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It kills me that she doesn’t remember the year we were together, but even if she never regains her memories, it won’t matter to me. I will tell her everything she wants to know, and if she doesn’t want to know any of it, that’s fine too. We can have a beautiful life with our children and never think about it again.
She swims closer to me, and I gently take her arm and pull her to me, sinking into the water so we are face to face.
“What are you thinking about?”
She shrugs and a smile pulls at my lips. I love whenever I can see Sophia in her. They are so similar.
“I know you want Soph and I to move in to your penthouse, but I don’t know if I can give up my cabin. It’s where I raised Sophia for all of her life. We’ve made a life in Willow Creek. It’s our home, and we have people we love there. They have been our family for the last nine years; I can’t just leave them behind.”
“Then don’t give up your cabin.”
She turns her face to me and gives me an incredulous look.
“We can’t keep the cabin and have two penthouse apartments, Chandler. That’s not only crazy, but it’s also greedy.”
I smile at her adorable outrage and pull her even closer to my body; I need to distract her from her thoughts.
“Well, then you and Soph are just going to have to give up your apartment and move in with me. That or sell the cabin.”
I wink at her to let her know I’m teasing, and she rolls her eyes at me.
“You know, you’ve taught our daughter that nasty habit. I think I’m going to have to break it out of you.”
Her eyes darken and my groin tightens.
“And how exactly do you think you’re going to do that?”
I slide my hands down her sides and grip her thighs in my hands, pulling her up so that her legs are on either side of me, but I don’t let her wrap them around me. Her breathing picks up and her look tells me that I have her right where I want her. Before she can do anything, I stand quickly and toss her further out into the water. She lets out a squeal before going under, and I’m laughing when she surfaces.
“You ass!”
This only makes me laugh harder, and I can see her trying to hide her smile. I swim to her, my smile not fading, and cup her face in my hands.
“We will figure everything out. Right now, it’s your birthday, and I want to make you feel special.”
I kiss her softly, letting her feel how precious she is to me.
We are going to have a wonderful life, Tanya, please trust me.
We spend hours on the beach, going back and forth between the water to swim and laying out on chairs, the nice, warm night breeze brushing over us. It reminds me of before the accident, like the old times, but even better. Everything is perfect between us, and nothing can ruin it.
17
TANYA
The rest of our vacation is just as amazing as that first day. We went snorkeling almost every day and spent the rest of it on our own little private part of the beach outside of our villa.
I tried my hardest to stay out of my head and enjoy the moment. Chandler said that since I was so concerned about us not knowing each other, then the only solution was to get to know each other. Every night we spent our time from dinner until we went to bed asking each other questions.
It felt good to talk. I learned a lot about him, like his parents traveled constantly when he was a kid, so they often left him with nannies. He’s lived in the city since he was two and has traveled all over the world. I haven’t had the courage to ask about how we met; every time I try to ask him any questions about us, I get nervous and change the topic.
He’s been open about everything, even telling me things I can tell that he doesn’t really want to, and I’m grateful for it. It lets me know that I can trust him.
Our last night on the island I decide that I need to meet him halfway. I can see the effort he is putting in, and I want him to know that I see it. That I want us to try, even with all my fears and worries.
I wake up early, before Chandler for once, and I quietly slip out of bed and put on my robe. He’s lying on his stomach, his arms folded under the pillow and his broad back on full display. We’ve both gotten a nice tan from all our time spent outside, and I stand there appreciating his form for a minute. Shaking myself from my thoughts, I turn and leave the bedroom to start some breakfast for us.
I know exactly what I want to do today, and it starts with making him something to eat. I open a pack of bacon and my stomach rolls. I have to cover my mouth and turn away to breathe for a moment.
