I press my free hand to my head.I can’t believe it.“What about your apartment?”
“That’s easy; I can put it on the market.And as for the job, Leo came up with this really great idea about starting our own construction business.Not buildings, but homes.The best part is, he can handle his side from there, while I do the onsite work here.”
I can feel the shock and happiness shining in my eyes.This is happening.It’s really happening!“You’re really coming back?”
“That’s the plan.If it’s okay with you?”he asks, almost hesitantly.
Okay?He can’t be serious.Does he not see?
“For years, Ethan, I’ve asked the ferry gods to bring me someone to love.Not just for a few weeks, but for forever.And now I know… that person isyou.”
He half-rises from the chair, leaning in as he presses his lips to mine, soft and sweet, a tender kiss that promises more.Promises forever.
A forever I can’t wait to start.
“You know, I’ve come to realize that so much in life is impossible to predict,” Ethan says, his tender eyes gazing deeply into mine.“But you and me, beautiful?We’re a sure thing.”
EPILOGUE
Sore ribsand an annoying cast aren’t going to bring me down.No, sir.At my doctor’s advice—and my boyfriend’s insistence—I’ve been doing nothing but lazing around for what feels like forever.My TBR pile has dwindled to nearly nothing, and I’ve borrowed every last alien romance from our local library.
Thanks to Willow, my beloved Mugs has been well taken care of, but I miss the place and the people and the glorious scent of freshly-brewed coffee, mixed with the salty sea air.
I finally convinced Ethan—aka the sexiest and fussiest nurse I’ve ever had—that I’m ready to leave the house and get back to work.Reluctantly, he agreed, although he did make me promise not to do anything more strenuous than sit at my desk and dole out orders.
A coffee-foreman, if you will.
I adjust my sling before filling Kat’s food bowl.She tangles around my feet, begging for back scratches.
She’s been my constant companion while Ethan has been keeping himself busy fixing up the “death trap” we’re living in.
That’s right.Just as Ethan said he would, he packed up his stuff in Philly and moved down to Inner Shores.He’d planned on staying at his parents’ place, but I told him I had an aversion to dating a thirty-two-year-old man who still lived with his mom and dad, so he agreed to move in with me as long as I let him bring things “up to code.”
If it diverts his attention from trying to get me to rest for longer than I can stand, I’m all for it.
It’s also keeping him from overthinking every single piece of paperwork he and Leo have to file for their new business, so that’s another plus.After they get all their licenses and insurance in order, he and his friend are going to be working together doing construction here on the island.
Heaven knows, at Inner Shores, we could use someone reliable who wears a tool belt.If they happen to look sensational in said tool belt and nothing else, then that’s just a bonus point, right?
My lips curl up as I pad down the hallway.Everything really is coming together.
I lock the front door and head down to the street, where my mom waits in her sporty little convertible.Since the accident, she’s been a lot more present.Apparently, her beau, Beau, is no longer the best thing to have ever happened to her.
I am.
Funny how near-death experiences can change a person’s perspective.
After I slip into the passenger seat, she reaches across the center console to squeeze my knee.“You look happy, sweet pea.”
“I am happy.”Happier than I’ve ever been.
I toy with the yellow sling hanging from my shoulder as we pull onto the main road and zip down the sun-soaked street, the wind blowing through our hair.The sky is a brilliant blue, and the town is hopping.
It’s going to be a good day.
Mom whips into the full parking lot at Mugs, and my eyes snag on Ethan’s truck, parked along the side of the building.
What’s he doing here?
