Page 46 of Jilted
She playfully elbowed him. “I’m not grumpy, I’m tired. Someone kept me up all night.”
“Are you complaining?”
“Never.” She smiled and turned her face toward him for a kiss, which he willingly gave to her. Like she would ever complain about being with him. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.” But he kissed her again before she had a chance to speak. “You can always ask me anything. You know that.”
“We leave in few hours, Brett. What happens when we get home?” Amy adjusted her body so that her back was to his chest again. She didn’t want him to see the fear in her eyes. “With us,” she added as an afterthought, “what happens with us?”
“Well...” He took both of her hands into his and laced their fingers together. “For starters, dinner at my parents’ house.”
She laughed. “Other than that?”
“I want you to move in with me, Amy.” He said it so calmly, like it was no big deal, but his words echoed in her ears.
Move in with him? She had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to stop from squealing with delight. “Wouldn’t it be better if you moved in with me?”
Amy owned a house, whereas Brett rented a very large apartment. She had nothing against apartment living, and honestly, she’d live in a box with Brett if he asked her to, but it seemed like a step backward to sell her house and move into his apartment.
“Then I’ll move in with you.”
“Really?” That seemed a little too easy.
“Yes, really.” He chuckled. “I don’t care where we call home as long as I get to make love to you every night and wake up with you by my side every day.”
“Aww,” she cooed, turning her head to kiss him again. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Give me time. I’m sure I can come up with something better.” He winked.
Amy once again turned her gaze back to the rising sun. Other than saying, “I love you,” she really didn’t think he would be able to top that. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his chest and enjoyed being in his arms, which, in her opinion, was exactly where she’d always belonged.
After several moments of silence, she asked, “Why were you going to marry Vanessa when you’d only known her for six months?”
Behind her, Brett sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I was caught up in the excitement of the show and how we’d met. She was so full of life, and she wanted the same things I did. At least, she said she did. It was apparent after my bachelor party that her future plans left no room for my friendship with you.”
“She knew that you were with me the night of your bachelor party?”
“Yeah, I don’t know how she found out, but she did. And she threw a vase at my head.”
Amy laughed, then cupped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, that’s really not funny.”
Brett squeezed her tighter against him. “It kind of is.”
“So, if you knew she wanted different things, why didn’t you call off the engagement?”
“I probably should have, but I truly believed I could change her mind about you.”
It hurt to sit there and hear Brett talk about Vanessa like that. And it really hurt to know that he was willing to marry a woman who wanted to completely cut Amy out of his life. Sure, Brett was with her now, but if Vanessa hadn’t left him at the altar...the thought brought tears to her eyes. She drew a shaky breath and swallowed the dryness from her throat.
“It would’ve been a mistake to marry her. I know that now,” he said.
Yeah, he realized that now, but what would he have done had he actually married her? Amy tried to push the thoughts from her mind. She didn’t want to ruin the morning or their last few hours on this beautiful island by having all these depressing thoughts.
“Amy?”
“Yeah?”
Brett put his hand on the side of her face and turned her to look at him. “Vanessa is a non-issue. I’ve always said that everything happens for a reason, and I have to believe that Vanessa leaving me at the altar was so that I could find you.”
