“Casey.” His soft voice makes me turn my head to look at him. “All my life, I’ve been waiting. I haven’t had other relationships. Other women haven’t interested me, not in the least. I had no idea what or who I was waiting for, only that I’d never met anyone that was my match. But then I saw you outside the college. I saw you and I talked to you, and we walked and ate together, and every moment has made me more sure. It’s you I’ve been waiting for, all this time. You’re the one.”
I cover my mouth to stop myself from crying. My heart feels like it might swell and burst inside my chest. I feel so much for him that it hurts. Could this really be true?
“Let’s have breakfast,” Edward says, then gives me a sly smile. I think he’s trying to normalize things for me, because he can see the tears of emotion gathering in my eyes. “Unless you want to shower together first?”
I do very much want to shower together, but not while I have this lump in my throat. A little simple domesticity might be a better idea. “I could eat,” I tell him. “I want to see what your kitchen is like.”
As he leads me down the stairs, I can’t stop thinking. Could it be true that I’m the one for him? I’m filled with a painful kind of apprehension, a fervent hope that it might not turn out to be a mistake. Because as soon as he said it, I felt it in my chest. Edward is the one for me.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Edward
We eat at the kitchen island, simple poached eggs on toast. I look at Casey as we make small talk while we eat, light and simple things that don’t require much thought. Which is good, because my head is in a totally different place.
Looking at Casey sitting here in my kitchen, I see something else, the vision that began last night, clearer now than ever before. Casey wrapped in my robe as she hurries to get the kids ready for school, watching over them as they eat toast or cereal. I picture them rushing around with jelly on their cheeks, until Casey swipes them and wipes it off. Hugging my legs to say goodbye to Daddy before I head off to work. All of us, here in this kitchen. A family of my own.
And I know what I have to do.
“I just have to make a few work calls,” I say to Casey, brushing off my hands and moving towards the garden door. It’s true, in a sense. I do have to let James know that I won’t be coming in again today – or for the rest of the week. I know the business can run itself for a while if I’m not there. There are more important things to focus on right now.
Because my second call isn’t work-related at all. In fact, it’s a call to an old friend, my best buddy, Rick.
I’m filled with tension as I wait for the line to connect. I know the overseas call will probably cost a fortune, but I don’t care. This has to be done – and now, before Casey goes back home.
“Hey, Ed,” Rick says. “How’s it going? Did you meet with Casey?”
“I did,” I tell him, with a light chuckle. “No thanks to your organizational skills. I managed to give her a tour of the old place. I think she liked it.”
“Yeah? Is she doing okay? I haven’t spoken to her in a couple of days.”
“She is,” I say, glancing back toward the house. Through the glass doors, I can see Casey still sitting at the island, scrolling through something on her own cell phone. “Actually, it’s Casey that I wanted to talk about.”
“Have you been with her for the last couple of days? I thought she might ask you to show her around,” Rick says.
“Yeah, I have. I’ve shown her all the tourist stuff. But it’s not that.”
“Oh, is there boy trouble over there?” Rick asks. I wish he would stop jumping to his own conclusions. I can’t use body language or facial expression to slow him down, and he’s just off on his own track. “I was worried about that. Casey’s innocent, you know? She’s been sheltered over here. I don’t want those English boys with their fancy accents trying to take advantage of her.”
“I don’t think there are any English boys,” I say, opening my mouth to get the rest out – before Rick cuts me off.
“Are you sure? I don’t like to have Casey spending too much time with boys over here. She never brings them back home or anything like that. It’s just not the right time for her. She needs to focus on her education.” Rick sounds like he’s reciting a perfected speech, something he’s gone over time and time again. “Boys come later. She’s such a young girl still, only eighteen. She shouldn’t even be thinking about that yet. When she has her degree, fine, she can start to think about it. I had her when I was twenty, and I wouldn’t change her for the world, but she’s not going to throw her life away like that.”
“Got it,” I say, closing my eyes. What I wanted was to ask for his blessing – but I don’t think I’m going to get it, especially after that speech.
“So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Rick asks.
“Oh, nothing. Just – I said I’d take her on her next tour as well. Not that I’ve been to Royal Holloway, but it’s good for her to have someone else there, to ask the questions she doesn’t think of.”
“Thanks, Ed,” Rick says. “I knew I could trust you to look after my daughter.”
“Right,” I say, wishing I’d never made the call. “Well, talk to you later, buddy.”
I look back towards the house for a moment before walking
