Henry scanned the print out for the log cabin. It was a shame she wasn’t going to buy it. It was a steal for the price. Four acres of land; that pond and that guest house. He knew Liz felt at home there. Hell, so did he. It had been depressing to go back to his dinky apartment that weekend. Alone.
You should buy it. That surprised the hell out of him.
He set down the print out and walked over to his window. He could buy it. He’d been scrimping and saving to open his business. Something he hadn’t thought about too much since meeting Liz. Sure, he was preoccupied with beating the sales record, but he hadn’t really stopped to think about what owning his own business would really mean. If he thought he was back-against-the-wall busy now, what would it be like opening his own place…running the business, recruiting agents and still trying to list and sell properties?
He sat down and stretched back, kicking his feet up on the desk. How long would it take before he could actually relax, enjoy his success and start a family? He told Liz she needed to unwind. He could certainly follow the same advice. Maybe there was a reason his father never opened his own office. Maybe the old man knew something Henry hadn’t realized.
Henry tapped a finger against his chin. Why did he really want to open an office? It was to best his Dad. To do something his father hadn’t done. He set his feet on the floor. It wasn’t really about what Henry wanted at all. All this time he’d been trying to help Elizabeth discover what she wanted and he wasn’t asking himself the most basic questions.
He hopped out of his chair and paced the office. He grabbed the print out, his car keys and the ones to the log cabin. He wanted to see what he really felt about the place. Too bad Elizabeth wasn’t around to slip her fingers over his eyes.
He drove the fifteen minutes to the house and was consumed by a feeling of calm as he pulled up the driveway. He let himself into the house and sat in the couch, staring out over the pond. He smiled, remembering their boat ride. Groaned, remembering the hot tub. He stepped out onto the patio and surveyed the land. This really was a retreat. It was a special place that he’d love to come home to every day. He wanted more than numbers and deals in his life. He wanted what he’d had with Elizabeth. He understood what she meant about not wanting to do it alone. It would be hard to be here without her.
His chest tightened when he thought of her. He’d thought he was just being inventive with his techniques to show her what she wanted. Never imagined he’d end up wanting the real deal, wanting her. He crossed his arms and blew out his breath. He didn’t get the girl, but he wasn’t going to lose the house.
He pulled out the print out and looked it over again. If he bought the house, it would count as a sale. It would put him over the top for the month, beating his father’s record.
He set the paper down. Suddenly that wasn’t so important anymore. That record meant more to his father than it would ever mean to him. It didn’t take long to decide he’d let him keep it. He pulled out his phone and left a message for the realtor who’d listed the log cabin.
“Hi, it’s Henry Watson. I want to put in an offer on the log cabin, but I won’t be able to do it for a week. Let me know if any one else is interested before then.”
He crossed his arms and decided to tour the property that would soon be his. But would he ever be able to shake away the memory of Elizabeth?
***
Elizabeth finished her fourth picture of the rowboat on the pond and wondered what she’d do with them all. Was Henry angry with her for wasting so much of his time and not even getting a sale? I hope he broke that sales record.
In the two weeks since she’d left her job, she’d been a whirlwind of activity. She made more than twenty paintings and approached two restaurants to display her work for sale. She’d already sold one for two hundred fifty dollars. She sent another one to Julie and Jim as a wedding gift.
But realizing the painting efforts wouldn’t be enough quite yet to support herself without burning through her savings, she created a website to help artists with their publicity. She’d gotten several inquiries already and figured she could bring in some nice money each month.
She was happy, but also a bit sad. Sad that she hadn’t made these changes sooner. But of course, she hadn’t met Henry sooner. He’d been the catalyst for all this change. He thought he was helping her find a house. He helped her find so much more.
Except for the nagging hole in her heart she hoped to fill some day. With someone like him. She looked through her log cabin paintings again and picked out her favorite. She stood back and looked at it. Yes, she wanted to give it to him. As a thanks for his time. For the change he’d helped her find.
She bundled up the painting and drove to his office. Would he still be there? Maybe he had broken the record after all and left the office already. She carried the painting in the office and approached the reception desk.
“Is Henry Watson here?” Her heart was pounding. Would he always have that effect on her? Probably.
“Just one moment,” the receptionist said.
Her heart nearly burst when she saw his face break into a huge smile. “Liz! What are you doing here?”
“I have something for you.”
He looked at the package in her hands, intrigued. “Come on back to my office.”
She followed him back, noticing the magnificent rear view, again. Ah, well.
She sat down in one of his chairs, looked up and smiled, wondering if he could see through to her heart. She held the painting out to him. “This is for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to buy a house from you, and I wanted to thank you for all your help. You have no idea what it meant to me.”
He leaned against his desk and took the painting from her. “What is this?”
She clasped her knees. “A painting. For your new office.”
His mouth opened then he closed it. He unwrapped the painting. “This is the pond at the log cabin.”
She nodded. “It was my favorite one.”
He stared at it, and tilted his head. “Wait, did you paint this?”
“I was an art major long ago.” She shrugged. “Actually, I am again. Thanks to you.”
He set the painting down. “What do you mean?”
Feeling giddy, she shook her head and laughed. “I’ve made a lot of changes the past few weeks.” She told him about quitting work and signing up for art school.
“Why did you ever quit art school? You’re really good.”
She drummed her fingers on her thigh. Her eyes wandered around the room, wondering how much she should tell him. Then she spotted a glass dish on his desk filled with sand and stones that looked like the ones they’d skipped at the pond. A dried up flower was tucked in, too.
He caught her looking at it, and his cheeks flushed. “Souvenirs. I like to remember special times.”
She was stunned. All those times had been important enough for him to bring back a little token? Was that dried up lilac from that very first house? She thought her heart might burst.
“Tell me. I really want to hear what happened, Liz.”
Was she ready to do this? “It was a guy, of course.” She told him the story, even all the horrible parts, and was shocked by how its power over her was gone.
“I’m so sorry. Guys suck,” he said. “We really do.”
“No. Not all guys. Not you. I tried for so long to tell myself I didn’t need a man, that a career would be enough; that I couldn’t ever risk being hurt again. That’s what my brain told me, pretty convincingly. What my heart wanted got good and buried.” Her breath caught in her throat. “You helped me find it again, Henry.”
He smiled and looked down at the painting. “I’m glad. It would have been a shame to let talent like this go to waste.”
Her eyes wandered over to his dish of souvenirs again. Tell him how you feel about him. She stood up. “So, thank you. For everything. Do you think that’ll look nice in your new office?”
He set the painting down and fixed his gaze on her. “I’m not opening an office.”
Her hand covered her mouth. “You didn’t break the sales goal. Because of me.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “No, not because of you. And it doesn’t matter. The sales goal doesn’t matter.” He looked into her eyes. “You’re not the only one who figured out what they really want. And what I don’t want. And I don’t want my own office.”
Her gaze drifted down to her feet and she summoned the courage to look in his eyes. “So, what do you want?”
He spread out his arms. “More than just this.”
She nodded. Had their time together possibly meant more to him, too? She glanced at the dish of rocks again. Why, oh why, couldn’t she admit what she felt? “Is the house still for sale?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s not.”
Her heart tumbled. “I knew someone else would fall in love with it.”
He grinned. “You’re right. It was me. Maybe I couldn’t have the girl I wanted, but I wasn’t going to lose the house, too.” His eyes locked on hers. “But I really, really wanted the girl.”
Her heart fluttered up into her throat and she couldn’t find the right words.
He stood up and set his arms on hers. “From the moment I first saw you.” He shook his head. “I tried to tell myself it was just business. I thought you were playing along.” His brow furrowed. “I thought I was, too for a while. But I wasn’t. Were you?”
She summoned up the courage and risk she’d buried long ago and looked straight into his eyes. “The real reason I didn’t want to buy the house is because it wouldn’t have been the same without you.” Those words felt good finally coming out.
His hands slid around her back, and his lips hovered over hers. “I’ll be moving into that house in a month. Three bedrooms, two baths. Want to join me?”
She tipped up on her toes. “I haven’t done this in so long, I have to do this slowly.”
He wrapped her in a hug. “Of course. I’ll be there. Waiting for you, whenever you’re ready.”
Blushing, she admitted another truth. “I might need help finding a cheaper apartment now that I’m a starving artist in school again.”
He twined his fingers through her hair. “I know someone renting a beautiful art studio on their property.”
She laughed. “Oh? What’s the rent?”
“Maybe a painting or two to give to my best clients as a closing gift. Possibly plant a few lilac bushes so I can watch you out there sniffing them.”
One corner of her mouth curled up. “Deal.” Her lips melted against his.
“Told you I wouldn’t give up till you found what you wanted.”
She rested her head against his chest. “Thank you.”
He pulled away and looked at his watch. “Almost quitting time.” He grabbed his keys.
“Where are you going?”
“We are going to check on our house. Make sure the hot tub’s still working.” He held out a hand for her.
She grabbed it. “I don’t have my bathing suit.”
“Good.” And out came that grin. “That’s my kind of showing.”
One Year Later…
Elizabeth spun the diamond ring round and round on her finger and glanced out the window. “Do you think five hundred strands of twinkle lights is too much?”
Julie laughed. “Not at all. It’s your wedding. Anything you want is fine. Really.”
She wrung her hands. “I didn’t exactly ask for five hundred strands of twinkle lights.”
“I know.” Julie set her arms on Elizabeth’s shoulders. “And it was incredibly gracious of you to let Henry’s mother help.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
“Okay,” Julie laughed. “She didn’t just help, she took over the whole thing. But it’s beautiful. It’s like a scene from a movie or something down by the pond.”
Her stomach did another flip and she tried to remember when she’d been this nervous. When I first saw Henry. She lifted the lacy hem of her gown and started pacing the room again.
Two little girls dashed into the room, and Julie chased them with bouquets of lilacs. “Get over here, you rascals. We’re just about ready to go down for the ceremony.” She handed the girls their flowers and tucked a few stray curls back under their tiny crowns. She turned to Elizabeth. “What are we waiting for, again?”
Elizabeth blushed. “Henry wanted to wait until the sun was setting.” He’d told her that he finally decided that’s when she looked most beautiful. Although he often changed his mind in the morning.
Her Dad walked in the room and tapped his watch. “We almost ready?” His eyes widened as the two little girls ran circles round the room. When they ran past him, he scooped one up under each arm. “Hannah and Emily, give your big sister a little peace and quiet, girls. This is her special day.” He set the girls on the couch, walked over to Elizabeth and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful. Your mother would have been so proud.”
She pressed her eyes closed and nodded. “Thanks.”
Julie’s cell rang. “We ready down there?” She nodded and gave them a thumbs up. “Henry’s mom says to come on down!”
“Showtime,” her father said.
Elizabeth pressed her hand against her stomach. “You were so smart eloping, Julie.”
She squeezed her arm. “Come on, this is the fun part. You’re marrying the man you love. That’s what it’s all about, remember?”
She took a deep breath and nodded.
They made their way down to the pond, where Henry’s mother had a gazebo built for the ceremony. Elizabeth couldn’t wait to paint a picture of it. The huge white reception tent sparkled with all those lights, and the tables glowed with huge candles settled in dishes of sand and stones from the pond. Henry’s idea. Tiny vases of lilacs circled the candles. Her idea. But it all seemed a blur as she caught sight of him waiting for her in the gazebo.
Dozens of people rose from their seats as she walked down the white runner rolled out along side the pond, a trail of pink rose petals leading the way. Her eyes locked on his, her heart fluttered in her throat, and by the time she reached him, they were in each other’s arms, kissing.
The minister cleared his throat.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
Henry tipped up her chin. “Hey, when your heart knows what it wants there’s no stopping it.” And he kissed her again to the applause of the crowd.
She smiled at him. “Thanks for helping me find it.”
“Best deal I ever made.”
* * *