Page 74 of Wild Tides
My heart took flight, my pulse pounding an eager tattoo in my wrist. The romantic setting. The attention to dinner. If he truly meant to ask the question I’d been dreaming of, I couldn’t claim it was impulsive. Clearly, he’d been planning tonight. Meticulously.
“Garlic bread?” He held up the basket.
I bit my lip.Notthe question I was expecting. Maybe his plan was to edge me into oblivion. To make me so eager for him to ask that I’d jump into a “yes.” Totally unnecessary, but absolutely adorable.
“Sure, thanks.”
“Don’t let it get cold.” Lee gestured to my plate. “I hope it tastes okay.”
“It smells delicious.” And if it tasted like dog food, I’d eat it anyway, because Lee had clearly put his heart and soul into tonight’s dinner. Luckily, it tasted as good as it smelled.
Lee asked me about my day, inquiring about the new products I was considering for the store, then shared how he was faring with his latest manuscript. He always seemed reluctant to talk about his writing, as if speaking about it would kill his muse, but at certain points in the process, he’d open up, talking about his characters or where he was stuck. Those were my favorite conversations about his work. He lit up when he spoke about his stories, as if the people in his books were real to him.
He cleared our plates and refreshed our glasses, coming out with a blanket tossed casually over one shoulder. He extended a wineglass to me and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders. We stood at the rail, admiring the fading rays of the sun as the last beams illuminated the island to the west.
Lee turned to me, his blue eyes gentle and loving as he touched his glass to mine. “Violet Fenwick, I want to spend every day just like this. Enjoying the little moments and big ones with you.” He took a deep breath, his gaze locking with mine. “Our love is the kind they write stories about, and I want to keep writing our story for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
My heart stuttered, a hot rush filling my chest. For a beat, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but stare.
“Yes.” I sniffed. Emotion swelled, the lump in my throat making it difficult to push words out. “I want to spend all my days with you, Lee.” My words were thick, but I was smiling. Beaming.
He exhaled, something between relief and joy, and slipped our glasses onto the table, gathering me in his arms. The first brush of his mouth was tentative, the second achingly sweet. Sealing the kiss in my memory – loving and peaceful, with the hint of anticipated pleasure underlying the caress. It was the calm before the storm. The promise before paradise.
Lee and I had taken our sweet time finding forever in each other, but I couldn’t regret one step of our journey.
Epilogue – Violet
Marriage didn’t change us overnight, but it shifted everything that mattered. The promises we made in front of friends and family bled into everyday moments – the way Lee laced his shoes beside mine before dawn runs, the way he kept pace when I wanted to quit, how he teased me into believing I could finish what I started. Training together had become its own kind of vow, each mile a reminder that partnership wasn’t only about romance. It was about grit, endurance, and showing up when things got hard.
“You’ve got this, Cupcake. I’m right here with you.”
Lee jogged easily beside me. He wasn’t sweating buckets. He was barely winded. As much as I wanted to hate him, just a little bit, for the easy way he conquered our half-marathon, love wouldn’t let that spike of envy take hold. My darling husband had convinced me to run with him, training with me for months. And he’d been sweet enough to run alongside me for all thirteen-plus miles.
My legs hurt. My feet ached. I didn’t even want to think about the chafing, but I loved the way he supported me.
Heaving and puffing, I turned the last corner. The finish line beckoned, the Orca Running Club banner spread across the Jackson Beach park entrance.Finally.
A familiar pink head caught my eye. She was clad in a hot pink tracksuit, Gran’s idea of blending in.
“Go, Violet!” she cheered, shaking her sign in the air.
It took me a moment to register the words, all my remaining oxygen going toward making my legs move.
I KNOW WHAT YOU TWO DID LAST NIGHT—NO WONDER YOU’RE STRUGGLING!
My choked laughter sounded more like a rough gasp. Fair, since I was out of gas. Trust Gran to bring her inappropriate side to her cheering. I loved her. And no one truly believed she had an appropriate side.
“Almost there, Cupcake. There’s a massage tonight with your name on it.”
I pushed with the last bit of energy I had, feet heavy as I managed the last few meters across the finish.
Sweaty and gasping—it wasn’t pretty—I didn’t care. Lee wrapped me in a hug, swinging me around in big circles. The world spun, making my stomach pitch.
“Put me down, Murphy, you goof. You’re lucky I’m dehydrated, or I might hurl.”
“Ope. Sorry, honey.”
I slid to the ground, knees wobbly.
