Page 82 of The Other Plan

“Thanks, Valentina. And thank you for letting me plan your wedding. I hope it was everything you wanted and more.”

“So much more.” She pulled Jenna in for a hug then whispered too loud, “You’re next.”

Jenna pulled out of the hug, her face red while she peeked up at me.

“See you guys later.” I pulled Jenna back under my arm. “Want to go for a walk?”

“Yeah. That sounds nice.”

We headed out toward the beach together, and when we got there, we sat down in the sand.

“I can’t believe I’m going to get to live a life on the water. On this water. It’s so beautiful here.”

“Yeah. It really is.”

“My mom is gonna die when I call and tell her what I’ve done.”

“Good die or bad die?”

“Good die. She’s been calling me a sellout for a while now.” I chuckled.

“Oh, yeah! I remember you telling me a little about your parents when we first met. They live in Colorado, right? Live off the land kinda people?”

“Yep. Those are my parents. They are all about nature and balance. And mostly, happiness. And now that I have you, my mom can finally stop worrying because I’m going to be the happiest of us all.”

“I can’t wait to meet them.” She leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder.

“You will. And they will love you. Just like I do.”

We sat at the side of the shore together, and I tried once again to grasp how quickly my life had changed. Last week, I was climbing the ladder in New York, every minute of my day spent selling, pushing, driving myself to a career I never loved. But now?

Now, I had everything. The woman of my dreams. A place I couldn’t wait to call home. A career that would make me smile every day.

Life here with Jenna would be perfect.

I reached over and slid my hand across her cheek. “I love you, Jenna. So much. I can’t believe we missed a decade of our lives together, but now that I’m moving here, we won’t miss a minute more.”

She leaned over and kissed me, and the soft touch of her lips on mine set my soul on fire once again.

“I love you too. Always,” she whispered against my lips.

I sank into her kiss, wrapping her up tight in my arms and vowing to never let her go again. All those years ago, when I’d seen that beautiful girl sitting on the beach, I never could have imagined the way that fateful day would change my life. But I’d known the moment I’d kissed her that my world would never be the same... it would be better with her in it. And now, she would be in it every day for the rest of my life.

EPILOGUE

JENNA

One year later...

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“Eek!” I shrieked as I teetered on my paddleboard, the huge wave from the speed boat wake nearly knocking me off.

“You good?” Carter called from his board.

“Yeah! We’re good!” I looked down at Arnold. He glanced up at me, and there wasn’t a drop of worry on his gruff face. Instead, it was pulled up into a huge smile as he panted, his life jacket straining against his wide frame.

After steadying my board, I pushed my paddle back into the water and spun in Carter’s direction. When I faced him, it wasn’t the wave almost knocking me off my board. This time it was the sight of my man looking so damn good.