“I love you,” he says again, and this time he puts an arm around me and draws me to him. “I love you,” he whispers in my ear, before kissing my cheek.
I turn my face and touch my lips to his, breathing in the scent of his skin and sighing at the feel of his firm lips on mine. “I hate you for leaving me adrift these past two weeks,” I tell him.
“But?” his voice is teasing, but his eyes are hopeful, digging into mine.
“But I love you, Landon.”
He breathes, and then we’re just sitting in each other’s arms, kissing, and watching the stars in the night sky, and it feels wonderful, beautiful to just sit there, so close, and so happy.
“I’m glad you came,” I whisper.
His arm tightens around me. “I couldn’t have stayed away.” He draws back to look in my face. “I’ve seen you, every day I’ve been in town, and if you knew how hard it was for me not to reach out to you, then you’d know I’m never going a day without you by my side.”
“You’ve been stalking me.”
His smile is unrepentant. “It’s not such a large city,” he says cryptically. “And I wouldn’t call it stalking… just taking longer detours to work so I can see you at least once, every day.”
“Stalking,” I insist, smiling as I remember all those times when I’d thought I saw a familiar car, or felt that quiver that made me believe he was near. He probably was. He’d never actually left me.
I close my eyes and lean into his body. There’s still a lot we have to work on. We still have to learn to trust each other, to build a real relationship out of the way we feel, but I know we can make it work.
We sit there for a long time, his kisses sweet on my face and my hair, and his hand stroking my back. This is happiness, I think silently, exultantly. It’s loving, and knowing that you’re loved in return. With Landon, I feel as if I’ve finally found exactly where I belong.
Later, I steal a glance in the direction of the party. The music is still playing, and I can still hear voices and laughter. “You can’t come all this way to a party and not get to dance,” I tell Landon.
He follows my gaze, then laughs, and the happiness I hear in his voice mirrors mine. “Well, come on then,” he says, getting up. He takes my hand and pulls me to my feet, and we walk arm in arm to join the rest of the party.
THERE’S something magical about holding on to Landon and swaying slowly to the music even as the party ebbs around us. I can hear people leaving. The loud goodbyes and congratulations, but I don’t care. I just want to remain in Landon’s arms forever.
“Whose engagement party is this?” Laurie asks playfully, coming to join us in the middle of the lawn. “We’re leaving,” she tells me, when she gets my attention, “though I doubt that you’d notice.”
My head is still on Landon’s chest. “Say bye to Brett for me, and congratulations.”
She holds out her arms and I step out of Landon’s arms to give her a hug. She’s spending the night at Brett’s, something that’s going to become permanent when she completes her move to his apartment.
“Take care of my cuz,” she tells Landon. There’s a warning note in her voice, but her eyes are shining.
I look up at Landon just as he smiles, and as usual, it’s devastating. My heart flutters, and for a moment, I can’t believe how happy, how lucky I am. “You know I will,” he tells Laurie.
“Alright then,” she says. We hug again, then she does a small wave and returns to the house.
I move back into Landon's arms. “You should be leaving too.”
“Should I?” His hands circle my waist and pull me close. “I’m thinking of ways to convince you to come with me.”
I giggle. “My parents expect me to spend the night with them, but I’ll be back in the city tomorrow.”
He leans forward to place a kiss on my forehead. “You’d better,” he whispers.
There’s a whole wealth of promise in his voice, and a small quiver of anticipation floods through me. I close my eyes, filling my senses with his nearness. We stay swaying on the lawn until the song ends, and the DJ gives us an apologetic smile as he switches off and starts to pack up his equipment. Inside the house, Laurie and Brett are already gone, and Dylan is passed out in the den. Landon says goodbye to Laurie’s parents and mine after thanking them for a wonderful party.
“We were glad to have you,” Auntie Jacie tells him. From her smile, it looks like she’s already planning another engagement party in her head, and the thought of planning a future with Landon no longer makes me feel hopeless, because now I know he loves me.
“We’ll be leaving in a few minutes,” my mom reminds me as I follow Landon to the front door, almost as if she’s afraid that I’ll choose that moment to elope with him.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell her.
“Outside, Landon’s car is parked across the street from the house, under the trees that line the lawns. A few petals have fallen off the trees onto the hood of his car, and the breeze shifts them across the gleaming metal.