Page 65 of It Happened Again

"Brooks—"

"Maisy Calhoun, you drive me insane. You challenge me. You calm me. You’ve got the brightest mind and the fiercestheart I’ve ever known. And I’ve loved you since the second I laid eyes on you in that speed dating bar—even though your sister wanted me to stay away."

She laughed through her tears.

I kept going. “Together, we’ve uncovered what real love is. What it means to stay. To show up. To fight not for control, but for partnership. And I want that with you for the rest of my life."

I pulled the ring from the tiny inner pocket of my shorts. She gasped.

"Say yes, Maisy. Be my forever."

She nodded, dropping to her knees in front of me, both of us sinking into the sand. "Yes. Yes, Brooks. It’s been you from the start.”

I slipped the ring on her finger, kissed her salty lips, and held her there while the waves rolled in behind us.

I didn’t need much in this world, and what I had was plenty. What I needed most was her.

“Maisy, my love, my good girl, I may have built skyscrapers, and could draw blueprints in my sleep…” I whispered into her ear. “But nothing I ever design will come close to this new life we’re building together.”

EPILOGUE

ARCHER BELLAMY

I foundthe envelope after hours, long after the office had emptied and the janitorial crew had finished their rounds. It sat neatly on Lacey’s desk, centered, addressed in her elegant, sharp handwriting.

To Archer and Brooks.

That alone sent a bad feeling through my veins.

With a sigh, I tore the envelope open, my eyes scanning the contents faster than my brain could catch up.

She was resigning.

Effective immediately.

No two weeks. No goodbye. No explanation beyond:"It’s time I go home."

My chest tightened. I scanned her desk, revealing a lack of her usual personal effects: her gum, nail files, and glasses case, her Dallas Cowboys coffee cup.

She'd packed her things and bolted. But maybe there was time to save this. I had to try.

By the timeI reached her apartment building in the West Village, I'd yanked loose my tie, and my pulse thudded in my throat. I buzzed her place at the door.

She didn’t answer.

I tried again.

"Archer?"

Her voice came through the intercom, surprised and maybe a little tired.

"I got your letter."

There was a long pause. Then the door buzzed open.

When I reached her floor, she let me in and stood barefoot in leggings and a hoodie, hair in a messy bun, surrounded by half-filled boxes.

"That was fast. You really are leaving," I said."You blindsided me."

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