“It mattered,” she says quietly. “That’s what scares me.”
I close the distance between us and take her hand. “I don’t want to scare you. But I have to admit that I’m not good attemporary. I’m an all-in kind of guy.”
Her fingers tighten around mine and she smiles sadly. “And I’m not good atpermanent.I don’t plant roots, remember?”
“Then let’s take it one day at a time.” I rub my thumb across her knuckles. “Until tomorrow?”
She exhales. Then she nods. “One day at a time.”
I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles, because if I kiss her mouth I’ll forget every good intention I have to take this slow.She watches me do it, and her face goes soft in a way that tells me my patience will pay off. She’ll be staying at the end of the summer. She’ll be staying foralways.
As long as I don’t scare her away.
I walk her to the side door and wait until she’s safely inside. Then I stand on the dock a moment longer, looking at the light behind the glass.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I glance at it. It’s a message from Ace.
So? How was the first date?
Mind your business.
History in the making…
Time will tell.
I shove the phone in my pocket and head for my boat, whistling a happy tune. Because Rayna agreed to one more day… and I intend to stretch that to the end of time.
Epilogue
Rayna
OneYearLater
I am crossing the Mercury Slice dock with one pizza box held in both hands—carefully, methodically, the way a woman who has learned hard lessons carries things—when the diamond on my left hand catches the afternoon sun.
It throws a small bright arc across the weathered boards.
I stop walking to look at it.
I can’t help it. I have been doing this approximately forty times a day since Joel got down on one knee at the end of last summer, on the back of his boat, in the same cove where everything started.
He simply said, “I’m just asking for one day at a time… for as long as we both shall live.”
And really? How can a girl say no to an offer like that?
So, Jenna’s roommate returned and I moved in with Joel. By New Year’s, we were married.
And I’ve been blissfully happy every single day since.
But now, I’m looking at the ring. And I’m not paying attention to the wet dock.
My foot slips, the pizza box flies out of my hands, and I brace myself for a hard fall.
But Joel’s there to catch me. Because somehow, he has a sixth sense when it comes to me.
The pizza hits the dock with a magnificent slap. But I’m safely enveloped in my husband’s strong arms.
From their usual table, Joel’s friends laugh and whistle. Jenna slow-claps from her place in the pickup window.
