‘Here’s what I want to say,’ Samantha said. ‘We weren’t ready for your love. None of us were. We didn’t understand. The emotions and experiences you were describing did not make sense to us. We thought you were living a fantasy. And then we came here, to this island paradise, and we saw it, lived it, and we can no longer deny your love is true. You showed us what real love looks like. Not only that, you showed us what it takes to fight for it. It’s beautiful and inspiring and I believe we’ve all been changed. I have, for sure. Like I said, I was bitter and brokenhearted when I arrived here. I’d been dumped and was depressed about it. I didn’t have much hope of ever finding my person and I didn’t want to believe all the tales you were spinning. But you and Anthony inspired me to let new people in. Jasmine and Jason made me believe in magic. Chris and Jen taught me that love exists in quiet friendships. It doesn’t have to be bold and boastful to be beautiful. Hugo and Adrian, you’ve always been role models for me. Having spent this time with you, I know the goal is to put a relationship first and work at it every day. There’s no such thing as perfect.’
Samantha paused for a breath and turned to Roman. ‘I came here thinking I would be the odd one out. I joked this wedding was a couples’ retreat and that’s not far from the truth. Roman, I’m glad to be in a couple with you, even for this short time. I believe we found magic. We’ve been at each other’s throat and we’ve had each other’s back. I’m the river and you’re the sea. Normally we’d never have met. But I’m so glad we did meet … here, of all places.’
Roman stared at her, his big brown eyes cloudy with emotion. He moved to kiss her when Naomi interrupted.
‘Now you really are stealing my thunder,’ Naomi said, wiping away tears. ‘This is supposed to be about Anthony and me.’
Roman kissed her anyway and whispered against her lips, ‘We’ll take this up later.’
Samantha was smiling broadly when she raised her cup. ‘To Anthony! Good luck because you’re going to need it!’
Laughter erupted. But there were also tears and hugs and loud congratulatory slaps on the back. All that came to a sharp end when Chris raised his voice. ‘I don’t want a quiet friendship!’
A hushed silence quickly spread. Chris had been standing to the side alone. His hand gripped a beer bottle, his knuckles white on the amber glass. ‘I don’t want it,’ he repeated. ‘Jen, I love you. And I want to be bold about it.’
Jen had her arms around Anthony for a congratulatory hug. Chris’s outburst froze her in place, arms extended and jaw slack. All eyes shifted to her. Samantha sent good vibes her way. It was time for Jen to take her shot.
Chris handed his bottle to Adrian and stepped forward. ‘I don’t know if you still want me after all I put you through. If you give me a chance, I won’t let you down. I will show up for you as you have always, always showed up for me.’
That did it. She snapped out of her stupor. She brought her hands to her chest as if her heart might leap free. ‘Of course I still want you! I love you, Chris. I’ve always loved you. I didn’t value it before because it was so free and so easy, but I was stupid. I’m not that girl anymore. All I want is you.’
Jen and Chris ran to each other. Feeling the love, everyone cried, ‘Awwww!’ and rushed to surround them. Everyone but Samantha, who stood rooted in the sand. Jen and Chris had done the impossible. They’d leaped over a void of confusion and doubt and made it safely to the other side. She was happy for them, deliriously happy. More than that, she was hopeful for herself.
When she tore her gaze away from the happy couple, her eyes met Roman’s. He stood apart from the group, his expression soft, eyes fixed on her.
Every cliché held a grain of truth. It was possible to look across a crowd, lock eyes with the person who had a claim on your heart, and know without a doubt that you loved them.