What the actual fuck?
My mom waves at me and then gestures for me to look back at Jake, who’s still down on one knee in front of me.
When Jake begins to speak, I finally realize what’s about to happen, and I feel like I’m watching the whole scene from outside my body.
“Olivia Masters, you’ve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and I’ve seen you blossom from that funny little bug who loved to slay dragons into a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman.” Jake looks at me like we’re the only two people in the world, completely unconcerned that he’s pouring his heart out in front of half the town.
“Jake, what are you doing?” I whisper, feeling tears sting my eyes.
He smiles at me again and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small black velvet box. “Hopefully this will make my intentions clear.” Jake opens the box and inside is the most gorgeous, simple solitaire diamond ring, glinting in the evening sun. I gasp at its beauty. “Livi, being away from you these last six months have been even harder than the six years before that. They were harder because I know what it’s like to love you and to hold you while you sleep, I know what your hair smells like after a day in the sun and how much you love apple turnovers. But I had to go away to get my life in order and be worthy of standing by your side. I hope I’ve done that and that I haven’t left it too late.
“So I have one question to ask you,” Jake says, holding up the ring box to me, his soft brown eyes so full of hope and love, I let out a sob and feel the tears roll down my cheeks. “Will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?”
Jake barely has the words out before I drop to my knees and fling my arms around his neck. “Yes! Yes, Jake, I’ll marry you!”
The cheers and applause explode around us as Jake pulls away and slips the ring onto my finger, pressing his lips over the diamond and then pulling me into a kiss that steals my breath and makes my heart almost burst with joy.
The excitement of a future with Jake fills my heart to bursting. I can’t wait to make a life with him, here in Crescent Bay or wherever we decide to go. The possibilities are endless, and I can’t wait to see where our lives will take us.
Epilogue
5 years later
Olivia
“Momma, Petey keeps taking my cookies!” our youngest child whines as I load the dishwasher after dinner. I look up and see the deep blue eyes and sandy blonde ringlets belonging to our daughter Skylar. She stands with her arms folded, pouting at the injustice she’s just experienced.
I sigh and close the dishwasher, stroking her hair as I walk past into the living room where I indeed find her brother sitting on the rug covered in smudges of chocolate and two empty packets of mini cookies.
“Peter Jacob Hartman, did you take Skylar’s cookies?” I ask him in my best teacher voice. “Before you answer, make sure you remember our rule about telling the truth.”
I wait patiently for him to crack, and it doesn’t take long.
“I’m sorry, Momma, I just love cookies so much!” he cries, big fat tears filling his brown eyes and rolling down his chubby cheeks. Pete is only older than Skylar by fifteen minutes, but sometimes I think she’s the older twin. At four years old, they’re bundles of energy and mischievous as the devil, but I love them so much that my chest warms every time I look at them.
“Well, how are we going to solve this problem, Petey?” I ask, sitting next to him on the rug, pulling him into my lap. Even though taking his sister’s cookies wasn’t right, he’s absolutely breaking his heart about what he’s done.
“How about I give Skylar my cookies for the rest of the week?” Petey sobs, rubbing his snotty nose on my shirt.
“What do you think, Skylar? Is that acceptable to you?” I ask, looking at my daughter, who despite being annoyed about her cookies, looks upset at her brother’s tears.
“It’s okay, Petey,” she sniffs. “You can have your cookies, but just don’t take mine again, okay?” Skylar comes over and rubs her brother’s back to soothe him, something she’s done since they were newborns and shared a crib.
Jesus, I’m so proud of my kids I could just cry.
“You’re such a good girl, Sky.” I kiss her hair and stand up. “I think we need to get in the tub so we’re nice and clean for when Daddy gets home from his trip. What do you say?”
They both groan, but follow me up to the bathroom where I run the water and get their footie jammies out ready for after their bath.
When Jake and I got married, he sold his cottage and moved into my apartment. But when I got pregnant, we decided to buy our own house down on the beach. It’s perfect—the kids can play on the beach every day, I can run and swim, and Jake has unlimited access to the surf he loves so much. He travels for work sometimes and when he comes back, the first thing he does, once he’s kissed us all to within an inch of our lives, is to go out surfing. He always looks so calm and free when he returns, I love him even more.
When the kids have finished in the tub and are in their jammies, we get ready for storytime. However, when I check my phone I see a message from Jake to say that snow in Chicago has delayed his flight, and that I should put the twins to bed and not wait up for him.
My heart sinks a little as I reread the text, but I understand. He can’t control the weather. So I break the news to the twins, who take the disappointment much better than I do, and we head up to bed where I read them Where The Wild Things Are for the hundredth time until they fall asleep.
With the disappointment of Jake’s delayed return weighing heavy on my heart, I clean up downstairs and set the house alarm, leaving the porch light on for his return. I decide to head up to bed and read my latest thriller, but a few pages in I fall into an exhausted sleep.
∞∞∞