"Come inside first. That's where all the magic lies."
Okay, to say that she was a little freaked by what he had said would be an understatement. What could Nate possibly find magical in an old inn?
The walls had paint peeling off of them, the furniture looked a century old, the desk were lathered in dirt, and the floor, carpeted or not, was extremely filthy.
Either magic had lost its meaning or there was more to this place then met the eye.
"C'mon," Nate said, grabbing her hand. "This way. And you might want to close your mouth. I don't doubt that they have flies here." He chuckled lightly.
…-.-…
"Well, I guess this is as well as any a time to ask."
"What?"
"Remember when that conversation that we had? About getting married?"
Cody nodded as she remembered how awkward that had been.
"Well, you probably remember how the conversation ended. So, how about now? You want to marry me?" He searched through the pockets of his coat, then brought out a diamond ring and held it out to her.
Cody could only gape at him. She didn't care if there were flies at this place that could suddenly enter mouth. She just couldn't believe that this had happened.
She could almost see a tall, blond, and athletic version of him over the floor on one knee, holding out a ring in one hand and a rose in the other. He looked familiar. Kind of like the man from her dream . . .
"So, what do you say?" Nate said, startling her out of her thoughts.
Cody opened her mouth to say something to him, and then closed it. What could she say? No, I think this is going too fast and I think there's something really odd about this whole situation? Yeah right. And have him repeat his tantrum from back in the apartment. No thank you.
Then again . . . this could open a lot of doors too.
"I don't know what to say," she began. "I can't believe you just proposed. I mean, it's just so unexpected and yet you had already kind of warned me," she babbled.
Nate looked at her in amusement. Then he bent over and gave her a soft kiss, a kiss so soft that it made her tremble, head to toe. A kiss that not only took her breath away, but also her thoughts. When he pulled away, she was left wanting more.
"So?" he asked again.
"Why not?" Cody smiled at him as she slid the ring onto her finger. She brought her hand up to her face and examined it. "Wow, Nate. It's so beautiful."
He responded by kissing her. She was only too happy to return the favour.
…-.-…
"Mr. Furlong, we've just received word that Nate Bates credit card was used at Morning Sunshine Inn."
Squib let a smile onto his face, the first since he won his match all the way back in Australia, all that time ago . . .
"It'd be best we left immediately," the police officer continued.
"Of course."
…-.-…
She got the feeling that she'd never been one who cared for other people's opinion of her, so why was she making a decision just on that account?
Sure, Nate was a nice guy and all, but she wasn't marrying every nice guy out there was she? Okay, he was also a damn good kisser but that was still no reason to marry him! Actually, she was starting to think that the kiss was actually a good way to get her to agree. Drug her with them until she lost her thoughts and then prompt an answer. Hmm . . .
Anyways, back to the point: she didn't want anyone calling her child a bastard, and since there was such a nice willing man who was more than ready to take her as his bride, why not?
Maybe because he wanted them to get married the next day in the inn's wedding chapel?
Then again, if she had already agreed to go through with it, why not just get it over with. The sooner the better, right?
…-.-…
Luck was on Squib side that day. There was no traffic on the way to the inn so they got there in roughly ten minutes, and then as soon as they entered, guess who they saw?
"You!" Squib barked at Nate, while two of the policemen immediately took each of his arms. "Where's my wife?"
Surprisingly, Nate didn't seem the slightest bit unnerved by the police man or angry tennis player. "Your wife? I have no idea."
"Don't even try to deny that you took her. You have some nerve, first crashing into her and then kidnapping her!"
"Hey, she came willingly. And last I knew, she was no longer your wife, but my fiancée," he added smugly.
"Why you son of a-"
"Mr. Furlong, please. Let us interrogate him. Why don't you go and find your wife in the meantime."
Squib looked like he was about to argue but then charged ahead to the administration desk, the man behind it watching the scene with wide eyes, and asked, "What room was that man in?"
"Sir, that is confidential-" the man started.
"In case you didn't notice, I'm with the police," Squib growled.
"Right. Room 127, up the stairs and to the left."
Squib followed the directions and soon found himself in front of room 127. He wanted so badly to crash through the door and take Cody in his arms but settled for knocking instead.
"Coming," a vice called from inside.
Squib's heart raced. It was her voice. Cody.
The opened and Cody's head peaked out. "Yes?"
She didn't recognize him! "Cody," he smiled widely. "It's me! Squib!" he pulled her out and crushed her against him in a hug.
"Let me go! What are you doing? Who are you? NATE!" she yelled in panic, while trying to push him off.
Squib let her out of the hug but still held on to his hands. She really didn't recognise him! Even after his introduction! He hastened to tell her more, "Cody, it's me, Squib, your husband."
That got her to stop struggling, but she still looked scared. "What?"
"Yeah!" he continued, glad that she was actually listening to him. "We got married on October eighth two years ago. I went off to that Australian tennis competition a month ago and you decided to go visit Adena by car, even though you were pregnant. You had a car accident and you lost your memory-"
"No," Cody contradicted him. "I wasn't in an accident. I slipped in the tub!"
"No, you didn't!" Squib told her. "You had a car accident. Nate crashed his car into yours and took you to the hospital-"
"No, no! You've got it all wrong!" Cody shook her head wildly as if to emphasize her point. "Nate didn't crash his car into mine! I wasn't even in an accident! He found me in the tub and took me to the hospital!"
Squib let go of her completely and stepped back, shock and pain etched into his face. "You don't believe me," he whispered.
"Why should I? I don't even know you!" she yelled.
"Cody, just look at me!" Squib pleaded. "Try to remember. The doctor said you should have remembered some stuff by now!"
Cody took a deep breath and finally looked at him, really looked at him. And now that she thought with a calm mind, he did look kind of familiar. Where had she seen that face before? Perhaps if he had longer hair, he would look a lot like the guy from . . . from her dreams!
From what she could gather from the memories, he had been a big part of her life at one point. Apparently, she'd lived with him, told him about the pregnancy, and he had once proposed as well. But had she really married him? She didn't know that for sure. There was the possibility of her turning him down.
Then again, she remembered her doubts about her fidelity. Hadn't she once questioned if she was in an affair before her accident? And Nate still hadn't warmed up to the idea of a baby. He didn't even confirm that it was his. And this guy had seemed pretty happy about it in her 'memory'.
"What did you say your name was?" Cody asked him hesitantly.
"Squib!" Squib said, relief washing over his face. "Well, actually it's Gary Furlong but everyone called me Squib."
Squib? Yes, that sounded familiar too. Still . . .
Just then a few police officers came up to them, a handcuffed Nate in their grip.
"Nate!" Cody shouted in shock.
"Cody." He smiled weakly.
"Mrs. Furlong, you'll have to come with us too," the lead officer said, looking at Cody.
Cody looked around, confused, until she figured that he was talking to her. Mrs. Furlong was probably her married name. She nodded quietly and let them lead her out of the inn and into a police car, Squib always beside her.
"Don't worry," he told her once they were seated. "After this, everything will make sense."