“Are you ready to talk to me now?” he asked gently.
I met his gaze. “I’m starting to think that there might be more to all of this than I realized,” I admitted with a sigh.
“Just listen,” he said, turning in his chair to face me. He took my hands in his own, and I let him. “I should have told you about Amy, but in my mind, I’m not married. Everything about Amy, and the relationship, has been over for a long time, and I swear to you, I don’t love Amy.”
He paused, giving my fingers a squeeze. I believed him. Maybe it was naive, but my gut told me that he was being honest with me.
“Tatum, I’m pretty sure that I’m falling in love withyou.”
I sucked in a sharp gasp, my eyes wide. “Y-you are?”
The corner of his mouth ticked up in a half-grin. “I know, it’s unexpected. We haven’t known each other for long, but we don’t have to. Like I said in my speech, when it’s right, you just know it. I know you’ve been hurt before, but I promise that won’t happen again. I want to be together when we leave the island. I want to date you, and learn everything there is to know about you, and when you’re ready, we can discuss the future together.”
I couldn’t help but feel uncertain. What we had was amazing, but would it last when we went back to the real world? A few days ago, I was so sure that I was an unlovable disaster and it was hard to let go of that mindset. My thoughts must have been reflected on my face because Ben gave me an understanding look as he ran his thumbs over my knuckles.
“I guess I should let you know right now that I’m determined to prove to you that there’s nothing wrong with you. You couldn’t make it work with Aiden or any other guy because they weren’t right for you.” He grinned at me. “Don’t you get it? You were waiting for me this whole time and you didn’t even know it.”
I’d been holding myself back from crying for most of the day, ever since I ran into Amy, but now I couldn’t stop the tears that sprang to my eyes.
“I...I’m falling in love with you, too,” I said, smiling at him and biting my lower lip.
Ben cupped my cheek, leaning forward to kiss my lips. I didn’t care anymore if anyone saw. I wasn’t holding myself back anymore. I wanted everything with this man.
“If anyone would like to join the bride and groom on the dance floor, you may now do so,” the DJ announced, and I grinned.
“Are you a good dancer?” I asked.
He chuckled, the sound deep and a little bit dirty. “Baby, you have no idea.”
Ben dragged me out of my chair and onto the dance floor, where we joined the crowd, dancing together and reveling in our own happiness.
Crazy as it was even to me, it looked like I had found my happy ending here on an island paradise.
EPILOGUE
Ben
“Do you think that I’ve bought too many stuffed animals?” Tatum asked, looking at me with an excited smile on her face.
Her arms were full of every kind of stuffed animal that the store carried. Bears, bunnies, monkeys, elephants… She was going a little overboard.
“You know that there are only two babies, right?” I asked, unable to hide my amusement.
“I’m the twins’ godmother,” she said, as if that explained why she was tossing six stuffed animals into the shopping cart.
“And they’re turning one. I don’t think they really need this many—”
“Oh, we should get them some of these mega blocks too,” she interrupted, grabbing a box of colorful building blocks off the shelf.
I had to smile at her over-the-top shopping for the babies. Faith and Michael were having a party for their twin girls tomorrow, and Tatum was absolutely determined to spoil them rotten.
Faith and Michael were married two years ago, and pregnant by the end of that summer. They didn’t want to waste any time starting their family, and Tatum and I were thrilled when we were asked to be godparents.
Those little girls had stolen our hearts, and gotten me thinking about starting a family of my own. But there was something I wanted to do first.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, checking my watch. “I made us reservations for dinner at seven.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, her eyes bright and happy. “I just want to make sure the girls have a great day.”