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“I thought caring for you was dishonoring Laura. Instead, I’ve dishonored her by locking my heart away. For so long I thought I couldn’t be with you because of how you made me feel. The way you make me feel is why I should have been by your side all along.” He brushed his fingers along her cheek. “I love you, Chelsea. With all my heart and all I am. I’ve made so many mistakes that I don’t blame you for no longer wanting me, but you’ve always had my heart.”
He turned and walked down the steps, but instead of going to his car he headed onto the beach toward where she’d exposed her back and her heart. He’d walk until his head cleared, or until he didn’t have the strength to take another step.
He took off his socks and shoes, rolled up the legs of his pants, and squished sand still warm from the day’s hot sun between his toes.
That’s what he’d do. Win Chelsea’s trust. Win her love.
Because he could make things right and wouldn’t turn his back without a fight.
Even if it took him the rest of his life, he’d spend every day proving to her that she was what mattered most to him.
“Jared!”
At first he thought the wind and waves were playing tricks on him because he was near where they’d stood just a couple of weeks ago. But when he heard her cry out his name again, he realized Chelsea had followed him onto the beach.
He turned, saw her racing toward him with her gown plastered to her.
“Wait,” she called. Breathless when she caught up, she stared up at him, her face illuminated in the moonlight. “Did you mean what you said?”
“That I love you?”
Her hand pressed to her heaving chest, she nodded.
“With all my heart.”
“You’re sure you won’t feel differently in the morning? That you’re not going to take one look at me and realize you made a mistake? That you don’t love me after all?”
“I love you and want you in my life. Always. My mistake has been in not telling you every moment since we met how much you mean to me.”
“Then…” she placed her hands on his cheeks “…yes.”
“Yes?” What was she agreeing to?
“Yes, I love you. You know I do. I always have.”
Jared’s chest swelled with relief and so much emotion he thought he might burst. He placed his hands on hers. He couldn’t not touch her, to prove to himself she really stood before him, looking like a sea sprite and saying she loved him.
“You’re willing to forgive me for all my mistakes? To marry me and spend your life with me?” he asked.
Chelsea’s eyes widened, glinting in the moonlight. “You want to marry me?”
Did she think he’d settle for less than everythin
g? He wanted the world to know she was his.
“I’ll make mistakes, probably ones every bit as colossal as the ones I’ve made up to this point, but I love you, Chelsea. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me, showing you how much I want your love, and making up for all the hurt in the past. That is, if you’re willing to take a chance on me.”
She leaned into him, her breath hot against his lips. “A thousand chances, if that’s what it takes for us to get it right.”
