Page 92 of Caught in the Axe
We’d gotten another offer. It was better, but still low. I’d had to run back to Boston once to go over some of the preliminarydocuments and was running on a few hours of sleep a night just to keep all the balls in the air.
But when I woke up to my dream girl curled up next to me with a serene smile on her face, all of my complaints and hesitation vanished. The secrecy was frustrating, but I knew better than to push her too hard.
We’d fallen into a pattern. She’d go to the diner while I crossed off as many tasks as I could as the CFO of DiLuca construction and delegated the rest. Then she’d meet me at the office, and we’d get through as much as we could before we dragged ourselves back to my cabin.
There were still enough people working in the office to keep us from pushing past flirty glances and occasional kisses in my office. It was juvenile, but fun. Sitting side by side, reviewing spreadsheets was magical. Listening to music through a Bluetooth speaker while eating gluten-free cereal was better than any fancy date I’d ever been on.
Some days, we took off, hitting more spots on her weird Maine bucket list.
The world’s largest chocolate moose in Scarborough.
The desert of Maine in Freeport.
The world’s largest rotating globe in Yarmouth.
We drove around the state, talking about our favorite movies and books and the places we wanted to visit someday.
We had so much work to do, but if we slept less, we could accomplish it all. Right? Because I couldn’t fight the desire to spend time with Lila. To savor every laugh and smile and contented sigh while I could.
“Why aren’t you married?”
We were midway through our hike to Moxie Falls, one ofMaine’s tallest waterfalls named after Maine’s signature drink, when she dropped that bomb.
My lungs seized as the words registered. “Sorry?”
“You’re handsome, successful, and great in bed. How has some smart woman not locked you down yet?”
I scanned the trail, searching for the next trail marker, stalling. This was not the conversation I expected to have today. It wasn’t a conversation I ever expected to have with her.
“Answer my question.” She didn’t stop, but she zeroed in on me. “I know you’re stalling.”
I turned and stuck my tongue out at her. For someone who claimed to be a people pleaser, Lila really enjoyed calling me out on my shit.
And I loved it. I loved that she was comfortable enough with me to put away the pageant smile and be herself.
“I don’t know. The easy answer is that I work a lot. But you’re not going to let me get away with leaving it at that, are you?”
“Nope.”
“It’s so cliché to say, but I’ve never met the right person. I don’t care all that much about marriage, but I have always wanted to find my person. A partner, someone to share all the good, bad, and weird parts of life with.”
I kept my focus fixed on the path in front of us. The last thing I needed was to look at her gorgeous face. Because what I wasn’t saying was that she was the person I’d been looking for. She was the person I wanted to share it all with.
But that wasn’t our deal. And I refused to push her into something she didn’t want.
So I gritted my teeth and kept my pace steady, determined to enjoy every moment I could.
“In thirty-eight years, you never found her?”
“I’ve dated, and I’ve been in a couple of relationships, but nothing all that serious. Maybe I wasn’t ready, maybe it was timing, or maybe I’m too selfish and work-obsessed, who knows?”
“You keep claiming to be a workaholic, but you’re out here with me, in the glorious Maine wilderness, on a Wednesday afternoon.”
I stopped in the middle of the trail and finally turned to her. The beauty of the vast valley below was nothing in comparison to her, but the sunlight made her skin glow. She was impossibly gorgeous, and I was impossibly in love with her.
“You’re the reason I’m out here, Lila. You make me want to skip work and have fun. Or take a road trip to see a giant chocolate moose.”
Her face lit up. “His name is Lenny.”
