My skin hummed with anticipation as I pulled up to my favorite weathered-shingle, cape-style house. The bushes and trees were bare, the lawn brown and thawing. It was still my favorite sight. Mid-March in Cape Cod felt like it was not quite winter, not quite spring. I was on my way home after spending a week visiting my parents in New Hampshire and then Natalie in New York. It was the longest I’d been away from Luke and Luna since August. Even when I was with the other people I loved, I missed them.
After Mimi returned to Florida at the end of September, Luke insisted I move in with them. “What’s the point of you staying there less than once a week by yourself?” he’d said. “Just move your stuff in here. We’ll go check on the house every few days and make sure it’s fine.” I didn’t have any counter arguments.
My clothes now lived in his closet and one of his dressers, and my novels had started to accumulate in stacks around the house—the coffee table, the mantle above the fireplace, the corners of our bedroom.
Our bedroom.
Over the last six months, while Luke was at work and Luna was at school, I went to the gym and spent most of the rest of the day writing at the kitchen table or reading fiction and books about the craft of writing novels.
I was so close to finishing my first novel I could taste it. It was hard to even take a break from it while visiting my family and Natalie. I woke up early each morning, before anyone else, and was typing before my first cup of coffee had cooled enough to drink. I felt like I knew my characters—the disgraced but forgivable lawyer and the hard exterior, soft interior SEC investigator—in real life. As excited as I was to finish the manuscript, I was going to miss them. But they weren’t leaving me yet. According to all the self-education I’d done, I had endless rounds of editing ahead of me. And Drew was right—my problem-solving skills and theconfidence in my own ability to figure things out that I’d learned as a law firm associate had proved helpful as I worked through plot holes in my story and researched insider trading laws.
Francesca was right, too—I hadn’t minded the Martha’s Vineyard winter one bit. I’d even convinced Tyler and Erica and little Mina to take a trip here in the fall to check out the island in the offseason.
My legal skills hadn’t laid completely fallow, either. I transferred my license from New York to Massachusetts, and I often read through contracts for Luke and Francesca. Reading and advising on contracts was second nature after so many years, and the event and contractor contracts were much shorter than the ones I was used to. It made me happy to help them and to use my degree in some small way, a way that didn’t take me away from my true passion—writing. Luke insisted on paying me when I helped with contracts, so he’d somehow reduced my need to dip into my savings anyway, despite my objections.
I cut the engine as soon as my car was in park next to Luke’s truck and bounded up the walkway, leaving my bags to collect from the trunk later. Luke opened the door for me before I got to the top step.
“Hi, baby.” He wrapped his arms around me. I pressed my face into his soft hoodie, breathing in his pine and sawdust scent.Home.
“Hi. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He kissed the top of my head. “We have a surprise for you.” I pulled back and looked at him, then stood on my tiptoes to peer over his shoulder. Luna watched us from the living room, bouncing on the balls of her feet, a devilish grin on her face.
A reflexive smile spread on my lips. “What’s going on?” My eyes roamed from her face to Luke’s and then back. Their guilty, mischievous looks were so reminiscent of each other, it was like she inherited the gene from her uncle. He grabbed my hand, took two steps backward from the entry, and reached his other hand forthe office door. When he opened it, the smell of fresh paint greeted us. Then he pulled me inside the room.
“What!?” I exclaimed, spinning in a circle, not believing my eyes.
The little room that had previously been filled with storage bins and boxes, the vacuum, and discarded mail had been cleared out. The entire back wall now boasted floor-to-ceiling, built-in bookshelves, all in bright white, complete with horizontal sconces above each case and a ladder attached to a runner along the top.
“Oh my gosh, a ladder!” My eyes were going to pop out of my head. I spun again and noticed for the first time a matching white-painted desk built into the wall just under the front-facing window. A camel-colored leather desk chair was tucked underneath. A bright throw rug and an oversized gray chair in the corner completed the room.
“This is incredible!”
Luna giggled from her spot near the door and I rushed over to hug her. Then I turned and threw my arms around Luke. “How did you do this in one week?”
“I’m pretty good at building things,” he said, a smug grin on his handsome face. “And I had some help.”
“Wow.” I turned to look at it again, heart pounding with excitement.
“I figured you could use a space that’s just yours. Somewhere you can go and write your future bestsellers. Somewhere besides the kitchen table where Luna and I end up distracting you when we get home.”
“You guys don’t distract me!”
Luke popped his shoulder up, like he knew they did but he wouldn’t make me admit it. I did love the idea of having somewhere to go on those days when I just couldn’t stop typing. He released me, nudging me toward the shelves. All the books I’d left around the house were already lined up, in order by author. I swept my hand along their bindings. My gaze caught on a little brass placard attached to the middle shelf. “Established”and thecurrent year were etched into the metal. I ran my finger over it. “I love this.”
“I’m hoping it’s not the only thing we establish this year,” Luke’s low timbre sounded from behind me. When I turned around, he was on one knee, holding a velvet jewelry box open, a diamond ring glistening inside.
The sight stole my breath. A lump rose in my throat, and my eyes filled. “Luke,” I murmured, taking a step toward him, closing the gap between us. I made to crouch down too, but he held up his pointer finger, imploring me to silence. I glanced toward the doorway, where Luna stood, brown eyes wide, pure hope and happiness plain on her face, Luke’s phone in her hand. I shook my head slightly, overcome.They planned this whole thing.
“Valerie Leone,” Luke said, drawing my gaze back to my favorite brown eyes. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t know what I was waiting for until I found it, found you. You are a uniquely spectacular woman, and Luna and I are so lucky to have you in our lives. I love you. Will you marry me?”
Tears streamed down my face until they dripped off my chin. Luke’s eyes were gleaming, too. I rushed into his arms, pulling him up. “Yes!” I squeaked, not caring as my voice cracked and tears continued to flow. He sealed our agreement with a quick, firm kiss, holding our lips together a moment longer before pulling back and taking my hand. He slid the ring onto my ring finger, his hand shaking slightly. A marquis center diamond was flanked by two, small oval diamonds. I loved it.
I looked over Luke’s shoulder to where Luna was still patiently waiting by the door, a huge smile on her little face. “Come here, Luns,” I said, extending an arm out.
She jogged over and launched herself at us. I caught her, giggling, smiling so wide my cheeks got sore. I squeezed her in tight, and Luke did, too.
We’d felt like a family for a while now, but this invitation from Luke to make it permanent, to put a ring and a label and a plan on our feelings for each other, felt like putting the final piece into apuzzle. A puzzle that was challenging and complicated and at one point didn’t feel like it would ever be completed. A puzzle that I didn’t realize for so long was missing its pieces. I found the right pieces here, on this island I’d loved since I was a child. Luke, Luna, and the version of myself that felt right and free. Free of that dangerous chip I had on my shoulder for so long. Free to love and do what I love.
