Three Little Words (Fool's Gold #12)(88)

She kissed him back, holding on so tight he knew she would never let go.

She raised her head, her eyes bright with tears. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I love you, and yes, when it’s time, let’s have that other conversation. But for now, we’ll hang out and have lots of sex.”

He started to laugh then, because how on earth a guy like him found a woman like her was beyond him. But he’d been lucky and he planned to spend the rest of his life being very, very grateful.

* * *

“YOU’RE AN INCURABLE slob,” Isabel said to herself as she picked up a monster-truck magazine and two coffee cups. They’d been left in the living room, along with a lot of other stuff belonging to Ford. She put the magazine on the shelf under the coffee table and carried the mugs into the kitchen.

The man could barbecue, he could make her laugh and cause her to see stars in bed, but he left a trail of crap wherever he went. A small price to pay, she thought, nearly tripping over a pair of boots by the bathroom.

She carried the boots into the bedroom.

Sometime in the past few weeks, Ford had basically moved in with her. They were together every night, and somehow his clothes had started appearing in her closets and drawers. She would give him credit for doing the laundry. At least twice a week she came home to a freshly washed and folded pile of panties and bras. Her towels were always clean, as was the bathroom, now that she thought about it.

She set his boots in the closet and pushed them forward so she could close the door. Only they wouldn’t move. Something was in the way. She saw his duffel and shifted it. The zipper was open and a banded stack of letters tumbled to the carpet.

Isabel immediately recognized her own handwriting. She reached for the letters and undid the elastic band. The envelopes fanned out in her hand.

These were from when she was in high school, she thought. She bent down and saw three more banded groups of envelopes in his duffel. All her letters? Was it possible he’d kept them?

She sank onto the carpet and opened the top letter. The first thing she noticed was how worn the paper was. The seams where it had been folded were practically translucent. Some of the individual words had faded, and there were smudges on the side from being held.

Every one of them looked the same. Worn, well read. As if Ford had pored over them a dozen times. No, a hundred. She’d often wondered if he even cared that she wrote, but now she saw that somehow she’d connected with him.

She scanned the contents of the pages, wincing as she saw hearts in the margins or a particularly hideous picture spilling out. She heard footsteps and looked up. Ford stood in the bedroom.

“I was such a kid,” she said, waving the letters. “How did you stand it?”

“I liked them. I watched you grow up.” He gave her a slow smile. “You turned out good.”

He stood there all tall and broad. He wore cargo pants and a black T-shirt. Very “mercenary does Fool’s Gold.” He was tough and sweet, and she’d fallen for him weeks ago. Between then and now had simply been an attempt to avoid the obvious.

She scrambled to her feet and put the letters on her dresser. “So I have some news.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “New lip gloss? What’s the flavor?”

She stepped back. “This is serious.”

“So’s your lip gloss. Is it piña colada?”

“Yes, now listen. I’m staying.”

He looked at her as if he hadn’t understood what she’d said.

“I’m staying in Fool’s Gold. I’m going to expand Paper Moon and add a boutique.” She drew in a breath. “Obviously Sonia is a big part of why, but you are, too. I know this was just supposed to be pretend. But it’s not. At least not for me.” She twisted her fingers together.

“I’m in love with you, Ford. I think I have been since I was fourteen. At the very least, I’ve been waiting for you to come back. Or us to find each other. Either way, I love you.”

She had more she wanted to say, more she wanted to hear, but she didn’t get the chance. The affection fled his face and suddenly she was staring at the surprised features of an uncomfortable stranger.

He didn’t say anything. Not a single word. Instead he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. A few seconds later, the front door of the house closed and she was alone.

CHAPTER TWENTY

ISABEL WAS UNAWARE of the specifics when it came to the passage of time. She went through nights and days, she showed up at work and apparently made sense, but she wasn’t really there. Fortunately, there were no big decisions to be made, no orders to get right. She oversaw fittings and suggested veils and smiled when Madeline talked, but it was as if it were happening to someone else.

Friday she closed the store at six and headed home. The days were getting a little shorter. Lights were on in several of the houses in her neighborhood. She could see happy families gathering in kitchens and family rooms. But when she got to her house, it was dark. No lights, no Jeep with painted flames. Just a silent, empty house.

Ford was gone. He hadn’t said anything and then he’d left. She’d said the words he hadn’t wanted to hear, and she’d lost him forever.

She walked up the driveway, toward the back door. It was open, as always. Because this was Fool’s Gold and nothing bad ever happened here.

Only it had.