Page 97 of Tempting the Heart

I nodded. “She’s always been a hopeless romantic.”

“What about you? Do you believe in soul mates?” he asked softly.

“Ever since I was a kid, I believed in the one and only,” I confessed. “It’s why that kiss meant so much to me. It’s why everything about you has meant so much. My sisters always teased me about falling for you and then not getting over you.” I shrugged. “And I know it looked nuts. I felt nuts. I mean, we weren’t even a thing.”

Tyler took a step closer and wrapped his arms around my waist. “On some level, I knew. I think I always knew, but I couldn’t get past my own fear to see the truth.”

“And what truth was that?” I asked, looking into his eyes.

“That you were the only one for me.”

I thought about how everything transpired and wondered if his parents were still on Marigold, whether we’d still be standing here on a pier overlooking the beautiful water without a care in the world.

And none of it would have happened had there not been a few things aligning that were completely out of our control. I instinctively touched my earrings and smiled. Maybe my mom had been right all those years ago when she handpicked our treasures to carry with us forever.

“I see you playing with your earrings again, Mayflower. You nervous about something?” he asked.

I shook my head and smiled. “No. I’m just realizing that I’ve become a believer.”

He cocked his head slightly. “In what?”

“More than myself.” I shrugged. “The funny thing is that I think my parents always knew you were the one.”

Tyler brought in a deep breath and let it out slowly before letting me go. He took a small step back, reached into his back pocket, and took out his wallet.

My heart skipped a beat, and I wondered… could this be it? Was he about to propose? Sure. We’d only been together around a month, but really, it had been decades in the making.

Tyler opened his wallet and stuck his large fingers inside a leather flap.

“What are you doing, Tyler?”

His eyes locked on mine as he pulled a necklace out of his wallet. On the end dangled a matching mayflower pendant.

“Tyler…” I shook my head. “Where did you get this?”

“My grandfather gave it to me about the same time he gave me the bat. The necklace was my grandma’s.” He held it up for me to see.

“It matches perfectly,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t understand.”

“I never did either. It wasn’t until Brad mentioned your earrings that I actually noticed. I was always so captivated by you that I didn’t bother paying attention to what jewelry you were wearing, but when I saw, I didn’t know what to make of it.”

“I’m speechless.”

“You probably didn’t know, but my grandpa had submitted paperwork to become Paul’s and my legal guardian.”

My heart pulled as I watched the pain surface behind his gaze. I wanted to hug him, but I stood still as he unclasped the necklace and nodded toward me.

I moved my hair to the side as he locked the necklace around my neck and smiled.

“He passed away before the judge granted the guardianship.” He cleared his throat. “I was eleven.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Tyler nodded slowly. “But you know the crazy thing is that if that had happened, we wouldn’t be standing here. Brad wouldn’t have been my best friend through junior high and high school.”

“I’m stunned, Tyler. Truly stunned.”

“Sometimes, things in the world can’t be explained, and that’s okay.” He lifted his brows and smiled. “But the worst thing a person can do is fight it.”

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