I walked to the Wrights and wrapped my arms around both of them. “Thank you.” I whispered through my tears.
“Did you really think we were going to let you go without a huge send-off?” Dr. Wright asked.
“I did.”
“Silly girl.” Mr. Wright chided.
I took a step away from them and wiped at my eyes. “I didn't need all of this, but thank you.”
“It wasn't just us, honey. You've made a lot of friends here and they wanted to wish you well,” Dr. Wright said with kindness.
“You ready to party?” This statement coming from the reserved Mr. Wright made me laugh.
“I am, but only if you agree to dance with me later.”
“You're on, kiddo.”
Poppy whisked me over to a table that had a mouthwatering spread: fried calamari, mozzarella sticks, toast rounds smeared with pesto, bruschetta, bowls of olives and blocks of cheese. We plated up a sampling and headed to where Bastian and Caden were chatting with their boss and his wife. Sophia appeared a short time later, moving in that endlessly exuberant way of hers, to pull me over to Shawn and Tyler who were in the midst of a debate on what was better, Coke or Pepsi. Ms. Whitney and I discussed my apprenticeship just before Mr. Wright found me for a dance.
Toward the end of the evening my uncle arrived with both Deena and Carol, and as soon as the girls saw me, they ran over.
“We miss you,” Carol said as she hugged me hard. We spent a half an hour chatting before Poppy came over to offer them cake. I watched them go as my uncle stepped in front of me. Sadness lurked just behind his eyes.
“Be safe, Lark, but have a good time.”
“I will.” I hesitated a moment, because I didn't want to bring up the subject of my aunt. Yet it didn't feel right to ignore it completely. “How are you doing?”
“I'll be fine.”
I hugged him. “I'm sorry about Aunt Kim.”
He held me close, “I'm sorry for her too.”
Bastian came up to me later in the evening, while I chatted with Sophia and Tyler, and wrapped his arms around me. “Dance with me. Excuse us, guys.”
He swept me away to a clearing and pulled me into his arms. He held me close, but I wouldn't call what we were doing dancing, because it was so much better than dancing.
Bastian brushed his lips over mine. “Are you having fun?”
“I am. You knew, didn't you?”
“Of course.” He teased. “Are you ready for Monday?” He asked.
“I am, but only because you're coming with me.”
Sincerity drifted into his expression. “You couldn't keep me away.”
***
Bastian drove as I sat looking out the window thinking about the day after my going away party.
Mr. and Dr. Wright cornered me and handed me both a credit card and checkbook and insisted I use both as often as I needed. The roll of bills they slipped me had my eyes almost rolling into the back of my head. I was going to miss them, but they insisted I keep my room at their house “just in case.”
My farewell with Poppy and Sophia turned into a cry-fest, but I just had to remember I was going away for only a few months and not the rest of my life. Besides, they’d be off to their own colleges soon enough.
I turned my head to see Bastian looking thoughtful and reached over to touch his thigh. “Are you okay?”
He glanced over at me. “Yeah. I was just thinking that in a few weeks, I'm going to miss you like hell.”
“Me too, but there is email, texting and Skype if we can't bear not seeing each other.”
“Thank Christ.”
“Did you hear about Poppy and Caden?” I asked.
“Yeah, he told me the other day. I don't know…I can see them together.”
“Me too.”
His glanced over at me. “But?”
“Well, if it doesn't work out with them, I think we need to consider Caden when we work out our plans for the fall. I don't want him to be alone and considering he thinks of us as his family, I don't want to leave him behind.”
He reached for my hand and brought it to his lips so he could kiss my palm. Unconsciously, I curled my hand around the kiss he planted there and when he saw this, he grinned.
“I remember when you curled your hand into my kiss that first night after Damian's party. Seeing you do that, knowing you were holding my kiss there, sent me flying high that night.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah, I spent the entire weekend thinking about you and when I saw you on Monday, I knew I'd do anything to make you mine.”
“I am.”
“Fuckin' straight.” But his tender gaze stopped my heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Harrington, Maine wasn't what I expected. As we drove through the main part of town, it felt a bit like the fictional town of Amity from Jaws. Everything was just slightly on this side of weathered and worn, but instead of giving the place a desolate feeling, it seemed both welcoming and charming.
We followed the directions to Logan Dupree's house and when a lighthouse loomed before us, I couldn't control my awe.
“He lives in a lighthouse.”
Bastian looked over at me. “That's really freaking cool.”
He climbed out and came around to open my door. I finished texting Poppy and Sophia to let them know we had arrived and climbed from the car. The sound of the water lapping at the shore lulled me into an almost hypnotic state.
“I could really get used to living this way,” I said just as the door opened to reveal the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her long hair was a dark chestnut and full of curl and her eyes were the exact shade of turquoise as Bastian's. Her belly stood out quite a bit from her slender form, and peering from around her legs was a black-haired, green-eyed boy, who was, hands down, the most adorable child I'd ever laid eyes on.
“You must be Larkspur and Sebastian. I'm Saffron and this little fella is Hunter. Please come in.”
She held the door wider as Bastian touched my back so I could precede him. As soon as Saffron closed the door, she turned to me and smiled. “We are so glad you're here, Larkspur.”
“Please call me Lark.”
At that moment, a giant of a man entered the room. He stood an inch or two taller than Sebastian, and his face was covered completely under black whiskers, but it was the eyes, as green as my own, which held my interest, because in them I saw a flood of emotions that I couldn't even begin to name. His voice was deep but soft when he greeted us.
“Lark, welcome.” He moved toward me and held out his hand. “It's nice to officially meet you.”
And when his large hand closed over mine, I felt something move through me. Chalking up my reaction to being tired, I said, “It's very nice to meet you. This is my fiancé , Bastian.”
Logan turned to Bastian. “Welcome to Harrington.”
“It's nice to meet you, sir.”
“Please call me Logan.”
“We'd love for you to stay, maybe have something to eat, but you must be tired, so if you would rather we can take you to the house,” Saffron said.
“We could stay for a bit,” I said.
“Great. Come, there are others who would like to meet you.” We were whisked through the house and out the back. A mouthwatering spread of food stretched across a table and a fire pit burned. Sitting around the fire pit were two guys who looked so much like Logan, I knew they had to be his brothers.
As soon as we stepped outside, a dog—more like a pony—came barreling toward me.
“His name is Reaper. He looks scary, but he's really very sweet,” Saffron said, and as if to prove to the new people his mistress was right, Reaper rolled onto his back with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. The sight was so ridiculous, I bent down to rub his belly.