Love Walks In

by Samantha Chase

He rolled his eyes. “Runaway Bride. I was being cute,” he said with a wink. “Have you ordered yet?”

  She shook her head. “I just got here five minutes ago so I figured I’d wait.”

  Bill immediately called the waitress over and gave her their drink orders. “I know what I want because I eat here all the time. Do you mind if I order for us?”

  “That’s fine. Go right ahead,” she replied.

  It took Bill a solid five minutes to get through the order and Aubrey was certain she’d misunderstood him. Once the waitress was gone, Bill turned back to her and smiled. “That’s an awful lot of food for just the two of us, Bill,” she said with a chuckle.

  “I promised my assistant I’d bring her back something.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  He folded his arms on the table and studied her. “You doing okay? Everything going all right?”

  She shrugged. “I’m getting there,” she said honestly. “I think I’m done wallowing around and ready to get back to work.” She cleared her throat. “You mentioned you might have some work for me when we last saw each other.”

  “Always,” he said. “After seeing the kind of work you do, I know I can find a position for you. I like what you did for the campaign with Hugh’s resorts and I think I want to try the same thing with other clients.”

  “But…you can’t.”

  “I’m pretty sure I can,” he countered.

  “No. You can’t. Not until Hugh is done with all of his events. It wouldn’t be right. It was our idea and it was supposed to be exclusive to him. All the rest will fail if you’re doing them with all your clients.”

  Bill leaned in across the table slightly. “First, it was never exclusive. It’s not in the contract. Second, it was primarily my idea, so really…that means I say whether we can do it with one client or fifty.”

  Aubrey shook her head. “I’m telling you, Bill, it’s wrong. Wait until Hugh gets done with all of his. Let the momentum keep building and by the time we’re done there, everyone will want something like it. Stay aloof for a while and then watch all your clients beg you for the chance to do one.”

  “Or they’ll go to somebody else.”

  She wouldn’t be swayed. “And they’d fail because they weren’t getting the best.”

  Bill leaned back, crossed his arms, and smiled. “That’s the girl I remember. There’s the fire I remember!”

  She blushed. “I know. I forgot about it for a little while, but I’m back.”

  “I’m glad, Aubrey. I’m really glad. And for what it’s worth, I agree with you. We’ll wait until all of Hugh’s events are done and then we’ll work on making this a package I offer to my clients—present and future.”

  “I think it’s a great idea. We can really take our time and put together something special. You can start making a list of clients you want to work with, and we can really do our research and be able to present them a highly customized event package from the get-go.”

  “You mean walk into their offices with my ace in the hole?” he said with a smirk.

  “Exactly.”

  “Damn, Aubrey, I really like the way you think.” He clapped his hands loudly and rubbed them together. “I can’t wait to get started. I think…” His cell phone rang and interrupted his train of thought. “Excuse me a minute.”

  Aubrey looked around the restaurant in appreciation. It was one of the fanciest steak houses in Raleigh and one she’d always wanted to go to. The lunch crowd was out in full force and yet the noise level was very agreeable. The waitress put their drinks on the table as well as a basket of warm bread, smiling before turning away.

  Bill stood, phone in hand. “I have to take this outside because I think I’m going to have to really yell to get my point across. Give me five minutes, okay?”

  “No problem,” she said and waved him off. Thank God he had the good sense to wait until he was outside before pitching a fit. She knew from experience how loud he could be when he was happy; she couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be if he was angry.

  Reaching for a roll, she couldn’t help but smile. She had stood up to Bill and he had listened to her. She had a potential job. Things were starting to fall into place for her and maybe, just maybe, once she got settled a bit, she’d be able to pick up the phone and call Hugh.

  Deciding to check her email, she bent down and reached into her bag for her cell phone. When she straightened, it fell from her hands.

  Hugh.

  He was there.

  Sitting across from her, looking better than she ever remembered seeing him.

  “Hi,” he said softly.

  “Hi.” Her heart was hammering wildly in her chest as her eyes hungrily drank in the sight of him. “I…I like your beard. It looks good on you.”

  Hugh ran a hand over his jaw and smiled. “Thanks. Although up until a couple of days ago I looked more like a homeless man. I finally figured out how to trim it back so it’s not so out of control.”

  She nodded. Words escaped her.

  “It’s good to see you,” he finally said. “How are you?”

  “I’m okay,” she said honestly. “And you?”

  “I’m okay,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”

  And everything in her melted. “I’ve missed you too.” She blushed. “I wanted to call… I should have called, but…”

  “No, I should have,” he said. “I shouldn’t have pushed so much. It wasn’t fair to you and I’m sorry. I was putting my unrealistic expectations on you.”

  She shook her head. “I was doing the same thing to you! You had your reasons for how you lived your life, Hugh. Who was I to try to tell you it was wrong?” A mirthless laugh escaped. “My life has been a mess and there I was trying to tell someone else how to live theirs. Who does that?”

  “Aubrey, we can go back and forth about this all day, I think. Let’s just agree we both handled things poorly. Okay?”

  She nodded. “I can do that.”

  He smiled. “Good.” Discreetly, he motioned for the waitress to come over. “How about we order?”

  “Um…Bill already did and…” She stopped and gasped and looked around. “Bill! Does he know you’re here? He went outside to take a call and he should be back any minute.”

  A waiter appeared next to the table with a large carry-out bag just as Bill returned. “Perfect timing, Robert,” Bill said to the waiter as he took the bag from his hands. Stepping close to the table, he gave a mischievous grin. “Just call me Cupid,” he said as he leaned over, kissed Aubrey on the cheek, and shook Hugh’s hand. “Call me, R.B. I see big plans in our future!” But before Aubrey could respond, he was gone.

  “R.B.?” Hugh asked.

  “Don’t ask,” she said with a laugh. “So…did you know I was going to be here?”

  “Not until I arrived. I met Bill outside and he told me.” He paused. “Did you know I was going to be here?”

  She shook her head. “Not until I sat up and saw you sitting here.”

  The waitress discreetly cleared her throat and they both laughed with embarrassment at how they had forgotten she was there.

  “Sorry,” Hugh said, taking the menu from her hand. Aubrey did the same and they continued to laugh quietly until she walked away.

  After a few minutes, they placed their orders, then simply sat and smiled at one another. “I can’t believe you’re here,” she finally said.

  “I should have come sooner.”

  “I think this is another one of those situations,” she teased. “Let’s just enjoy our lunch and we’ll talk after, okay?”

  “We’ll have to talk during or it will be awfully quiet,” he said with his own teasing grin.

  So for the next hour, Hugh caught her up with what was going on at the resorts and the feedback they’d gotten on the Montana event. He shared how he�
�d finally found a replacement for Heather and even caved and hired a few more event planners and coordinators for most of the resorts so he’d never be in that position again.

  “I think you made a wise choice,” she said.

  “I foolishly thought no one would ever quit,” he said sheepishly. “Lesson learned.”

  Aubrey knew he wasn’t only speaking about Heather’s leaving. “I’m glad you’ve got it all covered.”

  “What about you? What have you been doing?”

  She shared with him how her very short meeting with Bill had gone. “I thought about calling my father and going back to my old job, but I just couldn’t do it. I’m done with that part of my life.”

  “I’m proud of you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Their lunch arrived and they continued to talk about everything and nothing, each doing their best to keep the conversation light until they could be alone. By the time they were finished and the bill paid, Aubrey felt like running from the restaurant dragging Hugh behind her.

  They walked casually together outside and Aubrey waited anxiously for Hugh to ask to come home with her.

  “Thank you for lunch,” she said, hoping to prompt him.

  “It was my pleasure.” He paused, hands in his pockets. “I was hoping I could see you tomorrow.”

  Tomorrow? He was asking about tomorrow when it was barely two in the afternoon today? What in the world?

  “Um…sure. I mean, yes. Of course. I’d like that.” She took a breath, reminding herself to be calm and not throw herself at him. “We could have lunch at my place. I don’t cook as well as Anna or any of your chefs but I can make us some…”

  “Would you mind if it was later in the afternoon? Maybe around three?”

  She was so confused. All she wanted to do was get Hugh alone and beg for his forgiveness, but obviously he wasn’t quite as ready. Resigned to waiting, she nodded. “Sure. That would be fine.”

  “Great.” Leaning in, Hugh kissed her on the cheek, much like Bill had earlier. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Aubrey watched him walk away, torn between sighing with pleasure at the sight of him and screaming in frustration.

  * * *

  By two the following afternoon, Aubrey was ready to go crazy. The house was clean. She’d changed clothes four times, and now all she could do was wait.

  And pace.

  It seemed to be a good way to kill the time. Until she realized she was walking all over the nice vacuum marks in the carpet.

  So she vacuumed again.

  The clock read two fifteen.

  Her mind raced with possible ways to apologize to Hugh and how to ask him for another chance. She wasn’t opposed to begging. The last couple of weeks without him had been awful and she didn’t want to be without him anymore.

  She only hoped he still felt the same and he wasn’t coming here to thank her for breaking it off with him. That would be terrible.

  Forcing herself to sit, she picked up her Kindle and began scanning for something to read, and ended up playing several games of Solitaire on her tablet to kill the rest of the time. When the doorbell rang at two fifty-five, she almost wept with relief.

  Opening the door, she found Hugh looking just as nervous as she felt. “Hi,” she said a little breathlessly. “Come on in.”

  He stepped inside but he didn’t touch her or kiss her hello. “Thank you.”

  Motioning for him to have a seat in the living room, Aubrey made sure she sat on the opposite love seat, facing him but keeping a safe distance. Suddenly she felt a little insecure.

  After several long, awkwardly silent minutes, Aubrey finally spoke. “Can I get you a drink?”

  “What? Oh, no. Thank you, I’m good.”

  “Oh. Okay. Good.”

  Silence.

  Hugh chuckled quietly. “I’m so nervous. I thought I’d be able to come in here, look at you, and say what I had to say, and now that I’m here, I can’t seem to do it.”

  Yup. He was cutting her loose. There was no way she could let him know how devastated she was, so she went for light and breezy. “It’s okay, Hugh. I…I think I know what you’re going to say and really, it’s all right. I get it. We were moving too fast and things got out of control. It’s a good thing we found out what we did before we went any further.”

  He looked at her oddly. “Aubrey, what are you talking about?”

  “Us,” she said simply, hating the quiver in her voice. “You’re relieved I broke things off. Now you can have the future you want and I won’t hold you back. I’m okay. Really.”

  “That’s not what I came here to say.”

  “Oh?” she whispered.

  “No. I…dammit,” he muttered, raking a hand through his hair. “You were right about everything. I was scared to live. I was afraid to do anything that might not end the way I wanted. I wanted to always play it safe. And then I met you.” He stopped and smiled. “And suddenly I realized everything that was missing from my life. You gave me hope. But even then I couldn’t break the chains I put on myself. You have to know that I wanted to…but it was hard for me.”

  “Hugh, I do understand. It wasn’t fair of me to expect you to do it.”

  “No, I needed that, Aubrey. I needed someone to nudge me. To force me out of my comfort zone, make me see that I wasn’t really living.”

  “It’s not an easy thing to see. Everyone comes to the realization in their own way,” she said. “Just because I realized it for myself didn’t mean you had to at the same time. I’m sorry I wasn’t more understanding.”

  “I love you, Aubrey. I love you and I still want to marry you.” His gaze held hers steady.

  Her heart rate picked up again and her stomach twisted in knots. “Hugh, I… I need to explain something to you.” She shifted in her seat, wishing she was closer to him. “About the…you know, having kids thing.”

  “Wait, before you go any further, let me ask you something.”

  “O-kay,” she said hesitantly.

  “I know you said you didn’t want kids and I’ll be honest with you, that was a shock for me. I guess I thought everyone wanted to have kids. I’m sorry I didn’t handle it well. I respect your feelings and if being with you means we don’t have children, I’m fine with that. At the end of the day, I’d still have you. And you’re what I want more than anything.”

  Her heart ached now. This man, this sweet, generous man, was willing to give up on his dream of a family for her. It was almost enough to make her cry. The tears were already welling up. “Hugh, I really need to explain to you why I said that.”

  “Can I just interrupt one more time?”

  She nodded.

  “At any time in your life did you consider having kids?”

  She smiled at him, her vision a little watery as she nodded. “When I was younger, I thought someday I’d get married and have two kids.” She was a little taken aback as she watched Hugh pull out his phone and type something in. “Is everything all right?”

  “What? Oh, yeah. Dotty had texted me about one of the new hires. I’m sorry. That was rude of me to do that while you were talking.”

  It was, but she chose to keep silent about it.

  “So…two kids.” He nodded. “I think most people think that. It’s a good number.”

  “Hugh…”

  “Aubrey, you mean more to me than anything. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to have kids. I can’t help it. I grew up in a big family and I always thought I’d have one of my own. But I don’t need to. I have enough siblings who are going to do that one day—I can be the favorite uncle. It’s not a bad thing. I just… Please tell me I’m not too late.”

  She was just about to answer when there was a knock at the front door. Frowning, she stood. “Excuse me a minute.” The last time she’d had an unexpected visit
or, it was her mother. Aubrey silently prayed it wasn’t going to happen a second time.

  Pulling the door open, she was a little surprised to find no one there. She was just about to shut the door when she heard a faint whimper. Looking down, she saw a basket with a balled-up blanket in it.

  And then the blanket moved.

  “What in the world?” she whispered as she crouched down and gingerly pulled the blanket up.

  And stared into two pairs of puppy eyes.

  “Oh my goodness!” she cried softly. “Look at you!” Turning the basket slightly, she looked for a card or some sort of identification. “Where did you two come from, huh?” She sensed more than heard Hugh come up behind her. “Hugh? Do you see this? Aren’t they precious?”

  He smiled and crouched down beside her. “I see you’ve met Cocoa and Abercrombie.”

  “Cocoa and… Wait…you know these puppies?”

  “You don’t think they got here all by themselves, do you?”

  “But…” She looked from the puppies to Hugh. “I don’t understand.”

  And then he shifted onto one knee before reaching over and picking up the puppies—one in each hand. “Aubrey Burke, we love you. All three of us. We want to spend the rest of our lives with you, being a family. You see, these little guys left their family so they could be part of ours. We can’t promise we’ll be perfect or that we won’t make mistakes, but that’s what makes life interesting, right?”

  Tears flowed down her cheeks. The sight of the man she loved and the things he was saying would have been enough. Throw in the two adorable puppies and she was a goner.

  “Say yes, Aubrey. Say yes to loving me and marrying me and making the four of us a family,” Hugh said, his eyes so full of love.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Definitely yes.”

  Then they kissed. She wanted to pull him close and be held in his strong arms but the squirming puppies wouldn’t allow it. They whimpered and did their best to break free. Finally Hugh put them down and, as if reading Aubrey’s mind, embraced her.

  Nothing had ever felt so good. Over and over his mouth slanted over hers, and soon she found herself pinned beneath him on the foyer floor. She lost track of time because everything she’d ever wanted was right there in front of her—loving her.