Page 143 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

“You’re insane.”

“About you? Absolutely.”

The party broke up gradually. People finished breakfast, said their goodbyes, and headed off to various plans for the day. Kent and Sylvie were driving back to Northwood with Tiana. Hayes and Isaac were catching a flight back to the city. Finn was doing something mysterious in LA that he refused to elaborate on.

Melody pulled me aside before she and Austin left for their honeymoon suite at a hotel down the beach.

“So,” she said, grinning. “You and Cash.”

“Me and Cash,” I confirmed.

“I’m so happy I could burst.”

“Please don’t. You’re pregnant.”

She laughed and hugged me tightly. “Thank you for everything. For being the best maid of honor. For being my person. For being happy. You deserve this, Cleo.”

“So do you.”

“We both do.” She looked over at Austin and Cash talking by the patio doors. “Look at us. Best friends marrying brothers. This is like a romance novel.”

“A very chaotic romance novel.”

“The best kind.”

After they left, Cash found me. “Want to get out of here?”

“God yes.”

We threw our bags in his car and headed out. Not back to the city. Not yet. Instead, Cash drove us down the coast, windows down, music playing, his hand occasionally finding mine on the center console.

We pulled over at a scenic overlook about an hour later. The ocean stretched out below us, blue and endless. There was a small hiking trail that led down to a secluded beach.

“Come on,” Cash said, grabbing a blanket from his trunk.

We hiked down together, and I couldn’t help but notice he’d thought this through. The blanket. The location. This wasn’t spontaneous.

“Did you plan this?” I asked.

“Maybe.”

“When?”

“This morning. During my run.” He spread the blanket on the sand. “I wanted some time with just you. Before we go back to reality.”

We sat down and I immediately curled into his side. He wrapped an arm around me and we just sat there for a while, watching the waves.

“What happens now?” I asked eventually. “When we get back to New York?”

“What do you want to happen?”

“I want to keep working on my business plan. Start making it real.” I looked up at him. “I want to be with you. Figure out what that looks like.”

“Me too.”

“But I also don’t want to rush anything. Or make assumptions about anything.”

“Cleo.” He turned to face me fully. “I’m going to court the hell out of you.”