Page 53 of Serenity at Seagrove
"By the way, you can thank Janine," he said, "and Emma. This wasn't exactly a spontaneous sunset visit. It might have been a setup."
Luna laughed softly.
"I wondered why Emma disappeared so quickly. I met her, and she was gone just as fast."
"I think the whole town's been conspiring to get us here." Archer's thumb traced circles on her lower back. "Dawson has been insufferable about it."
"You mean because he was right? Because they were all right?"
"About us belonging together? About some things being worth more than career moves or careful plans?"
She reached up to touch his face, tracing the line of his jaw.
"When did you know you wouldn’t take the job?"
"The moment I thought about teaching somewhere without hearing you laugh from the deck on Serenity, or standing on the sidelines without seeing your face light up, I realized I didn't want any future that didn't have you in it."
"And what does that future look like?"
"Mornings on the golf course with the kids, evenings watching the sunset from Serenity's deck, you teaching me about breathing and me teaching you about golf, and then the two of us learning other things together. Though you're actually a pretty good golf student."
"Well, I had an excellent teacher," Luna said.
"We make a good team. The therapist and the golf pro."
"Former pro," Luna corrected. "Current miracle worker with kids who never thought they'd love the game.”
“You see me so clearly—not who I was, but who I am now and who I want to be."
"And that goes both ways," she said. "You saw past my careful plans and professional boundaries and made me want to risk my heart again."
He leaned down to kiss her again. When he pulled back, the last light of the sunset caught his face.
"We should probably head down," she said, "before somebody sends up a search party."
"Or before Janine starts texting the whole town that her plan worked." Luna laughed.
"Too late for that, I'm sure."
EPILOGUE
Luna stood at the edge of the crowd gathered outside the Seagrove Golf Club and watched as Archer cut the ceremonial ribbon for his new Seagrove Junior Golf Academy. She felt so much pride as dozens of young students and their parents, local press, and what seemed like most of the town turned out to celebrate.
"He looks so happy," Janine whispered, bouncing her daughter in her arms. Madison cooed softly, reaching for the colorful ribbon floating in the breeze.
"He is very happy," Luna said as she watched Archer shake hands with the club president.
The past six months had transformed him. He was no longer that angry, injured athlete who'd first walked into Serenity. In his place stood a man who had finally found his true calling.
"You know, a magazine in Charleston wants to do a whole spread on him," Julie said, walking up beside them with her camera. "They're calling itFrom Pro Tour to Prodigy Maker. The reporter's coming next week."
"Look at my boy," SuAnn beamed. "Though I still say he needs to eat more. These early morning lessons are probably running him ragged."
"The early morning lessons are his favorite part of the day," Luna said, laughing.
Dixie adjusted her flowing pink dress, her bangles jingling as usual. "Well, my favorite part is watching him and Luna do that sunset yoga on the beach. They look like a power couple."
"Speaking of power couples," Dawson said, "wait until you see what Archer's done with the academy curriculum. He's incorporated Luna's breathing techniques into every lesson."
