Page 67 of Sweet Passions at Bayside
Cosmos bolted in the doggy door and tried to climb her legs. She scooped him into her arms without realizing his tiny body was covered in sand, promptly holding him at arm’s length. “What did you get into?”
“We were down at the beach,” Violet said as she came through the door.
Emery set Cosmos on the floor. “Hey, Vi.”
“Today is lemon tree delivery day?”
“Lemon tree seedlings is more like it. I hope they don’t die. I’m taking them over in a few minutes.” She picked up the box she’d brought to carry them and set each of the planters inside, while Violet dug around in the refrigerator. “I’ve been wanting to ask you. Whowasthat naked man?”
“Just a friend.” She bit into a peach and closed the refrigerator door. “We didn’t sleep together, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Right,” Emery said sarcastically.
“You guys are all hung up on what it means to be naked with someone. But it’s not like that for me. I’ve been naked with lots of guys I haven’t slept with.” She took another bite, and as she headed out of the kitchen she added, “And lots of guys I have.”
Emery had thought she was enlightened, butwow. Violet took enlightenment to a whole new level.
Her phone vibrated with another message from Dean. She opened it and stared at the shirtless selfie he’d sent, and thoughts of Violet flitted away like the wind.
Ten minutes later she was carrying the box of seedlings down the path toward the new patio where Dean was working. The bay breeze carried the scents of flowers and carefree summer nights. It had been a long time since Emery had been carefree, but every morning when she meditated and every evening when she was in Dean’s arms, she felt something close. Over the course of just a few weeks, Dean had helped her stop worrying that being herself might somehow scare him away. He’d helped her feel safe and whole.Centeredin a way she never had been. Caring about Dean and his feelings had made her slow down enough to think before she acted…most of the time, anyway.
Her pulse quickened as she approached the end of the path and saw Dean standing shirtless with his back to her. One hand rested on his waist, and the other lifted as he took a drink from a water bottle. As she watched him, his words came back to her.We’ve been in a relationship for months.He was right. Those changes hadn’t occurred because of the past few weeks. They were the culmination of months of friendship. And she wasn’t justfallingfor him; she wasfalling in lovewith him.
He turned, his eyes catching hers. His lips curved up in that bearded smile she adored. As he closed the distance between them, all power and determined fluidity, her heart stumbled. That beautiful, thoughtful man was all hers.
“There’s my favorite girl.” He leaned in, bringing his rugged scent with him, and kissed her so deeply her knees weakened.
Forget falling. I’ve already fallen.
“You didn’t have to come all the way out here,” he said as he peeked into the box with a curious expression. “But you are the best thing I’ve seen all day.”
“I couldn’t wait to see you.”I love youwas on the tip of her tongue, but she held it back, a little unsteady on her feet because of the enormity of her realization.
He peered into the box again. “What’s this?”
“Lemon tree seedlings. For you.” She held out the box and he took it with one hand. “You can’t grow them outdoors here on the Cape, but you probably know that already,” she said nervously, closing her mouth before she rambled any more.
He slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her again. “I know a few things about trees. Is this your way of telling me that you’re here to stay? That you never want me to run out of lemons for your ice water? Because, doll, I’ll grow so many lemon trees we’ll have to get a bigger house.”
Yes, please.
Her emotions soared, making her too nervous to answer. She glanced over his shoulder, where the setting sun cast a golden hue over the patio, and she blinked several times, sure she was imagining things.
Dean followed her gaze. “I was hoping to reveal this to you with some grand gesture.”
“Did you…?” She walked on shaky legs toward the patio. Awestruck at the trouble he must have gone to, she took in the meticulous and breathtaking design of the koshas. What must be a hundred or more artfully placed flagstones created the most beautiful vision of the five layers of being she’d ever seen. It had to be ten feet in diameter, at the far end of the patio, where she’d thought the firepit should go. She’d been wrong. This was perfect.
“Dean, this is absolutely gorgeous.”
He set the box down, took her hand, and walked closer to the patio. “It’s your design.”
“My…No.” She shook her head. “I didn’t make up the koshas.”
“I know you didn’t, but last week when we went tubing, you described them, and I knew I’d seen the image before, but I couldn’t put my finger on where.” He withdrew his wallet from his back pocket and took out what looked like a folded envelope. “I went through the things you’d sent to me while you were in Virginia, and there it was.”
He unfolded it and handed it to her. On the back of the envelope she’d sent him for Valentine’s Day was a doodle of the koshas. Even then he must have been touching the deepest parts of her. She had truly been in denial. How could she have missed all the signs?
“And you kept the envelope for all this time?” Her heart swelled. She’d kept everything he’d ever sent, too. The cards he’d sent were tucked into the front of her unpacked suitcase, along with the box the bracelet had come in.
