Page 38 of Our Bay Will Come

"So smug."

"Just appreciative." He kisses me deeply, and I taste myself on his lips. "So, when do we start packing?"

I laugh, still catching my breath. "Eager to get me to Cedar Bay, are you?"

"You have no idea." His expression turns serious. "Do you think your clients will follow you there?"

"I have clients everywhere. Those in northern Oregon will." I trace the outline of his collarbone. "And I've built enough of a reputation that I can work remotely with others. Cedar Bay's becoming trendy with all those tech people buying vacationhomes. They'll need someone to make them look appropriately rustic-chic."

"Rustic-chic, huh?" He raises an eyebrow.

"It's a thing. Trust me." I roll onto my side, propped on one elbow. "What about you? Won't your crew miss you while you're building our dream house?"

Our dream house. The words hang between us––weighty and wonderful.

"Rowan and Cole can handle things for a while." Fox's fingers trail down my spine. "Besides, I've been saving this project. Something special."

"For me?"

"For us."

Two simple words, but they make my heart flip. Us. After years of me, myself, and I, there's an us. It's terrifying and exhilarating all at once.

"Cilla's going to be insufferable," I groan, suddenly thinking of my sister. "She's been trying to convince me to move for months.”

Fox chuckles. "Rowan, too. And he did threaten to break my legs if I left for Seattle.

"What about your parents? Will they be okay with this? With me?" I ask,

"Are you kidding? My mom's been asking when I'm going to 'make an honest woman' out of you since the first time she caught us making eyes at each other over Sunday dinner."

I swallow hard. "Is that... something you want?"

He studies my face. "Is that something you're ready for?"

The question hangs between us, loaded with possibilities. Six months ago, I would have run screaming from this conversation.

"Now, I think," I say carefully, "Things will happen as they should.

Fox's smile is gentle. "I can work with that." He kisses my forehead. "I'm a patient man."

"Since when?" I tease, and he rolls me beneath him again.

"Fair point," he concedes, settling between my thighs. "But for you, Prudence Griffin, I'll wait as long as it takes."

As he slides into me, slow and deliberate, I decide that maybe—just maybe—I won't make him wait too long after all.

EPILOGUE- TWO MONTHS LATER

FOX

Iwatch Prue across the dance floor, her blue bridesmaid dress swirling around her knees as she laughs at something her mother says. The fairy lights strung across the tent’s low ceiling catch in her hair, giving her a halo that makes my chest tighten.

"You're staring again," Rowan says, clapping me on the shoulder. The gold band on his left-hand glints under the lights—still new, still strange to see on my best friend's finger.

"Can you blame me?" I take a sip of champagne, not bothering to deny it.

"Nope." His smile is wide, relaxed in a way I've never seen before today. "But you might want to be more subtle if you're still pretending to play the 'just friends' game."

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