Shawn ground his teeth in frustration. “She almost died because I couldn’t get to her in time yesterday. She wants to travel the world and chase the next adventure. I can’t keep up with her. I want to settle down and move on with my life. If we were together, I’d only hold her back.”
“Every relationship requires compromises,” Brooke said. “She wants to travel the world. You want to settle down. So what? Buy a house in the country and spend your summers backpacking around Europe. As far as relationship hurdles go, that one’s pretty tame.”
“It’s not that easy.” Shawn leaned forward, wanting Brooke to understand. “Natalie might think she doesn’t care that I’d slow her down, but she’d end up resenting me in the end. I can’t do that to her.”
Brooke blew out a breath, making her cheeks puff out. “When will you men realize that you don’t get to decide what’s best for a woman? Natalie is an intelligent adult capable of making her own decisions. If she says she’s interested in you and wants to see where things go, and you feel the same way, then you owe her the courtesy of honoring that request. Maybe you’ll crash and burn, but maybe you’ll end up happily married with a baby.”
Luke lifted Grace into the air. “She’s right, you know. We almost never got together because of worrying about things outside of our control. No one can predict the future, but it’s stupid to not give it a chance just because of what might go wrong.”
Brooke nodded emphatically, giving Luke a warm smile. “Exactly. You aren’t her dad, Shawn. Stop dictating her decisions.”
Shawn blinked, stunned. He’d thought he was loving Natalie by letting her go. Her life had flashed before his eyes, and the future had stretched before him, a blank canvas that he was terrified to drawn on. “I never thought about it like that. Am I really taking away her choices?”
“Well, yeah, if you want to be with her, too. Don’t be too hard on yourself, though. It’s some caveman instinct men can’t seem to overcome without a little help.”
Last night’s conversation with Natalie played over in his mind once more. She’d asked for a relationship. Begged him to give them a chance. And he had wanted to. But he’d already decided she would be better off without him, so he’d pushed her away and broken both their hearts.
“Wow,” Shawn said.
Luke smirked. “She’s good, huh?”
“There’s still time to fix this,” Brooke said. “You’ve got to make the grand gesture, so to speak. Do something that proves to her you were an idiot and are ready to take things to the next level.” She patted him on the shoulder and rose. “You’ll figure it out. Give me a call if you ever need anything, okay? And let me know about the availabilities for that Valentine’s Day cruise.”
Shawn left the presidential suite, hoping making him dizzy. He stumbled to Mike’s room, knowing the cruise director would be enjoying a few minutes of quiet in his cabin before the next cruise began.
Shawn rapped sharply on the door, and Mike opened it a few moments later.
“Hey,” Mike said. “How did the last meeting go with Toujour? Is Mrs. Ryder ready to book the next cruise?”
“Oh. Uh, yeah.” Shawn had almost forgotten about that piece of news. “She’s hoping to do one over Valentine’s Day.”
“Excellent. Come in.” Mike held the door open and walked over to his computer. “Let me call over to booking and we can check availabilities right now. I want to get this locked down before they change their mind. There’s a big bonus in this for you when they book, Shawn. You really came through.”
And that’s when Shawn knew what he needed to do. It didn’t matter whether or not he got the bonus, or what properties were or were not available in Sunset Plains, or where Natalie would be living after graduation. He had to take the leap of faith, whatever the outcome. Because Natalie was worth it.
“Hey, Mike?” Shawn said.
Mike paused, looking up from his computer. “Yeah?”
“I quit.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Tamera flopped onto the couch beside Natalie, giving her a sympathetic smile. It was Christmas Eve. Wyatt’s early afternoon game had ended hours earlier. The Coyotes had won, twenty-three to twenty, and the energy was still high. Christmas music filtered in from the kitchen, where Natalie could hear her parents laughing with Wyatt.
But Natalie wasn’t feeling much Christmas cheer. She missed Shawn. Why hadn’t she asked for his stupid phone number? She’d spent most of this morning trying to track it down, but to no avail.
“Would you like to book a cruise?” the representative had asked.
“No, I’m trying to track down an employee on the Ocean Dream.”
“I’m sorry, Miss James, but we don’t give out that kind of personal information.”
Natalie had tried to get the frustratingly polite customer service representative to put her through to the concierge desk aboard the ship. When that hadn’t worked, she’d hung up and called back, only to speak to a different representative with the same results. Not that it would’ve mattered. She’d looked up the ship’s itinerary online and knew they’d be out at sea today, where the phone lines probably didn’t work anyway.
“Are you doing okay?” Tamera asked. Her dark hair, usually cut in a short, edgy bob, had been replaced by extensions reaching nearly to the middle of Tamera’s back for the movie she’d just wrapped up filming. But her big blue eyes were the same.
“I don’t know.” Tears pressed against Natalie’s eyes for what felt like the millionth time. “This is so stupid. I only knew him for eight days, you know?”
Tamera lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Sometimes falling in love happens slowly, like a marathon. And sometimes it’s a sprint.”
Natalie pulled the blanket closer around her, not meeting Tamera’s eyes. “I don’t even have his phone number. I spent all morning trying to get in contact with him, but no one will put me through to the ship.”
“I’m sorry, Nat.” Tamera patted Natalie’s leg. “What about the article? Have you heard back from the magazine yet?”
Natalie had spent most of yesterday rewriting the article and sent it in late last night. It had taken losing Shawn to make her realize what she needed to write about—them. She’d taken a new angle on the article, talking about how skeptical she’d been of the probability of falling in love in only eight days, only to end the trip having fallen in love with Shawn.
She hoped he’d read the article. Believe every word was from the heart. But she wasn’t giving up. If she couldn’t reach Shawn by the time the ship docked on Sunday, she’d drive down to the port and demand they let her aboard.
“Natalie?” Tamera prodded.
She blinked. “Oh. Sorry. The magazine got back to me this morning. They offered me a job.”
“What?” Tamera shrieked. The talking quieted in the kitchen, and Tamera lowered her voice. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? That’s amazing. Congratulations.”
Natalie played with the edge of the blanket. “I turned them down.”
Tamera’s eyes widened. “That job is all you’ve talked about for months! Why did you turn it down? Was the pay really awful or something?”
“It was a great package,” Natalie said. “But I don’t want it anymore.”
“Wow.” Tamera sat back against the couch, shaking her head. “You’ve got to walk me through this one. I’m totally confused.”
Natalie thought back to when she’d received the email. She’d just gotten dressed for the day and was dragging a comb through her wet hair when her phone beeped with a notification. Natalie held out her arms, making the blanket fall to her lap, as though she could somehow describe the feelings that had rushed through her.
“I don’t know,” Natalie admitted. “I saw the email, and I felt … nothing. No joy. No excitement. Just this sick pit in my stomach as I thought about spending the next few years on airplanes, hopping from one place to the next. It didn’t seem exciting anymore. Instead of an adventure, it felt
like a chore.”
“Is this because of Shawn?” Tamera demanded. “Because if you are throwing away your dreams for a stupid boy who wouldn’t know a good thing if it smacked him upside the face, I’m going to kill him.”
Natalie laughed, brushing away the tears that seemed in endless supply. “I guess spending time with Shawn made me realize that adventures don’t mean much if you can’t share them with the people you love.”
Tamera pursed her lips, then grunted. “Okay, that was a pretty good line. And Wyatt’s going to throw a party when he hears you’re sticking around. But seriously, Nat. I’ve never seen you like this.”
“I know.” Natalie lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “I guess it’s because I’ve never been in love before.”
Tamera gave her a tight side hug. “He better be worth it.”
“Trust me, he is.”
“Natalie,” Wyatt hollered from the kitchen. “Mom’s ruining the fudge. Come and save it.”
“I am not,” Mom called back. Wyatt’s laughter filtered into the living room, followed closely by Dad’s.
“She’s not putting in enough butter,” Wyatt argued.
“That’s because your nutritionist told you to behave,” Mom shot back.
“Come on.” Tamera rose, offering a hand. “Let’s go help. It’s Christmas Eve. No more sad faces.”
With Wyatt’s help, Natalie saved the fudge. They were discussing what to bake next, sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies, when the doorbell rang.
Wyatt looked at Tamera, one eyebrow raised. “Are you expecting anyone?”
She shook her head, heading to the door. “Not unless my parents decided to come at the last minute. They swore they were staying in Texas with Katie. I guess they could have decided to surprise us, but I doubt it.”
Natalie turned back to the cookbook, pointing to the sugar cookie recipe. “I think we should do these. They taste better than the gingerbread cookies.”
“But gingerbread makes the house smell like Christmas,” Wyatt said with a pout.
Natalie rolled her eyes, barely paying attention to the rumbling voices coming from the front entryway. “Okay, okay. I’m make both of them.”
Wyatt grinned, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “You’re the best sister.”
She swatted at him, pushing him away. “Yeah, yeah.”
“Uh, Natalie?” Tamera’s voice filtered in from the entryway. “I think you’d better come here.”
Natalie frowned, heading to the door. She didn’t know anyone in California except the people in this house. Well, and maybe Jase. She supposed he lived somewhere nearby, but they weren’t close enough to visit each other on holidays. Natalie rounded the doorway, still trying to figure out what Tamera could want, and froze.
Shawn stood in the doorway, his hands shoved deep in his cargo shorts and a Santa hat perched atop his head. He leaned heavily on a cane, his knee wrapped in some sort of brace. She put a hand to her heart, feeling its erratic beat.
“Merry Christmas,” he said softly.
Natalie took a step toward Shawn, barely aware when Tamera slipped away. Her eyes drank him in, memorizing every detail. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be somewhere in the Pacific.”
Shawn gave her a pained smile. “I should be. Mike was pretty mad when I quit without notice. But Jorge will do a great job with the group I was supposed to host this week.”
Natalie’s eyes widened. Her entire body leaned toward him, two magnets that couldn’t be kept apart. “You quit?”
Shawn nodded. “I would’ve come yesterday, but there were some things I wanted to take care of first.”
Natalie wanted to throw herself into his arms, but memories of their last encounter had her folding her arms. “Why are you here, Shawn?”
He took a careful step toward her, leaning heavily on the cane. “Someone made me realize how selfish it was to make decisions for you.”
She blinked, curling her fingers into her palms to avoid running her hands up his chest. She had spent most of the past two days dreaming of this moment, but now that it was here, a panicked voice inside urged caution. “What does that mean?”
“It means I was an idiot to tell you that we’d never work.” Shawn reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind one ear. She shivered, biting her lip. “When you said you wanted to try, Nat, I wanted to shout for joy. But after you almost drown…” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “I thought you deserved someone better than me. Someone stronger. Younger. Someone who isn’t injured.”
Something broken inside Natalie. She could feel the walls she’d built around her heart tumbling down as she stared into the gunmetal blue eyes she’d fallen in love with. The vulnerability there tore at her soul, and she had to let him know it was okay. Slowly, she trailed her hands up his chest. His heart pounded against her palm as he inhaled sharply.
“I don’t want someone stronger and younger and uninjured,” Natalie said. “I want you. I love you.”
The cane clattered to the floor. Shawn’s arms went around her back, and he crushed her to him. Natalie rose on her tiptoes and met his lips eagerly with her own. She pushed the Santa hat to the floor and ran her fingers over the tight buzz cut of his hair, loving the way it softly prickled her palm. Shawn’s hand went to her face, cupping her cheek as his mouth ravished hers.
“I’m sorry,” Shawn whispered over and over. “I love you. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered back. And her heart soared.
When they finally pulled back a few minutes later, both were breathing heavily. Natalie rested her head against his chest, loving the way she fit in the hollow of his neck.
“I got you a present,” Shawn said, bending down. For the first time, Natalie noticed a wrapped present on the ground.
“Wow, I feel silly,” Natalie joked, sliding a nail underneath the tape. “I didn’t get you anything.”
“You gave me you,” Shawn said, kissing her cheek. “That’s more than enough.”
Natalie tossed the paper to the ground, covering Shawn’s cane. She would ask him about that later—make him sit down and elevate his knee—but she knew bringing it up now would ruin the moment. She lifted the lid on the box, staring at the contents inside.
He’d given her a paper?
Slowly, Natalie lifted the note, staring at the words inside. It looked like a domain name for Shawn’s travel agency. She glanced up at him, uncertain. “I don’t understand.”
Shawn grinned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Read the back.”
She flipped it over and saw a note.
To the woman who will always be my home. Travel agents can work from everywhere. I will gladly follow you around the world. I love you.
- Your Secret Santa
Natalie gasped, her eyes flying up to Shawn’s. “You didn’t get the bonus?”
“Oh, I got the bonus.” Shawn grabbed his cane from the floor, supporting his weight on his good leg. “The property I wanted in Sunset Plains went under contract, but my agent told me this morning that the buyer pulled out. But I don’t want it anymore. Sunset Plains means nothing to me compared to you. I will follow you anywhere your job takes you. It’s you I need, Natalie. Not a place. A person.”
Tears filled Natalie’s eyes, and she threw her arms around Shawn’s neck. He stumbled backward and she laughed, catching them both.
“Sorry,” she breathed. “You should really sit down or something. Did the swim hurt your leg that badly?”
Shawn shook his head, his eyes hooded. He lifted the cane. “Does it bother you?”
She kissed his chin. “It only bothers me that you’re in pain.”
His arm tightened around her waist. “I’m not in pain when I’m with you. And I promise, I won’t slow you down on your travels. If something is too hard for us to do together, I’ll wait while you go on the adventure alone.”
Natalie put a finger to his lips, cutting him off. “I turned
down the job.”
His eyes widened. “You what?”
She laughed and nodded. “I realized the only adventures I want are the ones we go on together.”
“So we’re both unemployed?”
She laughed again. “I think technically I can still claim student status until May.”
He leaned down, brushing another kiss across her mouth. “Then we’ll figure out where to go next together. I’m going to give this relationship one hundred percent. And that means no long distance.”
Natalie laughed, leading him into the kitchen. “We can talk about that later. Right now, there are some people I want you to meet.”
Later that night, once everyone else had gone to bed, Natalie sat beside Shawn on the couch, the glow of the Christmas tree their only light.
“I can’t believe I fell in love in eight days,” Natalie whispered.
Shawn’s leg was elevated on a chair, the ice pack she’d insisted he use wrapped around it. Her hand rested lightly on his chest, their fingers linked.
He chuckled, the low sound reverberating against her ear.
“It’s a Christmas miracle,” Shawn said.
“No, it’s a Toujour miracle,” Natalie countered.
And it really was.
EPILOGUE
Two Months Later
Natalie laughed as Shawn tugged her down the beach on Perla del Mar. The soft white sands shifted under her feet as she stumbled after him.
“What’s the hurry?” Natalie asked. “The ship isn’t going anywhere until tomorrow night.”
“You’ll see,” Shawn said, pulling her forward. His leg was strong today, the limp barely visible. She knew it would probably act up again eventually, but for now, she was appreciating the increased mobility Shawn was experiencing. Wyatt had recommended a physical therapist in Arizona who’d had a lot of success with knee injuries, and Natalie had convinced Shawn to give him a try. It seemed to be helping, and she loved watching Shawn’s confidence blossom as he attempted tasks he’d avoided for more than a decade. Soon, she hoped they could give ice skating a try.
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