Page 60 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

It had taken almost an hour to wade through the well-wishers and the curiosity seekers, but Robyn, true to her word, had patiently waited. I’d spent another twenty minutes saying goodbye to my friends, promising to stay in touch. Finally, Robyn and I were able to slip out of the lodge.

I held Robyn’s hand as we walked across the parking lot. Neither of us spoke until we reached my truck.

“Uh, should we talk here, or would you rather go back to the villa?” I asked.

Robyn walked around the back and opened the tailgate. “How about here?”

I eyed her dress.

She laughed. “Do you have something I can sit on?”

“Uh, yeah.” I retrieved a sweatshirt from inside the truck and smoothed it out on the tailgate.

Robyn turned and placed her palms on the tailgate. With the truck sitting so high, it hit her in the middle of her back.

“Here, let me help.” I placed my hands on Robyn’s hips. “On the count of three. One, two, three.” Robyn jumped as I lifted her. I stood in front of her, staring.

Robyn patted the spot next to her. “Aren’t you going to join me?”

I shook my head. “I want to see your face—your eyes.”

“Oh, I thought you’d come up here.” Robyn scooted toward the end of the tailgate.

“No. Stay. Please.” I moved closer and put my hands on Robyn’s knees.

“Are you sure?” Robyn’s dress rode up her thighs, so she pulled it down. “I shouldn’t be sitting like this in my dress.”

I pointed up at the light. Two of the three bulbs were burned out. “It’s dark out here. I doubt anyone will see anything.” I motioned toward the lodge. “Besides, we’re far enough away.”

“Ah, yeah. Okay.” Robyn ran her hands along her dress, smoothing it again.

We were both stalling, but I didn’t know how to begin. “I know I already told you, but you look amazing tonight. Beautiful.”

Robyn smiled. “Thank you.” She grabbed my lapel. “You’re looking rather dashing yourself.”

“Thanks.”

“Are we going to sit here all night making small talk?” Robyn asked.

“I’m good with that.”

She tilted her head and scowled. “Wrong answer.”

“Fine.” I grinned. “Where do you want me to start?”

“I don’t know, Blake.” I tensed at the wariness in her tone. “You hurt me.”

Ouch. Her words tore at my heart. “I’m so sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

“What was?” The playful light in her eyes dimmed. “I thought I meant something to you.”

“Oh, god, you do. You so much do.”

“Then why did you let me find out with everyone else?” Her voice was low, somehow making her pain more pronounced. “You consulted Dana before me.”

“Dana was in a professional capacity. As my lawyer. I had to do it this way.”

“Then help me understand. Because right now, I can’t figure it out. The story running through my head is, I don’t know what this is between us. I thought I knew, but now I don’t.”

“No. What you think is between us is still there.”

“You asked me to move to New York with you, but then you buy Blissful Breeze and don’t bother talking to me about it. Do you understand how hurtful that is?”

“Yes, I do. And it’s killing me it had to be this way.”

“Damn it, Blake. Explain it to me so I can understand.”

Her angry response caused me to stand up straighter. “Okay. Okay.” I pointed at the tailgate. “Can I change my mind?”

She patted the spot next to her but didn’t speak.

I jumped onto the tailgate beside her and slid over so our shoulders touched. “Can I put my arm around you?” She hesitated, so I said, “Never mind. I’m not being fair.”

“Please, I’d like that.”

The tightness in my chest lessened slightly as I threaded my arm around her waist. The faint scent of her shampoo filled my nose as I held her against me.

“When I flew to New York, I had the notebook from your shop with me. Most of the flight, I poured my heart and soul onto the pages. It was cathartic. By the time I landed, I was pretty sure I wanted to buy Blissful Breeze. I was going to call you and share the news.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“I needed to do something else first. I went to visit Terrence and his wife, Sylvia.”

“Oh, Blake.” Robyn turned to me. Tenderness returned to her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I am.” I gave her a slight smile. “I forgave him.”

She smiled and touched my cheek. “I’m glad.”

“We reminisced for two hours. I told them all about you and Blissful Breeze and my plans. I’d intended to call you before I went to my meeting with Ironclad.”

“What did they say that stopped you?”

“It wasn’t anything they said—exactly. I mean, they didn’t discourage me or anything. It hit me while they were telling me a story they’d shared many times, but this time, I’d picked up something different.”

I closed my eyes, remembering. “Forty years ago, Terrence asked Sylvia if he could use the money they’d been saving for a down payment on a house to start his business. She’d said yes.”

“Okay?” Robyn’s tone held a note of confusion.

“This time, as they finished the story, Sylvia got a far-off look in her eyes. She said, I wonder if things would have turned out differently if I’d said no. Her words reverberated inside my head.”

“I’m afraid I’m not understanding how this pertains to us.”

I turned my body so I could look into Robyn’s eyes. “Sylvia didn’t feel like she had any choice. Terrence had inadvertently backed her into a corner. I didn’t want to do it to you—or me, for that matter. I didn’t want to trap you.”

“How would you have trapped me?”

“I’m certain how I feel about you, but we’ve only known each other for a month.

If I allowed you to participate in my decision, you’d feel obligated since I uprooted my whole life to be here.

In twenty years, I didn’t want you to be like Sylvia, wondering if things would’ve turned out differently if you’d said no. ”

Robyn pursed her lips, and a thoughtful expression settled on her face. “I think I understand, but still, you asked me to move to New York.”

“I was hurt when you turned me down, but you were right. You would have been miserable, and I should’ve known and never asked you. Just like Terrence shouldn’t have asked Sylvia to use their money. It changed the entire course of their family’s life, and Sylvia blamed herself.”

“Wow, you have learned this emotional stuff.”

“What can I say? I’m a fast learner.” I grinned.

“On the plane, I was still hurt and angry that you didn’t want to join me in New York, but somewhere in my frantic scribbles, I realized you weren’t rejecting me.

You never said you didn’t want to be with me.

You said you wouldn’t return to a fast-paced environment that might destroy you. ”

“When I woke up, and you were gone, it was the worst pain.” Robyn swallowed hard. “I spent the entire day agonizing over whether I should have said yes but knowing I couldn’t.”

I rubbed my chest. “Trust me, I felt the same pain. I want to give us a chance. A real chance.”

“I do, too.” Robyn’s body relaxed against mine. “There’s still something you’re not saying. Earlier, you’d said you didn’t want to do it to me or yourself.”

“On the plane, I convinced myself it would be serendipity if you said yes.” I chuckled. “After visiting Terrence and Sylvia, I realized I was using it as a crutch. Not being a control freak doesn’t mean not making choices.”

Robyn shook her head. “I’m still not following.”

“I couldn’t make my decision contingent on you. If I bought Blissful Breeze, it had to be because I wanted it, not because you’re here.”

My head fell back, and I looked up at the star-filled sky. I took a deep breath of the clean crisp air before I continued. “When I offered you the storefront in New York City, I was still trying to control things—you. I didn’t realize it at the time. But once I knew, I couldn’t do it again.”

“Hmm, I think I’m following your logic.” Robyn laid her head on my shoulder.

“I had to throw away my spreadsheets. I’m a dealmaker.

It’s what I did for a living, but it’s not how I want to approach our relationship.

It’s time I take a leap of faith without knowing the outcome or trying to orchestrate it.

I couldn’t make my choice contingent on yours.

Even though I hoped I could have it all. ”

“What is the all that you want?”

I jumped off the tailgate and stood in front of Robyn. I moved toward her and gently pushed between her legs.

“Um, you know I’m wearing a short dress, don’t you?”

“Trust me, I won’t soon forget that.” I smiled and glanced over my shoulder at the lodge. “Besides, nobody’s out here, and I’m not planning on doing you in the middle of the parking lot.”

“Well, damn.”

My eyes widened.

Robyn laughed. “Kidding.” She spread her legs and drew me toward her.

Once I settled against her, I said, “The all I want is this place. I want to fix it up and give others the experience I’ve had.

” I put my hand against her cheek. “And the other all I want is you. I want to see where our relationship can go. I’m serious when I say I’ve never felt anything like what I feel for you. ”

“I haven’t, either,” Robyn said. “I liked your song. You have a beautiful voice.”

“I didn’t like yours.” I smiled. “Well, maybe I kinda did since it told me you were hurting as bad as I was.”

Robyn gently ran her hand over the scab on my cheek. “I’m still trying to figure out how I let you crawl into my heart.”

“I don’t want to figure it out. I just want to experience it. Feel all the emotions.”

“How did you get to be so open?”

I grinned. “I had an excellent teacher.”

She ran her finger over my lips, and I shuddered.

“I have a few more things I’d like to teach you.” Robyn’s voice had turned husky.

“You do, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I thought you said we couldn’t do it in the parking lot.” I sucked her finger into my mouth.

“Stop that.” She pulled her finger back, but her smile gave her away. “Are you still flying back with Emma tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I need to take care of a few things before I come back. Plus, I owe it to Emma to return with her.”

“What time is your flight?”

“Eleven.”

“So if I invited you back to my place, would you come?”

“Multiple times, I’m sure.”

Her laughter filled the night air as I pulled her to me.

“I love how you can make me laugh,” Robyn said.

“Didn’t think I had it in me, did you?” I shook my head. “How did you see past the stick I had lodged up my ass?”

“It wasn’t lodged as tightly as you think.”

“Obviously.”

“When will you return?”

I glanced down, so I didn’t have to look into her eyes. “Would it be wrong to say as soon as possible? The thought of being away from you makes my heart hurt.”

She lifted my chin, and our eyes met. “Only if it’s wrong if I said please hurry back because I’ll miss you terribly.”

Joy coursed through my body. I was deeply and madly in love with the most unlikely woman. Maybe there was such a thing as serendipity after all.