Page 68 of Tides and Tidings

She nodded slowly. “I saw the outline of a ring box in his jacket pocket when y’all were leavin’ for dinner last night. He also looked nervous as hell.” She pressed a hand to her chest, “After we left y’all, Albert told me he saw a visibly nervous man with a beautiful woman who was pissed that his night was just ruined. He was sure your handsome devil was gonna pop the question.”

She had to be making this up.

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

The woman raised a shoulder, “Seein’ y’all together this morning when you got back reminded me so much of Albert and I. We’ve always put each other first. We prioritize date nights—even in our old age. You both looked like you had the time of your lives last night. Do that more often.”

“I’m too old for that,” I laughed.

“You’re never too old to go out and have a good time with the one person you can trust the most.” She rested a hand on my shoulder, “Al and I have been together over fifty years. I’ve never been more in love with him than I am today. Every day, there’s a new reason to fall in love with your partner. As you get older, your needs change, and the way you show your love changes. Ten years from now, your life will look different than it does today. Learn to embrace the changes.”

This was an intense conversation for not even nine o’clock in the morning. For some reason, this woman knew exactly what to say. I was upset that Charlie didn’t remember the fake proposal because it was fun. It added to the stories for the night, but I couldn’t tell him.

“Can I hug you?” I asked. Moving to the South really made me a hugger. When I lived in Seattle, I hated any form of physical contact, especially hugs.

“I would love a hug!” The woman wrapped her arms around me and gave me a good squeeze. She reminded me so much of my grandma. As silly as it sounded, I took this as a sign that I was on the right path.

“Thank you for your advice.”

“It was my pleasure. Y’all be safe drivin’ home!” And instantly, she was gone and I was standing alone in the lobby.

I went to the concierge to check out while Charlie pulled the car around. I made my way outside, and he was waiting in front.

“Was everything okay?” Concern covered his face.

I offered up a hundred-watt smile, “Yeah. I ran into the older couple from last night.”

“Albert and Eden?” He clarified.

I tilted my head and looked at him like he had four eyes.

“How do you know their names?” I buckled my seatbelt and we drove over to the

There’s a reason for my question.

“They told us last night.” He looked at me weirdly as we rolled up to a red light.

He had added a backward Coastal Cup baseball hat to his outfit. With one hand on the top of the steering wheel, he reached out and grasped my hand.

“When did they tell us last night? When we met them the first time?” My eyes turned to slits.

“No, when we got back this morning. When they took the pictures of us by the elevator.”

“I don’t remember any of that. You do?” I raised a brow in his direction.

His eyes went wide while looking straight ahead at the road.

Charlie

Shit. That wasn’t supposed to come out. I just admitted that I remembered something about last night when I told Blythe I hadn’t. This hangover was ruining my mental faculties.

“I only remember coming back to the hotel.” I tried to smooth over my admission.

“Nothing else?” Blythe sniffed out my lie like a bloodhound. Which was odd because she said she didn’t remember anything. Was she lying?

“Not really.” I kept my eyes locked on the road ahead. If I looked at her, I would immediately admit to everything. How last night was the night that I was supposed to ask her to marry me but it was obliterated? How I remember asking her to marry me with a fucking piece of paper? How I was gut-wrenchingly terrified that I would lose her to someone better? No matter how many times she insisted she could never find someone that better suited her than me, my anxiety and overthinking would never allow me to know peace.

I think Blythe bought it because she had no more probing questions. Five minutes later, we pulled up in front of the toy store.