Her First Vacation (32 page)

“Shouldn’t I wait until Christmas?”

“No.”

She focused on him once more. “I don’t have anything for
you.”

He smiled this time, though it was tinged with seriousness.
“You’ve already given me everything I could ever have wanted. I’ve got your
love. I don’t need anything else.”

She dropped her gaze to the package once more and finally
slid her finger beneath the tape and began to pull it free. She laid the paper
on the kitchen table, then sat the box down beside it and lifted the lid. For a
moment she didn’t understand what she was seeing. It was a framed photograph of
a sailboat. Her gaze slid over the sleek lines of the craft, finally coming to
rest on the name she could see painted in neat script across the stern. She
stared for a moment,
then
lifted her gaze to Colin.

“Claire de Lune. I named her for you. Remember, I told you
I’d always wanted to buy a boat and sail around the world?”

She nodded, unable to find the breath to speak.

“Well, somewhere along the way, you invaded that dream.
While we were still on the ship, I’d catch myself imagining it. When I quit, I
knew I’d buy the boat. I’d been planning it for years. Actually, I’d been
saving every cent I could scrape together and putting it into an investment
fund.” He actually blushed. “Turns out I’ve got a knack for picking the right
stocks to invest in. Anyway, when the time came to put a name on her, I
couldn’t keep myself from naming her after you.
The color of
your eyes.
The way your skin glows in the moonlight.”

He reached out and caught her hand. “I know you love
teaching. I’d never ask you to stop. But do you think you might be willing to
give me your summers? We can live here through the school season and spend the
summers sailing anywhere you want to go.” He paused for a moment, lifting a
hand to brush a stray strand of hair from her face. “There’s room for kids on
board. I made sure of that. Though I think we ought to think about finding a
bigger house. This place is never going to hold more than the two of us.”

Claire finally found her voice. “What exactly are you
asking me?”

He dropped his hand from her face, and unexpectedly dropped
to a knee before her. Claire felt her heart do a quick stutter inside her chest
as he seemed to magically produce a ring box out of nowhere. He looked up at
her, and she could finally understand the anxiety she saw in his eyes.

“Marry me, Claire. I know I’m not prince charming, but I
love you more than anything else in the world. You make me whole. Please tell
me you’ll let me spend the rest of my life at your side and in your heart.”

She felt tears sliding down her face. She couldn’t seem to
manage to make her voice work. All she could do was nod. He opened the box and
pulled out the ring. The setting was incredibly elegant. The center stone was a
sapphire, ringed by diamonds. He lifted her hand and slid the ring onto her
finger. She couldn’t believe how well it fit. He pushed to his feet, still
holding her hand, still staring into her eyes.

“I’m glad it fit. I was afraid I’d be wrong about the size.
After five months, I figured I might be embellishing the delicacy I thought I
remembered.”

Claire dropped her gaze to her hand, to the ring circling
her finger. It made her hand look delicate. It made her feel beautiful and
loved. He made her feel all kinds of things she’d never felt before meeting
him. She lifted her gaze to him as her lips spread into a smile.

“We should get married soon.
As soon as
the snow melts enough for us to get to a judge.”

He blinked. “Don’t you want a real wedding? You know, the
dress and flowers and cake and all that?”

She shook her head. “I want you. I want your name. I don’t
care if we have a big service as long as it ends with us being man and wife.”

Colin kissed her then, knowing that he was the luckiest man
in the world.

They were married almost two weeks later. Her mother and
sister began by insisting that she could not, under any circumstances, marry
the man who’d so clearly demonstrated his dislike for them. After a couple of
days of fuming, they got over their tantrum and grudgingly accepted that Claire
wasn’t going to be swayed. Then they absolutely refused to allow her to have a
civil service. By the time her mother and sister were finished, they’d
organized an all-out wedding, complete with wedding gown, flowers, and a guest
list that included half the people in town. Claire fought
them
most of the way, but finally gave in when Colin confessed that he was starting
to fantasize about her wearing white lace.

The service was beautiful. The kiss Colin gave her after
the minister told them they were man and wife was enough to make half the women
in the church swoon. The reception was as elegant as the service. While Colin
danced with her mother – at the insistence of the band leader who had no idea
how little the two liked each other – Derrick appeared at Claire’s side and
offered her his hand. Out on the dance floor, he gave her a warm smile.

“You look incredible.”

“Thank you.”

He glanced toward Colin, who’d already noticed them and was
frowning in their direction. “I guess he figured out what he had after all.”

Claire nodded. “Yes.”

“Good. You deserve to be happy.” He paused, then stopped
moving and gave her a wry grin. “And now I think I better abandon you to your
husband before he decides to restructure my nose for me.”

Claire turned to see Colin bearing down on them, his eyes
full of obvious displeasure. Claire felt Derrick release her hand and move
away, but couldn’t bring herself to tell him goodbye. Colin’s gaze followed
Derrick for a moment, before coming to rest on her as he stopped right in front
of her.

“What did he want?”

She felt a flush of amusement as she realized he was
jealous. “To tell me how beautiful I was.” She waited for just a heartbeat, as
his expression darkened. “And to tell me how happy he was that the man I loved
had finally come to his senses enough to realize he’d be a fool to let me go.”

That wiped most of the darkness from his eyes. “What?”

“Derrick knew I was in love with someone else. On the day
you came looking for me, I told him I couldn’t see him anymore, and he guessed
why. He did say he thought you were an idiot for not appreciating me. I had to
agree at the time. Of course, now that I see just how valuable you think I am,
I can’t help but be flattered. No one has ever been jealous over me before.”

He gave her a guilty grin. “Was it that obvious?”

“Obvious enough that you sent him running
for the door.”

He shook his head. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it, though.” He
paused,
then
shrugged. “I came looking for you at the
school that day, before I showed up at your mother’s house that night. I was
sitting in the parking lot when the kids let out. I saw you and the guy
talking. It was obvious you two were friends. It was even more obvious that he
was interested in more than friendship. I guess I freaked out when I saw him
with you. I couldn’t help remembering the way I felt when I saw him kiss you. I
told myself he would be better for you than me. He shares your interests. He’d
never been tainted the way I had. I thought that I ought to just leave then and
there. I couldn’t, though.”

Claire gave him a gentle smile as she twined her fingers
through his. “I’m glad you didn’t.
Because as much as I like
Derrick, there’s one very important thing that would keep me from ever being
happy with him.”
She raised her face to kiss him lightly on the mouth.
“I’m in love with you.”

Colin wrapped his arm around her and bent to kiss her with
more passion than was strictly decorous considering they were standing in the
middle of the dance floor. He pulled away from her and met her gaze.

“Do you think it would cause a scandal if we ducked out of
here?”

She smiled.
“Probably.”
She
tightened her grip on his hand. “Let’s go.”

From
the Author…

Thank you for reading my book. I hope you found it
enjoyable. Please consider taking a few minutes to leave a review so that other
readers, as well as I, will know how the story impacted you.

Sincerely,

Jennie Leigh