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“Yeah, me too.”
Lexi curls her feet underneath her body and reads a book. I’ve noticed that she always has a book in her handbag. She reads all sorts of books. Fiction as well as nonfiction. I love the way her concentration is complete when she’s reading. Her brow is creased, and her right eyebrow slightly raised. When we get to Santa Monica, we stop for a quick visit to the Pizza shop.
“I’ll just run into the bookstore next door while you two catch up,” Lexi says and leaves me with Luna.
“We need to talk finances,” Declan says.
I’ve been putting it off but now we really need to wrap up the issue of my share of the money from the sale of our real estate business. More so now that I have Luna and Lexi.
We agree to make a firm date the following week. Lexi returns with a small package. A book I’m sure.
Declan insists on giving us two pizzas to take with us.
“We are coming back you know,” I tell him.
“You can never have too much pizza,” he says.
At the sailing tour offices, we stop in to say hello to Rachel. Park is at the Marina and when we go there, we find him inside Serenity. After exchanging greetings, Lexi disappears below deck to store the pizzas in the kitchen.
“I see you brought the little lady,” Ace says and ruffles Luna’s hair. “She’s going to love it. Kacy loves it. She stares at the water for hours.”
“How is she?” I ask.
“Growing too fast,” Park says.
As he talks about his daughter, it hits me how quickly time has gone. Only the other day, our conversations centered around clubs and parties. Now we’re talking kids.
“Rachel and I were worried about you on the day of the fire,” Park says.
We had exchanged one or two texts, but I’d been too distracted to give them more information except that I was okay. Guilt floods me.
“I forgot to call,” I tell him. “Too much was going on. We lost a few guys.”
“You pick the toughest jobs,” Park says, and the solemn moment is broken.
“Someone has to do it,” I joke. “Are Sebastian and Claire still here?”
“Yes, let’s go and say hello,” Park says. “I’d told them you were coming around today.”
I call Lexi and we leave the boat and walk along the marina until we see their yacht. It is about forty feet and impressive by any standards. We climb aboard as Park calls out.
Sebastian emerges from below deck followed by his wife Claire. There’s a lot of excitement as we exchange hugs and introductions. We catch up and they tell us that they’ve just returned from Fiji.
Claire and Lexi form a bond and she shows her around the boat and the safety features they’ve added for their son’s protection. They have netting all the way around the yacht and their son wears a life jacket when he’s on the main deck and is tethered to a harness when the family hits the high seas.
Later, when we’re at sea, Lexi and I talk about that visit.
“I’d want to go away for weeks at a time, but I don’t think I’d want to live on a boat full time,” Lexi says.
“Me too. I’d miss standing on solid land,” I tell her.
We’re in the cockpit. I’m at the helm and Lexi is relaxing in one of the comfortable leather seats, while Luna is asleep on the portable child cot next to her.
We reach our favorite secluded island but this time we plan on staying on board. We’re not quite ready to get in the dinghy with Luna. The boat sways back and forth and we move the cot to the main deck where we relax with drinks and munch on pizza.
The water is gentle and clear. Waves rise and fall over the surface. It hits me at that moment that my life has never been as perfect as it has been for the last couple of months. And that’s because of Lexi and Luna.
I glance at Lexi. She feels my gaze and when she looks at me a smile lights up her face. Lexi is a gentle soul. She’s become part of me, and I can’t imagine my life without her in it.
In a rare moment of impulsiveness, I place my bottle of water down and take her hand. I turn it around and kiss it my lips lingering to enjoy the softness of her skin.
“Lexi, you and Luna have made me the happiest guy in the whole world. You’ve completed me.” I inhale deeply. I want to do this. I want to make Lexi mine. “Lexi Allen, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Her facial expression changes. She looks shocked. Not exactly the reaction I’m hoping for. “Lexi?”
That rouses her and she smiles nervously. She drops her gaze.
