Page 14 of The Marriage Pact
“No,” she said as he looked at her with a smile.
“All right… Perhaps we’d better not.”
“I wouldn’t trust myself not to fall in after all that champagne,” Kaitlyn said.
“We’d be remembered for all the wrong reasons,” Alex replied.
Instead, they sat down on the jetty, swinging their legs over the water, their reflections shimmering in the light of the setting sun. As Kaitlyn looked down at the water, it was as thoughnothing had changed. The reflection was of two people who, even after all these years, could pick up from precisely where they’d left off. Kaitlyn had spent so long worrying about meeting him again, and yet, all those worries had melted away. It was just the two of them. Nothing else seemed to matter, and the troubles of the past year now gained a different perspective. Kaitlyn knew her mom wouldn’t have wanted her to mope around and be miserable, and she certainly wouldn’t have wanted her to push aside her art and creativity for a continuing sorrow.
“You’ve got to live your life, Kaitlyn.” That’s what she’d have said. And meeting Alex again was a reminder of that continuing life.
“It’s lovely out here, isn’t it? I could sit here all night,” Kaitlyn said.
“You wouldn’t get bored of me?” Alex asked.
Kaitlyn shook her head and smiled.
“I don’t think so. I never did before, did I? Or are you boring now? We’ve got a lot to catch up on. There’s so much I don’t know about you. And so much you don’t know about me.”
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
Kaitlyn thought for a moment. Would it be impertinent to ask about his business? His relationships? His life in New York? She was curious. He was a familiar stranger. Meeting again after all this time brought with it both memories and the possibility of something new.
“Well… what’s life like for you now? What do you do all day?”
Kaitlyn knew he was a billionaire, several times over. But as for what a man who controlled a global business empire actually did with his time, she was oblivious.
Alex looked sheepish. “I suppose… I go to a lot of meetings, and I make decisions about investments and how the company is run. I go to the gym in the mornings, and I usually have client dinners in the evening, or something that keeps me out until late. I don’t usually have much time for anything else.”
“Then is it strange to have free time now?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Actually, I’m starting to enjoy it. I didn’t think I would at first. When I came back the other day, it felt claustrophobic. The small town that never changes. But people change, don’t they? We’re not the same as we were.”
“We’re still single,” Kaitlyn said, shrugging her shoulders as she finished the last of her champagne.
He smiled and shook his head. “Did we ever really break up?” he asked.
“Did we ever really get going?” Kaitlyn retorted.
He looked embarrassed, almost regretful. “We sort of did. I mean… It’s the closest I’ve ever been to something more. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time.”
Kaitlyn shrugged. It could’ve been the right time. She’d tried, but it hadn’t worked. She hadn’t been bitter about it. It was just how it was. “But there wasn’t ever anyone else?” she asked.
Alex shook his head. “No one that mattered. And now I’m thirty, and you’re thirty, and that promise still stands.”
Kaitlyn wasn’t quite sure what he was saying. Did he mean the promise they’d made to get married? She smiled and shook her head. It was crazy. They couldn’t just get married on a whim, and yet it wasn’t a whim. It meant something. It had always meant something. Her heart skipped a beat as he smiled at her, reaching out to take her hand in his. This was surely the champagne talking.
“Oh, but… it was just… I don’t know. What we said at the time. We were clinging to a possibility. It was a false hope,” she said, though she was rapidly running out of reasons to refuse him.
“But here we are. Why don’t we just do it? What do we have to lose?” he asked.
Kaitlyn stared at him in disbelief. His question was a pertinent one. She couldn’t think of a reason why they shouldn’t marry, and yet, it seemed utterly mad. Rachel would say she was crazy. But Rachel’s opinion didn’t matter. No one’s opinion mattered. Alex was right. What did they have to lose?
“You mean… get married? Just like that,” she said, and Alex nodded.
“It’s surely the longest proposal in history. How many years has it been?”
“Twelve. We were eighteen. I know we promised, but… do you really think it could work?” Kaitlyn asked.
