Until I Met You

by Tari Faris

  She closed the distance and poked him in the chest. “You check up on my dates, kiss me in a way that curls my toes and has me thinking of little else night and day, and you still want to stand there and say there is nothing going on between us?”

  “You think about that kiss night and day?” His voice had dropped to a husky tone.

  “I just mean . . .”

  His gaze dropped to her mouth.

  She licked the edge of her lip and swallowed. “Do you?”

  He reached up and ran a thumb down her cheek. “You have no idea.”

  His hand slid along her jaw to the back of her head. He offered the gentlest tug before bringing his mouth down on hers. Last time he’d been gentle and testing in the beginning. This time it was as if they picked up where the last kiss had ended. As if he too had replayed that kiss over and over in his mind and this time intended to finish it.

  When his hands slid down her sides, she nearly melted into him. Her back arched as she pushed up on her tiptoes, pressing into him. Warmth poured through her that was both strange and new from her inexperience and yet also familiar in the rightness it left in its wake. It was like snapping the last piece into a puzzle and finally seeing the picture come together, a picture of a future so beautiful and perfect she’d have surrendered her heart right then and there if he didn’t already possess it.

  He pulled back only enough to catch a breath. His forehead rested against hers, and he ran his thumb gently along her bottom lip. “Don’t go out with Jackson.”

  “What?” Jackson who? Oh, wait. Was he really trying to have a conversation when he’d just turned her brain to mush?

  His fingers found the skin just above her waistband. “The idea of you going on a date with him drives me crazy. Please say no.”

  She kissed the rough stubble on his chin, soaking in the musky scent she’d come to identify with him. “If this is happening, then that’s a given.”

  Nate’s hands stilled.

  The warm sensation cooled in an instant. Olivia leaned back and looked him in the eye. “This is finally happening, right?”

  He remained silent as his shoulders tensed.

  The beautiful picture of hope washed away like a chalk drawing in a downpour. She stepped out of his arms. “You want me to say no to Jackson, but you don’t want to give me someone to say yes to?”

  The door burst open behind them with Austin filling the frame. “This is why you missed the delivery?”

  One look at Nate’s hair and the pink stain around his lips and there was no hiding their kiss.

  Austin’s eyes blazed, but he didn’t hang around for more conversation.

  Nate rushed after him. “Austin, wait.”

  In their wake Libby stood in the doorway, eyes wide. “Sorry.”

  “It wasn’t Nate’s fault.” Olivia shook her head. “I accidentally locked us in.”

  “I guess you were serious about kidnapping him.” Libby laughed and followed Austin. “I’m going to go try to calm him down.”

  Nate had stopped by the front door. He glanced at Olivia and then back at the storage space. “I should get going.”

  Olivia lifted her chin and pushed past him. “Me too. I have a phone call to return.”

  His brother had dropped the ball, and he was left picking up the pieces. Again. Austin adjusted the heat and then checked his GPS. Three hundred miles round trip—perfect. Just how he wanted to spend a Saturday. Especially after he’d already paid for delivery.

  His phone rang and he answered it through the radio. “This is Austin.”

  “Hey, where are you?” Libby’s voice filled the car.

  “I’m driving to Linden. I have to go pick up the flowers that Nate blew off.”

  “He didn’t blow them off. It was an accident. Olivia said—”

  “You know, it’d be nice if at least my girlfriend took my side sometimes.” He checked his mirrors and moved to pass a semitruck.

  “Girlfriend?” Libby’s voice squeaked.

  Where had that come from? He was so frustrated about Nate that he hadn’t really been thinking through his words.

  “Yeah, a friend who’s a girl.” Great, now he sounded like he was in junior high.

  “I am on your side. I just think you should listen to your brother’s side.” When he didn’t comment, she went on. “I’d have gone with you.”

  “I wanted some time alone. To think.”

  “Oh.”

  Shoot. Not like that. He just hadn’t wanted to listen to someone defend Nate the whole time. Man, he was really hitting them out of the park today. His call waiting beeped and his dad’s name flashed on the display.

  “I have to take this call.”

  “Bye.” Then she was gone.

  Ugh. That wasn’t what he’d meant. Phone calls weren’t his strong suit.

  He sighed and accepted the call. “Hey, Dad.”

  His dad’s voice replaced Libby’s. “I thought you were stopping by today.”

  Austin winced. With everything that had been going on in Heritage, he’d missed the last two visits. “Sorry. I have to drive over to Linden today. I’ll come by tomorrow though.”

  “Your brother just stopped by.” There were a lot of words unsaid in his dad’s tone.

  “Then I guess you know why I have to drive to Linden.” Austin rubbed his hands roughly over the edge of the steering wheel.

  “He mentioned it. Accidents happen.” Was his dad referring to the missed delivery or the accident that had derailed their lives?

  “They happen a lot with Nate.”

  “Are you ever going to forgive your brother?”

  Austin checked his mirrors and moved into the passing lane again. “Every time I think about it, he goes and does something to show me he doesn’t deserve it.”

  “Deserve it? Who deserves forgiveness?”

  Luke’s words from the day before replayed in his mind. “Forgiveness is never deserved. It’s a gift. If you earn a gift, it’s not a gift anymore—it’s a wage.”

  Austin passed a semi, then moved back into the right lane. “Of course you’d take his side, Dad.”

  “It isn’t about sides.”

  “Isn’t it though? Nate could never do wrong in your eyes. Even when he nearly cost you the business and me my future.”

  His dad sat quiet a long time, and Austin checked the phone to make sure they were still connected. “I never claimed that Nate was perfect. He did . . . a lot wrong. But he’s changed. You, on the other hand, are still trying to be perfect and hold everyone else to your impossibly high standards. Have you been to Nate’s church yet?”

  “How would going to Nate’s church help anything? I’ve got to go. I’m stopping by Grant’s to borrow a trailer and I’m almost there.”

  He said his goodbye and ended the call as he pulled up in front of Grant’s new farmhouse. He killed the engine and slid out of the truck.

  The two-story farmhouse, with its wraparound porch and wooden siding, gave off a historical feel even though it had been built just a year ago. The two sugar maples in front were in a full spectrum of autumn colors. The second week of October was usually the best, and this year fall was right on track.

  A red maple would be perfect by that corner of the yard. Maybe he’d suggest it to them. He’d build two solid greenhouses to the left of the barn and maybe a—

  “Austin! Quit evaluating our landscaping and get in here.” Caroline stood at the top of the steps with her hands on her hips. “I just texted Grant. He should be in from the barn any minute.”

  Austin hurried up the steps and hugged his cousin. “This place is awesome. I’d love to live somewhere with land.”

  “I hear there are some lots for sale around Heritage.” Caroline winked.

  “I think living in the same town as my brother for one season has been quite enough.”

  “I thought I’d never get you to visit.” Grant walked up behind him and slapped him on the back.

  “I know. May
be I should thank Nate.” Caroline winked again as they went into the house.

  “Glad my lazy brother can make someone’s day.”

  “I’m not sure ‘lazy’ is the right word. Maybe a little distracted by love.” Caroline poured him a mug of coffee, then set it before him. “And from what I hear, you weren’t there because you were distracted by love yourself.”

  “First of all, it isn’t love. It’s . . . feelings.”

  Grant snickered. “You’re as bad as Caroline was.”

  Caroline swatted her husband’s shoulder. “Hey, I married you and I’m having your baby, so stop complaining.”

  Austin paused with his mug halfway to his mouth. “Baby?”

  Caroline’s eyes popped wide and her hands flew to her face.

  Grant shook his head. “She didn’t want to tell people yet. We just found out yesterday.”

  Austin stood and embraced her. “Congratulations.”

  When he pulled back, there were tears in her eyes, and she dabbed at the corners of them with a towel.

  Austin searched his mind for what he’d done wrong. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. Your secret is safe with me.”

  “It’s not that. She tears up at everything these days.” Grant snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. “She’s cute when she cries. I’ll keep her.”

  Caroline snuggled into her husband’s side. “Back to these feelings. I hear it was quite a date.”

  “From who?” Austin turned his mug in circles on the table.

  “Hannah. She was totally impressed, by the way.”

  Austin stopped his turning and looked up. “She kind of scared me.”

  “She’s intense, but you’ll love her.”

  “I’ll take your word on that.” He took a long drink. “The date was great, but I may have messed everything up already.”

  “In less than twenty-four hours? Austin James Williams, what did you do?”

  “Libby called me on the way here and I was still frustrated. She was defending Nate. I don’t know. I’m not good at talking on the phone.”

  Bitterness spills all over those close to you. He’d spilled, all right. And once again it was Libby he’d spilled on.

  Caroline stood and pulled some cookies from the cupboard. “If she likes you as much as I think she does, a bad phone call isn’t going to end that.”

  “Really?”

  She opened the cookies and set them on the table. “You have impossibly high standards for others—”

  “So I hear.” He grabbed a cookie and shoved it in his mouth. The hint of lemon seemed to fit his mood.

  “And impossibly high standards for yourself. Give yourself a little grace and call the girl. Oh, wait. You really are bad at communicating on the phone. Go see her when you get back tonight.”

  “And open up.” Grant grabbed two cookies of his own. “Seriously, show her what’s going on inside. It’s like crack to these women.”

  Caroline shrugged, then wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck. “It’s true.”

  Austin took another gulp of coffee as ideas flipped through his mind. “Do you own any white Christmas lights, by chance?”

  Why did relationships have to be so complicated? Libby shoved her phone into her pocket and dropped onto Olivia’s bed.

  Olivia stood in front of a full-length mirror holding one shirt in front of her, then another. The closet stood open and an antique chair next to it was covered in clothes.

  “Wear the aqua one.” Libby picked up a small decorative pillow from the bed and spun it in her hands. “It makes your eyes pop.”

  “I know.” Olivia held the shirt in front of her again as she eyed her reflection. “I just bought it for . . . something else.”

  Libby stretched out on her stomach, using the pillow to prop herself up. “You mean someone else.”

  “Maybe.” Olivia’s nose wrinkled before she stood up straighter. “But you’re right. It looks better, and I’m moving on.”

  “Are you sure?” Libby checked her phone. Still no word from Austin.

  “I’m sure that I’m done waiting. I can’t do this seesaw of emotions anymore.” Olivia tossed the brown shirt to the pile, then pulled the aqua one over her head.

  Libby pushed up on her elbow. “You two looked pretty cozy when Austin and I found you.”

  “He wants to be with me. Just not enough to get past the lies in his head. And I can’t fight that battle for him.” Olivia started digging through a pile of shoes on the floor of her closet. “Enough about me. How was your date?”

  “Great until Austin got the text about the failed delivery.”

  Olivia waved a shoe in the air. “My fault. Sorry.”

  Libby rolled onto her back again, letting her head hang off the edge of the bed. “I tried calling him this morning.”

  “And?”

  “He called me his girlfriend, then backpedaled to ‘a girl that’s a friend’ faster than the weather changes around here.”

  “Ouch.” Olivia reappeared with two shoes in hand and sat on the bed.

  Libby sat up and leaned against the headboard. “Right? The date was really good, but I don’t know.”

  The doorbell chimed, and Olivia shrugged as she walked out the door. “Ready or not, here I go.”

  Libby picked up her phone. “Ring. Ring.”

  A chime filled the room as the phone vibrated in her hand.

  Libby almost dropped it. That had never worked before. She checked the text.

  Austin

  Come to the greenhouse?

  The greenhouse?

  Libby slipped on a clean sweatshirt and ran a comb through her hair. She hadn’t planned on seeing him tonight or she wouldn’t have washed off her makeup. Oh well, time to be real.

  She hurried down the steps, across the lawn, and through his side gate. The greenhouse was lit up with tiny lights shining through the plastic. Had he done this for her?

  She pushed the plastic door aside and gasped. Every surface, every space on the floor, and every shelf was covered with rose petals. “Wow.”

  Austin’s chest brushed against her back as he reached around, holding a single cut rose in front of her face. He leaned down and placed a kiss under her right ear. “I’m sorry about this morning’s conversation.”

  She took the rose from his hand and turned to face him. “Which part?”

  His hair wasn’t in its normal well-groomed state, his chin had a full day’s growth, and the 350 miles he’d driven weighed on him. The shined-up image for the date had been nice, but this was life. This was the Austin she could fall in love with.

  “I’m sorry I was grumpy. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. And mostly I’m sorry I called you my girlfriend and took it back.”

  Libby ran her fingers over the rose in her hands to keep from reaching for him. “Are you sorry you called me that, or are you sorry you took it back?”

  “Both.” He brushed a piece of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, lingering as he went. “I’m sorry I called you that because it was being a bit presumptuous. I planned to ask you first.”

  “Really?”

  “Despite this sounding a bit junior high . . .” Austin took the rose from her hand and set it aside, then slid his hands to the small of her back. “Libby, will you be my girlfriend?”

  She lifted on her toes to brush a kiss across his lips. He pulled her closer. It wasn’t the hurried kiss like last time but was full of tenderness. His fingers trailed up and down her sides, then wrapped around her back. She let her body mold to his as she wound her arms around his neck. She’d kissed other guys before—Colin had kissed her plenty. But it had never felt like this.

  In all of Jane Austen’s novels, she never described one kiss between her characters. Many speculated that it was because it wasn’t proper for the time. But as Austin moved his lips against hers, Libby knew the real reason Jane left them out was that no words could adequately express this feeling . . . this conn
ection. In Austin’s arms, every worry that clouded her mind went silent. It was as if nothing existed outside this kiss. Not the future. Not the past. And if she never left this moment, she’d be okay with that.

  After a few minutes he leaned back, pressing his head against hers. He took a few deep breaths as if trying to regain his control. “Have you had dinner?”

  He was really thinking of food at a time like this? Then again, a distraction was probably best for both of them. “I have not had dinner yet.”

  “Good.” He dropped a quick kiss below her right ear, then tugged at her hand, pulling her deeper into the greenhouse.

  “Why do you always kiss me there?”

  “I just love your freckle there. Does that bother you?” He led her down the path of petals to a red gingham blanket with an old-fashioned picnic basket in the center.

  “I love it, actually.” She reached up and rubbed under her ear. “But I didn’t even know I had a freckle there.”

  “You didn’t? Then I discovered it and claim it as my spot.” He gave her another quick kiss there and motioned for her to sit.

  Candles held down the edges of the blanket as Michael Bublé sang softly from a speaker.

  “I’m impressed.” Libby took a seat on the blanket and stretched her legs out.

  “I got the lights and basket from Caroline—oh, and the music. I didn’t know who this guy was. But the petals were all me.”

  Libby picked up a handful of the petals and let them fall through her fingers. Every color of rose was present, creating a mosaic of soft velvet. “Where did all these come from?”

  “I had hoped to fill the greenhouse with the order. But I forgot they’d be dormant—necessary for fall planting—and don’t look like much besides a bunch of sticks. But the nursery had these. They remove the blossoms when they get too large.” He settled down on the blanket next to her.

  She picked up another handful and drew them to her nose, savoring the sweet scent. “Why don’t you get a larger greenhouse and grow roses?”

  Austin opened the basket, pulled out a box of fried chicken, and held it out to her. She took it and then pulled out a bowl of grapes and some carrots. “I don’t have time for this and the business.”