Her eyes filled with tears. “I still can’t believe you’re doing this.”
“Believe it.” I kissed her forehead. “I’m all in.”
We stood there for a moment, surrounded by her art, by the world she’d created.
“Come on,” she said finally. “There’s one more place I want to show you.”
We walked to the beach as the sun painted the sky in shades of orange and pink. Leigh kicked off her shoes at the edge of the sand, and I did the same.
“This is my favorite place,” she said as we walked. “I come here when I need to think. When I need to feel grounded. Half my portfolio comes from this beach.”
I looked out at the ocean, vast and endless, and felt something settle in my chest. This could be my place too. Our place.
“I can see why,” I said.
She stopped, turning to face me. “Are you sure about this? Really sure? Because once you sell the garage, once you move here, there’s no going back.”
“I don’t want to go back.” I pulled her close. “This is right. Us. This life we’re choosing together.”
She kissed me then, soft and sweet and full of promise.
When we finally pulled apart, the sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving streaks of purple and gold across the sky.
“Welcome home, Dex,” she whispered.
“Yeah,” I said, looking at her, at the ocean, at this life we were about to build together. “Home.”
I couldn’t wait for tomorrow. Couldn’t wait to show her just how all in I was.
Chapter 32
LEIGH
Iwoke up to sunlight streaming through my bedroom window and the sound of the ocean outside. For a moment, I just lay there, wrapped up in Dex’s arms, the cats purring at our feet, and let myself feel it.
This was real. He was here. In Blue Point Bay. In my world.
And he was staying.
“Morning,” he murmured, his voice rough with sleep.
“Morning.”
I turned to face him, and he was already watching me with those dark eyes.
“Sleep well?” I asked.
“Best sleep I’ve had in months.” His arms tightened around me. “Something about the ocean. And you. Mostly you.”
I kissed him, slow and sweet, and for a while we just lay there, tangled together, listening to the waves outside.
Eventually, he stirred. “We should get up.”
“Should we?”
“I want to take you to breakfast. There’s this place Wren told me about…”
“Wren told you about somewhere to go eat?”
