What We Search For (23 page)

“Okay mate! Take care.” I
replied and hung up with a smile.

It was great to talk to
Chris after all of his help and advice. He was definitely one of my best
friends now, and it had only been less than half a year since we met.

Joining the girls in the
kitchen, I sat down and looked over to Rachel, “I seriously need to set you up
with Chris.” I said with a smile, “When I’m back, I’ll get him to drag his ass
down to LA to meet you.” I added with certainty.

“I’d like that. If you’re
so in love with him, he must have some redeeming qualities.” She replied with a
grin.

“From what I know of him,
he is really nice.” Amanda said with a smile, “It’s about time you find a nice
man.” She added, hiding a smile with her hand pretending to scratch her face.

“Thanks…” Rachel replied
with a sidelong glance, “I just need to find a hopeless romantic like this big
idiot.” She said patting me on the arm. I tried to protest but Amanda laughed
and nodded her head.

“He is pretty hopeless.”
Amanda said.

“I try my best.” I said,
giving up on the protest with a small smile.

“I’m kind of impressed you
came all this way just to try and fix things with Amanda though.” Rachel said
seriously, “Not many guys would do something like that.” She added quietly.

“When you told me on the
phone, I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say so I panicked and hung up.”
Amanda said with a grin.

“That was my bad. I
shouldn’t have blurted it out like that. My hastiness has always been a
problem! Trying to make everything perfect straight away, just backfires on
me.” I replied grimly.

“You need to build on
these things. You can’t make it all happen at once.” Rachel said.

“I’ve been given that
advice on more than one occasion, I just seem to ignore it when the time comes.
When I get excited, all of the advice I try to remember, and on top of that, my
intelligence… Everything goes out the window in a heartbeat. You make me
stupid.” I said, looking over to Amanda.

“Hey, don’t blame me!” She
said grinning, “Maybe you’re just stupid to begin with!” She added with a
laugh.

I shook my head and Rachel
started to laugh too. Throwing my hands in the air with an exaggerated sigh, I
rolled my eyes and gave up. I wasn’t going to win this.

“I’ll take that. I
probably deserve it, but you two better watch out when you screw up.” I said,
returning Amanda’s own words from long ago to her as I rubbed my hands together
eagerly.

“Oh but James! You’ll be
waiting for so long! We would never be able to keep up with all of your
mistakes.” Rachel said playfully, throwing her arms up defensively as I moved
towards her with an evil look in my eyes. Amanda grabbed me from behind hugging
me and I stopped in my tracks laughing.

“Let’s watch a movie
together before we head away, Rach is going to be all lonely!” I said, turning
around embracing Amanda.

“That sounds good.” Amanda
replied, letting go of me and moving to the couch. Rachel only nodded with a
slight smile.

Our night was spent lazily,
with all of us watching movies and drinking whatever we could find in the
fridge or cabinets. Sometimes the best nights were the easiest ones and this
was one of them.

On the day of our
departure, we casually stood in line at the airport check-in with tickets in
hand. We spoke of the adventure to come with smiles on our faces. My nerves
were not bothering me at the prospect of flight, and I was feeling good about
getting on a plane. I even smiled at the thought. Amanda looked at me
questioningly and I shook my head indicating nothing was wrong.

We made it to the front of
the line and checked in without any problems. Walking hand in hand we found a
cafe and waited for our flight to be called. “Something like this is what I
wanted to do from the start, but the last few weeks, I wouldn’t have thought it
would have ever happened, let alone so fast.” I said smiling across the table
at Amanda.

“And whose fault was that!
At least you made up for it.” She replied, her eyes shining the whole time.

“It took some convincing
from an excellent and amazing man, but here we are!” I said still smiling.

“We should go and see Bob
when we get back. I’d love to meet him.” Amanda said in reply.

“Let’s do that. I’m sure
he would like the company. I can’t thank him enough.” I said as I looked into
the distance.

Boarding for our flight
was called and we made our way to the gate. We found ourselves through the line
and on to the plane. Walking through the door I handed my ticket to a flight
attendant.

“Row 15 seat A.” She said
and I looked up at her in surprise. I laughed and walked towards our seats.
Amanda looked at me quizzically and sat down next to me after stowing her carry
on.

“What’s so funny?” She
asked quizzically.

“Just row 15.” I replied,
still laughing to myself.

“What about it?” She
persisted

“Every time I get on a
plane it seems I’m destined to sit in this row.” I said, shaking my head with a
smile.

I settled into my seat
further and sighed as I looked out the window. “My adventure started back home
in Australia and I was sitting in Row 15. Here I am starting a new adventure
with you,and here we are sitting in the exact same row. It’s a nice coincidence
is all.” I said, turning back to Amanda with a broad smile on my face.

“That’s kind of nice.” She
replied, taking my hand in hers.

“I like to think so.” I
said, as I squeezed her hand.

It didn’t take long for us
to taxi out onto the runway and the engines roared. The plane moved down the
runway and the increasing pace forced us back into our chairs. The nose lifted
from the ground, and we rose into the air majestically. We were away.

Soft waves broke against
the glistening white sand. A fresh sea breeze caressed our faces as we looked
out upon the ocean.

The sun began its slow
descent as we sat hand in hand watching the spectacle. “This has been the best
year of my life,” I whispered, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“Mine too,” Amanda replied
in her own hushed tones. Neither of us turned to look at the other, but instead
our hands tightened together and a slow smile crept across my lips.

Everything had happened so
quickly, but I knew it all happened for a reason. It had been more than a year
since Amanda and I had decided to travel together to the Caribbean, and our
adventures had only started there.

We visited fifteen
different countries together on a shoestring budget and had shared so many
experiences.

Our latest adventure had
been introducing Amanda to my family. Everything went smoothly and they
immediately fell in love with her. The whole affair had been a whirlwind trip.
We had left with our hearts and stomachs full.

Leaving had been hard as
it had been a long time since I had seen my family, but sitting with Amanda on
Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays, more than made up for it.

It was perfect.

We sat together until the
sun was touching the horizon and I released Amanda’s hand and turned my head to
watch her. She looked over at me, and smiled softly and returned her gaze to
the sunset.

Watching her for a moment
longer, I smiled my warmest smile. “What’s that?” I asked slowly, pointing to
something sticking out of the sand slightly down the beach.

“Hmm?” Amanda replied
coming out of a reverie, “What? Where?” She added as she turned to follow my
pointing finger.

“You see it?” I asked.

“I do now. Let’s go have a
look.” She replied, standing up and brushing sand off of herself.

As we walked over Amanda
let out a small excited noise “It’s a message in a bottle!” She said.

“Oh nice! What’s it say?”
I added, my own excitement building.

She put her fingers gently
into the bottle and slowly drew out the note. Speaking softly, she read the
note out loud…

I never thought I would
find someone who would mean so much to me. For years, I felt like I had been
missing something. Searching for something, but could never place my finger on
just what it was I was missing. Only now I understand just how much I have been
blessed in this life.

It took a chance encounter
in passing to first see the love of my life. At the time I didn’t know just how
special she was, but a feeling struck me, that one day I would find out.

Months passed with each of
us on our own paths, but chance or perhaps fate brought us together again.
There will always be bumps, twists and turns along any journey taken, but we
took it in our stride, and continued hand in hand.

We have traveled the world
together, and seen beauty in so many forms. Yet, nothing I have seen has come
close to the beauty that has been at my side the whole time.

A smile that warms the
room. A laugh that is contagious. A heart full of love. Intelligence that
shines through her sparkling grey eyes. A wit sharper than any knife. Her
thirst for life shows in her every action. A beauty only described, as
breathtaking.

“Amanda.”
She said, pausing for a
moment as her hand shot to her mouth and tears formed thick in her eyes.

“You have opened my eyes
to life and to love. Everything I do, I want to share it with you. My trials
and tribulations. My success and victories. My unending love.

We have only just started
our adventures, but I never want them to end.

Amanda finished, her voice
breaking as she spoke the last words. Tears streaked quickly down her face
.

Smiling my warmest smile,
I slowly took a knee and looked up into her piercingly beautiful eyes.

“Amanda. I love you. You
are my everything. I want to share the rest of my life with you.” I said
softly, pouring my love into every word.

“Everything in this life
is better when I have you to share it with. I can only just begin to describe
how much I love you. If you’ll let me, I want to use the rest of my life to
show you just how strong these feelings are,” I paused to take one last deep
breath and continued with a smile, “Will you marry me?” I asked, as I looked
deep into her eyes, slowly producing a small box from my pocket and presenting
a shining diamond ring from within.

Her hand shook as she
slowly extended it, and started to nod.

“Y-yes! James! Oh yes!”
She replied, tears streaking down her cheeks. Taking the ring gently out of the
box, I eased it slowly onto her finger. As soon as it was fully on, I stood
quickly and took her in my arms, lifting her from the ground and kissing her
softly on the lips.

“I love you.” I whispered
through my kisses.

“I love you too.” She
replied, as she returned my kisses with a passion I had only brushed the
surface of.

The sun was disappearing
and the sky was a hue of varied colors, ranging from a deep purple through to a
softening blue. We fell to the sand together, and were soon lost in each
other’s embrace. Time stood still as the world drew in a deep breath.
Everything was still. A perfect moment, which would go on forever.

The End

Want More?

Lost, alone, and on the run, Charity Green is forced to
turn for help to a handsome stranger; a mysterious and taciturn cowboy, who is
hiding secrets of his own.

When they are trapped together in a one-room cabin during a
Wyoming blizzard, will she find herself in even more trouble? Or will she
finally be able to stop running?

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