Ryan and Hanks were back at it again on the Scotts’ television, this time in You’ve Got Mail as business competitors by day and e-mail buddies at night. Although this time someone else was on the other side of Haley’s popcorn bowl, her movie partner didn’t have as much tolerance for romantic film fests.
“How can you watch this romance stuff all day long?” Trina reached in the bowl for another handful of popcorn.
“Is this coming from the romantic who thought she should set up her daughters with her best friend’s sons?”
Trina leaned past the bowl and patted Haley’s sweats-clad knee. She hadn’t slept in her outfit this time; she’d only changed into it after church. That had to be an improvement, so maybe she would get over Matthew one day after all.
She’d even survived church today, with him right up front, but she didn’t want anyone to report the number of times she’d looked at him when she should have been studying her Bible. That might have tested her new recovery theory.
When the doorbell rang, Haley turned to her mother. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“Not me.” She lifted an eyebrow. “You?”
Haley shook her head. “I’ll get it.” She swallowed her anxiety and tamped back her racing thoughts as she stood up from the couch and started to the front of the house.
She shouldn’t allow herself to jump to conclusions. No matter how much she had wished it, nothing had changed between her and Matthew that would make it possible for them to be together. Matthew wouldn’t be rushing to her doorstep like one of those men in her movies. Even if he had no fear of trust, he just wasn’t the groveling type.
When she reached the front door, Haley exhaled slowly to relax herself. In the unlikely chance that it was Matthew standing on her doorstep, she didn’t want to hyperventilate and pass out at his feet. The sight when she opened the door made her gasp.
His hair was spikier than she had remembered, and last time she’d seen him he’d still been wearing a winter coat instead of a jacket, but standing there was the man who’d asked her to be his wife and then rescinded the offer.
“Tom?” She choked out the word.
“Hi, Hales. You look great.”
“What…what are you doing here?”
“Who is it, sweetheart? Oh, hello, Tom.”
The sound of her mother’s voice surprised Haley as she hadn’t heard her approach, but if her ex-fiancé’s appearance shocked Trina at all, she did not show it.
“Where are your manners, Haley? Invite him in.”
“Oh, sorry. Would you like to come inside?”
He nodded, chewing his lip. At least she wasn’t the only one who was nervous. Part of her would have preferred that he only be allowed to speak to her from outside the storm door, but they still had unfinished business, and he must have realized it, too.
Opening the door for him, she led him into the living room, the same room where she had read the letter. Indicating for him to sit on the sofa, she sat opposite him in the side chair. Her mother, who usually hovered too much, seemed to have disappeared altogether.
Tom sat staring at her with longing in his eyes. “It’s been so long.”
“Yes, it has.” She paused, waiting for him to say more, but when he didn’t, she tried again. “You haven’t told me why you’re here. I already returned all the gifts. I haven’t heard a word from you in more than a month, and now you just show up here—”
“I’m sorry.” He paused, shaking his head. “For a lot of things.”
“None of that matters now.”
“Of course it does, Hales. I don’t know what happened, but I developed this huge case of cold feet.” He cleared his throat. “I want you to know I’m over it now. The cold feet I mean.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying.” Maybe she didn’t know for certain, but she had a good idea, and she hoped she was wrong.
“I’ve realized I can’t live without you. I was wrong to call off our wedding. Will you please forgive me and marry me?”
Uneasiness brought Haley out of her chair, and she crossed to the window, pausing to look outside. An offer that she might have considered a month ago seemed outrageous now.
Gathering her courage, she turned back to the man she’d once agreed to marry. The tears in her eyes were for his sadness rather than hers. “What you said in the letter was right. We aren’t right for each other. Yes, we love each other as Christian brothers and sisters, but we don’t share the kind of love that could sustain a marriage.”
“You’re wrong.” He came to stand next to her by the window, but then he paused as if a thought had struck him. “That other man, the first love you told me about. You’ve never gotten over him, have you?”
“No, I haven’t.” She doubted she ever could, either, but she chose not to share that with Tom. He was her friend; she didn’t want to hurt him unnecessarily.
After asking him to wait for her on the porch, Haley hurried upstairs. There was something she needed to give him. She ached inside for having to deliver such hurtful news, but talking to him had cemented in her mind that God had someone planned for Tom and for her in the future. Though her heart cried now for Matthew, she believed that if he wasn’t the right choice, then God would comfort her until He revealed His plan.
Matthew was still practicing the speech he would give Haley when he started up the walk to Mrs. Scott’s house, a bouquet of peach roses in his arms. He stopped cold as he watched Haley approach a man he didn’t recognize on the porch. She reached for the man’s hand and pressed something into it before reaching her arms out to hug him.
Something inside Matthew went cold. The man had to be Tom, Haley’s ex-fiancé whom she had admitted she would have married if he’d been willing. He wondered now if this Tom had experienced a change of heart. Had she, as well?
Matthew swallowed, but he couldn’t get past the knot that had formed in his throat. He’d known there was a possibility that he’d come to his senses too late, but here was proof. This man probably had realized his mistake, as well, and he’d stepped to the plate before Matthew ever had the chance for his epiphany.
As Haley pulled back from the man’s embrace, she turned her head and caught sight of Matthew. She jumped back even farther, her expression filled with guilt. Haley had no reason to feel guilty for making her choice, but that didn’t mean that Matthew wanted to see the two of them together as he berated himself for waiting too long to make up his mind.
“Oh, Matthew. Meet Tom Jeffries.” She turned to the man she had just released. “Tom, this is Matthew Warren.”
At the confirmation of his suspicion regarding the man’s identity, Matthew turned and walked away, the flowers feeling like a ridiculous prop in his hands. He could hear the sounds of footsteps behind him.
“Matthew. Wait.”
But he couldn’t stop. What would he say when he turned back to her? Would he be forced to congratulate Haley on her choice when she should have been with him? Could he bear knowing she would spend her future in another man’s arms?
“Oh, that Matthew.”
At the other man’s words, Matthew stopped and turned back again. Tom still stood on the porch, but instead of staying with him, Haley was halfway between them, clearly following him.
“Which Matthew?” he couldn’t help asking.
He looked to Tom for an answer, but Haley started toward him instead, her eyes shining. She stopped just a few steps away from him.
“The one I’ve loved since I was just fourteen.” She paused as if searching for courage. “The one I still love, with feelings that are mature now and more real and overwhelming than they were then.”
Matthew blinked. She’d chosen him. He couldn’t have been happier or more relieved. He took two long strides and clasped Haley to him, one hand sinking into that wonderful mess of hair while his other hand released his hold on the roses. He felt right inside for the first time since he’d willingly let her out of his arms before. She loved him. She’d spoken the words aloud, without fear. He admired her bravery. For a long time, he couldn’t let go, so he was relieved that her arms held him just as tightly.
Though he could have held her like that forever, he realized there were still things to be said. No matter what happened from this point on, she deserved to know what was in his heart. He pulled back until she was just out of his reach, his arms falling to his sides.
“I’ve had time to think and to pray about what you said to me, and I know now I can’t allow my fears to stop me from having the life I want.” He searched her gaze and found understanding there. He wanted and needed more than that. “Trust doesn’t come easily to me, but I’m trying to learn how.”
“Good for you. I’m glad.”
“There is something I need you to know.” As he paused, it was all he could do not to take both of her hands in his. But she needed to be free to walk away if she chose to. “I love you, and I always will, no matter where you go.”
“Where I go?” She lifted an eyebrow, appearing amused by the concept. “I’m exactly where I want to be.”
The next thing he knew, Haley’s arms were around him, and she was stretching up to press her sweet lips to his. Nothing had ever felt more precious or given him more hope.
She pulled back but was still close enough to join her hands with his.
“My heart has always led me back to you. I was always searching for my place in the world, and now I know it is with you and Elizabeth.”
Matthew couldn’t help smiling at that. “If you call her Lizzie, I think we can work something out.”
Her confused look only made his smile spread.
“Some crazy sitter started calling her that, and now my daughter has decided to change her name.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m not. About anything except wasting too much time to get to this point.”
“What point?”
“The point where I drop on one knee and ask you to marry me.” Instead of waiting for her reaction, he did as he said he would, lowering himself right on the walk. He did use her hand for balance, but he figured that would be better than tipping over in the lawn.
Haley didn’t speak but stared down at him wide-eyed.
“Haley Scott, I didn’t know how to live until I met you, and I didn’t really know about love until I saw how easily you showered it on my daughter and me.” He shifted from one knee to the other because the first was beginning to ache. “Will you be my wife and make my family complete?”
“I don’t know. I’ve only waited all my life for you to ask that question. What do you think I should say?”
“Hopefully, yes.” He switched knees again. “And hopefully soon because my knees are killing me.”
“Well, when you put it like that, how can I resist? Yes, I’ll marry you.” She gave him a mischievous grin. “Just try to stop me.”
Matthew gathered her to him again, her form fitting so perfectly in the circle of his arms. With infinite care, he lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss was one of purpose, one of promises he intended to keep. A rush of warmth filled his heart. So this was how it felt for a man to have everything he ever wanted and even everything he never knew he needed.
At the sound of applause behind them, Matthew and Haley pulled away from each other in surprise. On the porch, Trina and Tom stood watching them, a virtual fan club. Haley put her hand to her mouth, clearly embarrassed for having experienced such a private moment in front of her former fiancé. Matthew had to give the guy credit for still wanting Haley to be happy.
“If you need an engagement ring, I have one to spare.” Tom reached in his pocket and withdrew a large diamond solitaire, clearly the item Haley had handed him earlier.
Matthew started to answer, but another voice from behind him stopped him again.
“That’s kind of you, but he won’t be needing that.”
He turned to the sound of his mother’s voice and found her standing at the curb and clasping Elizabeth’s hand. The child held out an old-fashioned jeweler’s box in her free hand.
“As the oldest son, Matthew inherited his grandmother’s engagement ring,” Amy explained. “We brought it over in case you wanted to give it to your future bride.”
“How did you even know…” It became obvious to him how his mother would have known that the situation was progressing nicely at the Scott house. Mrs. Scott still held her cell phone.
“I have my sources,” Amy said with a laugh.
“Couldn’t let this happen without both matchmakers in attendance,” Trina chimed.
Letting go of her grandmother’s hand, Elizabeth carefully carried the jeweler’s box to her father. “Daddy, are you and Miss Haley really getting married?”
“Yes, we are,” he told her. “Isn’t that great?”
Matthew couldn’t help feeling nervous as he opened the box and looked at the round diamond in an intricate white-gold setting. He might have used this ring once before, but his first wife hadn’t liked it and had wanted to choose something closer to her tastes. Now he awaited Haley’s response to the ring that meant something in his family.
The look on her face spoke volumes before she said a word. “Oh, Matthew. It’s so beautiful.”
“Will you wear it?”
“I’d love to.”
He grinned. Lifting the ring out of the box, he reached for her hand and slipped it on her finger. It was a perfect fit, both in physical size and in appearance. He should have known. Of course, this was Haley Scott who saw the beauty in everyone and everything, even him when he didn’t deserve to be seen through such a benevolent view.
She had always been everything he couldn’t bear and everything he needed, and now she was the only woman with whom he could ever imagine sharing his life.
Aware of their growing audience this time, Matthew dropped one sweet kiss on his new fiancée’s lips. He didn’t have time for more than that, anyway, as Elizabeth squeezed between them. Both laughed, showering kisses and tickles on her instead. Matthew hoped their lives together would always be this way, not perfect, but full of laughter, silliness and joy.