Rice and Mari swung their heads toward the doorway, surprise filling their eyes.
“Austin! What are you doing here?” Mari shot off her chair and hurried over to him.
He instantly yanked her into his arms and held her tight, burying his face in her hair and inhaling her sweet, feminine scent. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I shouldn’t have taken off like that.”
He could feel her body trembling in his embrace, and when she pulled back and met his eyes, he saw the questions in her gaze.
“I couldn’t go,” he said quietly. “I was standing at the gate, lining up to board the plane, and I realized that I couldn’t do it. I realized that I loved you too much to leave you.”
Her blue eyes widened, her mouth parting, but he didn’t give her the chance to respond.
“I know how much you love Paradise and how much you want to say yes to that job, and I want you to do it, Mari. Take the job, and I promise I’ll stay for the whole summer, even the school year if you end up getting the teaching position.” He hesitated. “I’d have to leave every now and then for the odd assignment, but I promise you, I’ll always try to come home as fast as humanly possible.”
Moisture clung to her eyelashes, and now she was smiling. “Hey, I’m a teacher, remember? Normally I get the summers off, which means I can travel with you, dummy.”
He smiled right back. “Does that mean you forgive me for almost skipping town on you?”
“Of course I forgive you. In case you’ve forgotten, I was about to go to the airport and follow you all the way to Malaysia.” She blinked through her tears. “I love you, Austin. I want to be there for you.”
He touched her face, gently stroking her smooth, freckled cheek. “You already did that, baby. You’ve been there for me since the moment we met. Now it’s time for me to be there for you. You love Paradise, which means I’m gonna have to learn to love it again too.”
With that, his gaze strayed to his uncle. No, his father.
“The hurt and resentment won’t go away overnight,” he said quietly.
Rice nodded. “I know.”
“But I’m here, Rice. I’m here, and I’m going to try to let down my guard and actually give us a real shot at a relationship. With Mom, too.” Austin swallowed. “I can’t promise we’ll ever be as buddy-buddy as you might want, but I’m done shutting you out. I’m done running away.”
“It’s good to hear it, son.” Slowly, Rice stood up, one hand extended.
Austin hesitated for only a second, then reached out and shook the other man’s hand.
“Do you mind if I tell your mother that you’re back?” Rice asked gruffly. “I’m heading over there right now.”
“Yeah, you can tell her. And make sure she knows I’ll be stopping by later.” Austin bit the inside of his cheek. “Maybe…maybe the four of us can have dinner tonight?”
The pride on Mari’s face chased away any reluctance he’d been feeling. “That sounds great,” she said firmly.
Rice looked equally touched. “I’ll let your mother know.”
A moment later, Rice was gone, and Austin turned back to the redhead standing in front of him. Christ, she was so tiny, so beautiful, so fucking incredible he wanted to kick himself for ever considering walking away from her.
“So,” he said tentatively, “I know it’s only been a month, but how would you feel about being roommates?”
A smile stretched across her pouty mouth. “I’m listening…”
“A little birdie told me that Cooper Grady wants to rent out his cabin.” Austin’s lips quirked. “And since the two of us are currently homeless, I thought we might want to go and check out the place.”
“That’s a very practical idea,” Mari teased. “When should we do it?”
He arched a brow. “How about now?”
“Now?” She slanted her head, thinking it over. “No.”
His confidence faltered. “No?”
“No,” she repeated. The smile returned to her face, and then she moved closer and looped her arms around his neck. “Because we have something else scheduled at the moment.”
“We do?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s on the agenda?”
She dropped her arms and planted them on her waist, then shot him an indignant glare.
“Make-up sex,” she informed him. “In which you do a whole lotta groveling and make me forget all about waking up this morning to find your side of the bed empty.” She paused. “And after said make-up sex, I expect another note. No, a sonnet. Written in calligraphy and filled with passionate, flowery words that pay tribute to my sheer awesomeness.”
Austin nodded earnestly. “Done.”
“Oh, and since I’m a teacher, I’ll be grading the sonnet.” She cast an impish grin. “And the sex.”
He burst out laughing. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Mari grinned again, then stood on her tiptoes and brushed a quick kiss over his mouth. “Good, let’s get neckin’ then. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us, and no time to waste.”