Until Next Time (33 page)

The headset crackled. “Hello, Piper.”

She closed her eyes at the wonderful sound.

“Wave if you can hear me.”

After a brief pause, she did.

“Good. You don’t have a microphone, so I can’t hear you, but please listen. And watch.” The plane dipped and swirled, doing a complicated set of twirls and maneuvers Piper couldn’t even keep up with.

“Don’t be scared, Piper.” Quinn’s voice was calm, gentle.

Her heart wasn’t pounding because she was afraid. She knew, more than she knew anything that Quinn was safe in his plane. That he knew what he was doing and that he was being careful, even though it looked crazy.

Piper had had the chance to learn to live after going through her father’s box. She’d remembered a lot of things he’d told her growing up, but after digging through her memories, she discovered she’d blocked out some of the most important things. Her father’s motto, as she’d remembered it when her mother passed had been
if you love, you could lose everything.
But it wasn’t until she’d faced her memories that her father had said so much more. She’d forgotten that he father had also said
but it’s worth it.
Which is why she had gone to Quinn in hopes of fixing what she’d done. But Quinn could see right through her through her feelings and realized what she’d truly needed: marriage. And he hadn’t been able to give her that. Which made her even more confused about why she was standing in the middle of an airfield on a hot summer afternoon.

After coming to terms with the things in her father’s box, Piper knew that everything happened for a reason, and people leave this earth, not to make others suffer, but to make people stronger. Piper now believed that with every fiber of her being. Quinn had been in her life for a reason. When he’d left, it had been out of her control. No one was out to get her; no one was out to cause her pain. It was life. She had enjoyed what she could, like she should have. Like her father had always wanted her to do.

“I wanted to tell you three things,” Quinn said over the headset. Sweet chocolate, she loved his voice.

Blue smoke began to pour from the back of the plane as he spoke.

“One: I love you.” The plane darted up as Piper’s breath hitched. “I think that much was already clear.”

The plane dipped and pitched, drawing out some sort of pattern.

“Two: I was stupid. After everything you did for me, showed me, and changed for me, I was stupid and let you go. Your struggle was as hard as mine. I should have seen that sooner.”

Piper squinted, noticing the words that were beginning to form in the smoke.

“And three, Piper: I can’t live without you.”

She was going to hyperventilate. As Quinn’s maneuvered his plane, a phrase in the sky slowly appeared before her, and Piper was certain she was going to fall over.

Written right there, in all beautiful blue, were the words

“Wave your hands if you can read it,” Quinn called out.

Piper tried, finding her limbs to be as heavy as concrete. With great effort, she finally managed a single small wave.

“Good.” Quinn’s voice made it evident he was smiling. “I’ll be right down.”

The next five minutes felt like an eternity. Piper watched Quinn’s plane dive toward the ground, sliding onto the runway, tires squealing as he hit the brakes. She was only about a hundred yards from where Quinn’s plane came to a stop. Her heart thundered as Quinn killed the engine and popped opened the door to his plane.

Her thoughts shattered into a million pieces as he stepped out, dressed not in his normal flight suit, but a three piece tux. The black fabric hugged his lean shape, not a bit wrinkled from the small confines of the cockpit. As he slid off his helmet, his eyes met hers and held. A slow, deliberate smile pulled at his lips and his eyes glimmered under the now setting sun.

Sweet chocolate, she had missed that grin. That glint of passion in his eyes. Even though they were still fairly far apart, she felt a pull deep in chest, propelling her feet forward toward him. Before she knew it, Piper was at a dead run, arms out, running to the man who had somehow changed his mind. She didn’t care how or why, all that matter in that moment was that he had arranged for her to be here so that he could ask her to marry him. She still couldn’t believe it.

It was like she was floating across the tarmac, the only sound the whoosh of her pulse in her ears. Nerves of excitement rushed through her body, making her faster, more determined as Quinn stepped down from his plane and jogged in her direction.

A second later they collided and the sparks Piper had so desperately missed erupted between them as her lips found his. Instantly searching, needing, wanting things that words couldn’t even explain. His arms wound around her, tugging her so close she felt as though she could slip inside him.

Lips tangled, breaths exchanged, the entire world titled beneath her feet. It was him. It was this. Her entire life
this
is what she had been missing. And she wasn’t going to let it go again. Quinn had given her things that she’d never expected, and she was ready to face life with him. Forever.

“Piper.” The words were whispered against her lips. She melted against him, praying that this moment wasn’t a figure of her imagination. “God, Piper.”

He drew back slowly, stroking her hair, her cheek and grinning brightly.

“Quinn, I—”

His fingers landed on her lips. “Don’t. Not yet. I need to tell you something.”

Head spinning, Piper kissed him gently, carefully, like he’d always done her. “I’m waiting.”

Quinn pressed his forehead against hers. “This has been the longest two weeks of my life, Piper.”

“Mine, too.”

“I was wrong,” he whispered, his head tilting, his lips brushing across her ear. “While Maddie was an important part of my life, you are, too. Maddie would want me to be happy, no matter the promise I made to her. Staying away from you was killing me. After a heart-to-heart, I realized I’d helped you overcome so much, only to leave you when you needed me most. Even when you wanted to help me, I couldn’t help myself. But now, I see…”

He eased back, the full force of his confession slamming into Piper.

“How much I needed you,” he continued. “How much you filled the void I’d been hiding from myself. We changed each other, Piper. We
are
what each other needs. And I want to marry you more than I want to take my next breath.”

“Quinn—”

Taking her hand into his, his knelt down on one knee, digging into his pocket and pulling out a shiny little box. Holding it up, Quinn only grinned. The tears came before Piper could stop them. Quinn was right; they had changed each other. He had made her see all the things she was missing, all the things she’d wanted but had been too afraid to see. And she had made him see that he could love and commit more than once in this short lifetime. The passion and love they shared could take them through their next lifetimes. They ached for each other, and needed something as small as a touch to quiet their nerves. Precisely as it should be. They were in love. And love, Piper knew, would last forever.

“Piper Downing,” Quinn said, holding the box out. It was then Piper noticed the shape of the box. It was a tiny little casket, decked out completely with details and chromes moldings. A little miniature. She chuckled as splashes of salty tears felt between them.

“Will you be my wife?” He popped open the lid, showing Piper an
Until Next Time
medallion and a beautiful gold ring encrusted with rows of diamonds. One big sparkling diamond dazzled beneath the sun.

“Will you love and cherish me, as I will you, in sickness and health, in stupid moments and decisions, always pointing each other in the right direction, with wild nights twisting in the sheets until death do us part?”

A full out laugh bubbled up her throat. All she could do was nod quickly, her vision blurry, her knees shaky. “Always, Quinn. Yes.”

In a blink he slid the ring on her trembling finger, kissing her wrist as he stood.

“I was stupid, Piper. I didn’t realize what I was missing until you were gone. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“You owe me nothing, Quinn,” she whispered. “You’ve given me everything I didn’t even know I needed.”

“We gave everything to each other, Piper.”

“Yes.”

“And now it’s not
Until Next Time.
” His face inched closer, his hand clasping on the back on her neck.

“It’s forever,” she finished. And with that, she kissed him, knowing that this was only the beginning of what would be a beautiful life. One where she and Quinn, both in perfect harmony, would simply
live.

Acknowledgments

When
I
was
little
girl,
I
remember
my
dad
being
one
of
the
best
storytellers
I
knew.
He
could
take
a
story
—
any
story
—
and
make
it
come
to
life.
That
is
still
true
to
this
day.
I
like
to
think
it
was
his
creative
imagination
that
helped
me
develop
my
own.
Every
person
in
my
family,
whether
they
know
it
or
not,
had
a
pivotal
role
in
me
becoming
me.
The
writer.
And
every
day
I
thank
each
one
of
them
silently,
hoping I can continue to make them
proud.

Special
thanks
go
to
all
of
those
who
participated
Fall
2011
in
the
Suicide
Prevention
Fundraiser
that
Sarah
Fine
and
I
hosted.
Death
is
inevitable,
but
suicide
is
preventable.
Sharon
Mayhew
was
a
special
winner
who
got
to
name
a
character
in
this
book.
Thank
you,
Sharon,
for
your
wonderful
suggestion.
I
do
hope
Lenny
likes
seeing
his
name in print (although
he’s
a bit
young
for this book right
now!).

And
finally
to
the
reader:
Thank
you
for
taking
the
leap
and
opening
the
pages
to
one
of
my
stories.
Each
plot
and
character
is
developed
with
great
love,
and
it’s
my
hope
that
you
enjoy
every
chapter,
every paragraph, and every
word.

Until
Next
Time…