The Gratitude Guarantee (Boyfriend in the Bargain #4)

36. Zach

36

ZACH

A full week later, I’m still waking up every morning pinching myself. I wasn’t exaggerating when I told Brenna on the roof that it was the best Christmas ever. And that holiday joy seems to be following me straight into the new year.

We drove back to Nashville the day after Christmas, and Brenna insisted I stay at her apartment for dinner with her and Amanda. True to her word, she had purchased me a stocking and hung it next to hers on the bookshelf. The three of us sprawled on the floor next to the tiny white tree and sifted through our goodies. Brenna had filled mine to the brim with Dr. Pepper-flavored jelly beans, a new pair of leather work gloves, and a T-shirt I’d liked from the Bahamas that she somehow purchased without my knowledge.

Her stocking contained all kinds of girly stuff that Amanda had picked for her, plus a pack of hand warmers I slipped in the last time I was here since her hands are always cold. At the time, warming up on me wasn’t an option. Now I’m plotting how to get rid of them so she keeps reaching for me when she’s cold.

Today I’m excited because we have plans for tonight—an official date of the romantic variety. We’re going to dinner and then we’ll come back to my place to watch a movie. I picked one I’ve seen a million times so I won’t miss anything if I get distracted by her close proximity. Translation: I’m hoping we can work in a little kissing while we’re snuggled up on my couch. I’m glad I waited so long to kiss the woman I love—and I do love her, make no mistake. But I’m also glad the waiting is over because it’s even more fun than I thought it would be.

I pull up in front of her apartment building at six o’clock, and she’s ready and waiting outside. She looks cozy and classy in a long, camel-colored wool trench coat over a white blouse and black slacks. A red necklace and red shoes give her outfit the pop of color I’ve come to expect from her.

“Hello, gorgeous,” I say as she climbs into the passenger seat of my truck. She leans over the console, and I meet her halfway, cupping her cheek and enjoying a lingering kiss. A honk brings me back to the moment, and Brenna giggles as the car behind us honks again.

“Sounds like you’d better move it, buddy. They’re ready to go.”

I gun it through the parking lot and pull us out onto the road with a grin as she buckles up. At the restaurant, I open the door for her and approach the hostess. “Reservation for Dawson.”

The girl taps a few times on her tablet and then smiles. “Right this way.”

Once we’re seated, I ask Brenna about her day. I’m surprised and a little alarmed to see the look on her face change to an emotion I can’t place. Worry, maybe?

“Well, I got a job offer,” she says, tucking her hands into her lap. Her body language is closed off, her shoulders slightly hunched.

“That’s great,” I respond, confused by her lack of enthusiasm. “Where?”

“That’s the thing. I wasn’t planning to spring this on you as soon as we got here, but since you brought it up…” She blows out a breath. “It’s for a firm in Knoxville. Someone my dad knows who found out I was looking for a job.”

“That’s great,” I repeat, trying not to let the panic rising up in me show on my face. Is she going to move? Does this mean she’s breaking up with me? I must not do a good job of hiding my alarm because she reaches across the table and grabs my hand.

“Hey, don’t freak out. I haven’t accepted it. I wanted to talk to you first.”

I nod, gesturing for her to continue.

“I spoke to Mark—that’s the attorney who owns the firm—on the phone a few days ago and we kind of hit it off. He invited me to come for an in-person meeting, so I drove down there and had lunch with him. He seems great, and even though it’s not the kind of law I’ve got the most experience in, I like his attitude toward his clients. I think I could really help people and make a difference there.”

Stuffing my personal feelings down, I smile. “And it would be close to your family.”

“And there’s that. But I don’t know where that leaves us,” she says, and my heart squeezes when her bottom lip trembles and her eyes brim with unshed tears. “I don’t want to leave you, Zach, but this is the only opportunity that’s come up so far and I’m actually interested in it even though it’s a little different. I don’t know what to do.” A fat tear slips down her cheek and lands on the tablecloth.

I reach for her other hand and keep my face as neutral as possible. “If you want the job, I think you should take it. I don’t ever want to get in the way of you doing the things you want to do. We’ll have phone calls and texts throughout the week, and we can take turns visiting each other on the weekends.” I swallow hard against the lump in my own throat as another tear breaks free and joins the first one. Man, I hate seeing her cry. “It’ll be hard, but we can do it.”

“Maybe for a while. But what about long-term?” She sniffs and squeezes my hands tightly. “I wasn’t ready to say it when you did last week, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I love you too, Zach.”

For a moment, the mountain-sized roadblock in front of us feels invisible as I try to absorb what she’s just said. “You love me?”

She nods, giving me a tremulous smile. “I do. I love you, Zach.”

I can’t help myself. I’m out of my chair, kneeling in front of her, my hands on her face, before I know what I’m doing. “I love you too, Brenna, but you already know that. We’ll figure this out. I promise. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ve been looking for you for a decade, and there’s no way I’m letting you go now.”

And then our mouths meet in a searing kiss, me pouring all of my devotion out to her. I break away and wipe her tears away with my thumbs. “Everything is going to work out. I won’t accept any other outcome.”

I can see from the corner of my eye that my display is garnering attention from the other diners, so with one more quick peck, I stand and return to my seat before I make an even bigger scene.

She pulls a pack of tissues from her pocket and dabs at her face, taking a deep breath. “Well, this date is off to an auspicious start.”

“You could say that.” And I grin because even though we have a laundry list of challenges to work through, Brenna said she loves me. That was all I needed to hear to turn my determination up to level ten. I will make sure that this woman knows she has my full support in every way, and I will do whatever it takes to be by her side.

“So here’s a question.” I wait until she looks up at me to continue. “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the surface of the sun and one being a bottomless cave, how bright do you think our future is?”

The laugh that bursts out of her turns more heads and warms my heart. We’re going to get kicked out of this restaurant, but I don’t care. I make no effort to hide my adoration of her as I wait for her answer.

“Eleven. Definitely an eleven.”

Now that she’s gotten her news off her chest, Brenna opens up, and the rest of the date flies by as we eat a fantastic meal and make plans for the future. I love seeing how excited she is about the prospect of working in a branch of law that will challenge and fulfill her in new ways. And I think I do a pretty good job of convincing her that my business doesn’t have to stay in Nashville. I’m totally sure that I could do what I do in Knoxville as well as I can here. In fact, I already have a few ideas of ways to build a customer base quickly if I decide to make the move, which seems more and more likely in my mind the more we talk and dream.

By the time I finish kissing her good night at her front door—and it takes a minute because I believe in doing things thoroughly—I’m convinced that no matter what challenges we might face in the next few months, I’m in this for the long haul. Whatever I have to do to make things work with the woman I’ve waited so long to find will be worth it.