Page 73 of The House on Firefly Beach
“I know your weakness,” she said, still giggling. She reached out and tickled him again.
Taking her hands, he trapped them across her chest so she couldn’t move. “I can still defend myself.” He then pulled her hands around him as he hovered over her. “I don’t want to, though,” he said tenderly. “I’m all yours…”
Abruptly, he looked at his watch and stood up, grabbing her hands and pulling her to a standing position.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
He took her hands again. “I need you to close your eyes. Will you trust me?”
She nodded, almost unable to follow his command because of the way he was drinking her in like he used to do. Finally, she closed her eyes.
“Okay, don’t move or look until I tell you to. Promise?”
“I promise.” She didn’t move a muscle, all of her other senses on high alert. She took in the clean cotton scent of him when he kissed her forehead, the warmth of the sun on her skin, the rustle of the palm trees in the coastal wind. She could feel him rushing around her, breezing past her.
And then finally, he said, “Open your eyes.” She allowed her blurred vision to sharpen on Nate. He was a ways from her, still holding the marker and the pad of paper. But as her scope widened, she started to notice little pieces of white paper stuck beneath the triangular bark of the palms between them. “Start there,” he said, pointing to the tree closest to her.
Slowly, she paced over to it. Nate had written a message on it like they used to do at Starlight Cottage. Sydney plucked the paper from the bark and read, “I love you.” She looked out at him and smiled as he stared at her with that adoring look that melted her in an instant. He pointed to the next tree.
Another note: “I never want to live another day without you.”
Nate gestured toward the next tree. Holding both the pages in her hand, Sydney went to the third note. “Everything that you achieve in life, I promise from this day forward to be by your side to cheer you on.” Sydney’s eyes clouded with tears and she blinked them away to go to the next tree. She read the next one. “I want you with me for every sunset and every sunrise for the rest of my life.” There was one more tree between Sydney and Nate and he stepped up beside her as she read the last message. It said simply, “Take my hand.” Nate held out his hand and Sydney placed hers in his.
“Follow me,” he said, leading her toward the back of the house. When they got to the beach, he kissed her. “Wait right here.” Then he nearly sprinted across the yard and up the steps, rushing into the cottage. She caught sight of a white van, driving away around front just as he came back down to the shore out of breath. He took a minute and then smiled at her. “Ready to go inside?”
Sydney took his hand and walked beside Nate, climbing the steps where she got the first glimpse inside. She gasped, throwing her hand over her mouth. Every surface of the entire open area was filled with red roses, gardenias and flickering candles. “What’s going on?” she asked, breathless, as he led her into the center of the room, the fragrance filling her. “How did you do all this?”
“I’ve had the florist on standby since the wedding. All I had to do was text him and he’d be ready.”
“You’ve had this planned since Hallie and Ben’s wedding?” she asked, looking around at all the stunning bouquets.
“Somehow, I was going to get you back. Even if I spent the rest of my life trying. This house is yours whenever you want to move in. And as for making an honest woman of you…” He reached into his pocket and gripped a small black velvet box while taking her hand with his other. He got down on one knee. “Sydney Marie Flynn, will you marry me?” He opened the box to reveal an emerald-cut solitaire that was big enough to blind someone if she went out in the sunshine wearing it.
“Yes,” she said, tears pricking her eyes. “It’s incredible.”
“I asked you to wear the plastic ring until I could get you the best ring money could buy. This is it.” He took it out of the case and slipped it onto her finger, the weight of it substantial, but at the same time, like it was meant to be there. Then he stood up and gazed into her eyes. “Mrs. Nate Henderson. I like it.”
“Not Mrs. Carr?” she questioned.
He shook his head, placing his hands on her face. “Definitely not. Just the real me and the real you.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. “I love you,” he said into her ear. “I’m madly in love with you!” Nate scooped her up, spinning her around.
All of a sudden, when he set her down, something came to her: she remembered how Ben had looked at her hand when he’d come home. “Does Ben know about this?” she wriggled her finger with the solitaire.
“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “I told him all about it when I came home for the wedding. I already texted him too. Everyone’s coming over. They’ll be here in just a few minutes.”
“Everyone?”
“Yep. Your whole family, Malory, and Juliana. Ben’s explained everything to them. He’s telling them about my involvement with the board and therealreason I came back.” He trailed his arm down her cheek. “He’s rounding them up now.”
“Where will they stand with all the flowers?” she giggled.
He leaned in and nibbled her neck, clearly unable to keep his hands off her. “Let’s get in the truck,” he said, taking her hand and moving toward the front door. “I’ve got something else to show you.”
Nate locked up behind them and led her to the old truck she’d spent so many days in. He opened her door. “After you, my dear,” he said dramatically. He kissed the top of her hand and ran around to his side, getting in. As she sat in his truck now, it felt just like it had all those years ago, all the pain associated with it leaving her like a grain of sand in the wind.
They left the beach and started down a narrow gravel path through the woods in the other direction.
“Are you kidnapping me?” she teased as they pushed on further into the middle of nowhere.
