. I want to marry you. Oh, Justin…” Tears came in a rush as I let go of his hand and threw my arms around his neck leaning forward. “Thank you…” I sobbed as he laughed and the boat rocked, water slapping at the sides.

“Steady.” His pitch was deep. “You’ll make me drop the ring, and we’d lose it forever if it goes in The Lake.”

I sat back, still sobbing and wiping tears away, shaking. Now he was relaxed, his muscle loose and his vibe easy, as he took up my left hand.

The touch of his fingers was gently protective as he slid the ring on.

Emotion caught about my heart and squeezed tight, more tears trickling down my cheeks as I looked at it.

The gold was warm, and a beautiful solitaire diamond glinted up at me, sparkling in the bright spring sunlight.

The pressure of Justin’s fingertips lifted my chin, and then his warm, wide lips pressed against mine.

My hand, wearing his ring, came up to the back of his head–I still loved the shape of his head–and I pressed my lips back against his and then opened my mouth. Then I remember with a flash of an image, doing exactly the same thing in the pool on New Year’s Eve, it had been me who’d started this.

My drunk brain had been way more intelligent than I’d thought.

When the kiss broke, his forehead pressed against mine, as we breathed steadily, sharing breaths.

I laughed quietly. “Dad will go nuts you know.”

Justin’s long narrow fingers embraced my nape and squeezed my neck in comforting reassurance. “He won’t.”

Then he leaned back a little smiling.

“I never went on a photo shoot for the magazine. I went to speak to your Dad. I asked for his permission to marry you.”

My body jolted back, rocking the boat, as he moved on to the opposite bench again.

“No! What did he say?”

“Yes.”

“He didn’t…”

“He did. Call him.”

“You’re kidding me right…” Even though I answered with disbelief, I was already searching for my cell.

Justin caught hold of the oars and started rowing, watching me with a smile; it carried happiness and humor. I found out Dad’s contact and called his cell. Looking at Justin as it started ringing.

“Hello, Portia.” His voice was heavy and deep, but it sounded warm–different.

“Dad.” I took a breath and let it slip back out my lungs. “I’m engaged. To Justin…” As I said the words, there was a grip of wonder inside me.
I was engaged to Justin.
We’d get married, build a life together, have kids. I had a happy ending to hold on to–a fairytale I really believed in.

“I know–” I could hear him smiling. Now that was weird, he hated me being with Justin.

“He said he asked you.”

“He did.”

“And?”

“And I gave him my agreement. I respect the boy for coming out to California. I guess, you’ve found a good one after all, Portia…”

I looked at Justin, my eyes trying to express my disbelief. He just smiled.

I wish I knew what he’d said. I wish I’d been there.

“That’s Portia….” I heard Mom. It sounded like she was near him, “let me talk to her…”

“Congratulations,” Dad said, in a firm unemotional voice.

“Portia!” Mom sounded breathless and excited. “You have my congratulations too, sweetheart, and you will never guess where we are…”

I smiled at Justin. This was weird. Dad had sounded warm and emotional, Mom really happy and excited–Alice in Wonderland–maybe I had fallen down the white rabbit’s hole.

“Where are you?” I answered, hearing the questioning note in my voice, that was not asking that, but asking what is going on…

“We’re in Italy, driving along the road by Lake Garda. We are doing an Italian tour. We will be out here for a month, travelling all over. Your father wants to relive our honeymoon–”

What?

“We are to go to Venice, and Rome, and Sienna…” She kept talking. Odd feelings overwhelmed me. I’d never heard her sound like this. “But first we are spending a week here, the same secluded little villa we stayed in just after we married…”

“Is everything okay, Mom?”

“Oh, yes, everything is wonderful…” I had never heard her so enthusiastic. Then the sound was muffled a little, like she had half covered the phone with her hand, and she whispered. “You may thank that boyfriend of yours from me. Since he came down here, it is like your dad has just woken up. We are working on our marriage. We have started seeing a counselor, and we’ll carry on after the holiday. I feel so happy, Portia… I’d better go though, we are nearly there, and I need to look out for the sign. Goodbye darling, congratulations. I am going to have to come to New York when you start dress shopping.”

“Goodbye, Mom.”

“I love you.” I couldn’t remember the last time she had said that to me, and sounded like she meant it. But that is what it sounded like now. She must have been hurting over Dad’s infidelity for years.

I’d been judging her, for how she’d chosen to deal with it. But maybe she hadn’t really just been ignoring it, but just hadn’t known how to deal with it.

“I love you, too.” I did. No matter what, she was my Mom.

The call went dead.

“What did you say to him?”

“Basically, I told him he was an idiot if he did not start caring about his daughter, and stop acting like a douche, and threatened to never let him near his grandkids if he didn’t grow up and stop playing around.”

Justin was leaning forward and then pushing back, as the oars cut through the water.

“I got you so wrong Justin Preston, when I first knew you… Thank you…”

A broad grin cut into his face. “Well, I had you down for being someone entirely different too. But then I saw you, just you, and I was hooked.”

He leaned forward again, before he could pull back, I moved to grip his shoulders and hugged him hard. “Just you is everything I want. I never thought that I would be this happy…”

“Nor me.” His lips brushed my cheek with a kiss as I let him go.

“I want to go home and watch Disney films after this.”

He laughed…

~

I
Found You, book one in The Starting Out Series; Jason’s and Rachel’s story, will continue throughout the series.

‘Portia, look who just walked in.’ I emailed her, then stood up, and saw her turn to look as I looked across the desks.

Jason was here. The guy who’d worked here until New Year. I’d not seen or heard from him since he’d walked out, the day Portia had been dying with embarrassment ‘cause she didn’t know what had happened in Mr. Rees’s pool.

Jason looked agitated, angry and nervous, as he walked across the room, hands in the pockets of his brown leather jacket. But he had a determined stride. He hadn’t looked my way but I presumed he’d come back to say hi.

“Jason!” I called as I walked ‘round the desks to block his path. Portia was standing too, and the other girls were getting up. “Hey!”

He looked at me. His hands slipping out of his pockets but there wasn’t really any pleasure in his eyes.

He did stop when he got close and let out a sigh. “Hey.” It was like the welcome was grudging.

“What’s up?” I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice. I was pleased to see him. We’d been friends, I’d thought, except the mother-fucker had never answered a single text or call since he’d gone. Walking closer, I held out my hand. He took it, but he only held it for a moment then let go.

“How’s your girl? How’s the baby? Is it born?”

His gaze focused on me. “Yeah. It’s a boy. He’s called, Saint. He’s doing good. But I’ve come in to see Mr. Rees. I need to ask him something.”

“Yeah.” That had my eyebrows lifting.

Portia stepped forward making her presence known, in full Miss-perfect in-office mode. That was the Portia Jason had known, and he hadn’t liked her, no matter how much she’d tried to make him. She pressed against my side, and I tucked my arm around her as she held her hand out.

“Justin and I are engaged.”

Jason’s eyes widened as he looked from her to me. “
Really
?” I’d given
him
a lot of shit about doing things too fast when he’d got engaged.