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EPILOGUE
IVY
One year later...
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“Toss me the Magic Eraser, would you?” Ethan called from the bow of the boat we were working on.
“Coming in hot!” I chucked it over to him, and he snatched it in the air before my wide throw sent it over the edge and tumbling down into the turquoise waters below. I cringed. “Oops.”
“It’s a really good thing you don’t have big dreams of being an NFL quarterback. You know I will support you in whatever you want to do in life that makes you happy, but I just don’t see any way we could ever make that one come true.”
Laughing, I tossed my rag at him. With his hands already full, this time, he didn’t catch it, and it smacked him in the face.
“Hey! Nice aim, baby! Maybe we can get you in the NFL after all!”
“Pass.” I laughed.
Over the past year, Ethan had more than fulfilled his promise to support me while I stretched my boundaries and sought the life I’d never imagined I could live. We’d gone cage diving with sharks, bungee jumped, flown in a helicopter, competed in a Soap Box Derby during Fall Fest, and crossed off dozens of things from my list that I hadn’t even known existed before. One after another, we chased after all our crazy dreams, supporting each other and encouraging each other to go big or go home until each item got a big check next to it on my growing list.
Being with Ethan was like being a kid again but with no curfew. Not to mention with a lot more resources than a measly allowance. Since we’d started working together, we’d increased our income significantly, and soon I was making far more detailing boats than I ever had slugging away in my cubicle. And even though it was supposed to be a temporary job until I figured out what I wanted to do, it turned out to be the perfect job for me.
I loved the therapy of cleaning itself, and I got to do it out in the warm sunshine no matter what time of the year it was. And our clients started hiring me to do some extra things on the side, like stock their homes and boats with groceries, arrange trips and outings, and our boat detailing business grew into a high-class concierge service as well. My ability to know what they needed before they needed it made us a highly sought-after team in both Paradise Isles and Door County.
We’d spent the whole summer in Door County, and it had been a magical time reconnecting with all my new friends. Each day was packed with laughter while we boated, cocktailed, and danced the nights away. We put in a lot of hard work on the shoulder seasons, but when the last boat floated out for the season, it freed up so much time that it barely felt like we were working. Ethan had been right. It was worth it to work so much overtime in just a few months to get almost seven months of downtime the rest of the year.
And we had taken advantage of every single second of the free time we had.
“You done, baby?” he called back.
I glanced at the console and made sure there wasn’t a fingerprint to be found. “Yep! She’s ready.”
“Sweet. Then let’s go.”
Ethan came over and slipped his hand into mine, closing my fingers in his as he led me off the boat and across the dock to the little Sea Ray bobbing in the water.
OurSea Ray.
We’d bought our first boat over the summer and towed it from Door County to Paradise Isles with us. Now we had our own little getaway, no matter where we were. It wasn’t fancy, but it was solid, and it had a sleeper area beneath the bow where we’d curl up together many nights beneath the stars. We’d checked off so many firsts already on this boat that I was running out of room in the little blue notebook I’d started.
Sleep under the stars.
Have sex on a boat.
Go snorkeling naked.
Go waterskiing.
The list of things we’d already done on our new girl went on and on, and I knew with how we lived our lives, it would continue that way for years to come.
As we walked up to our boat, I smiled at the new name he’d had painted across the back.
Rule #1
Our little reminder to each other about the journey we’d been on and our promise to love each other completely until the end of time ... a rule I had no problem upholding.
After we got on board and got our things secured, Ethan fired up the boat, and I slipped into the seat beside him. The warm wind whipped through my hair once we hit full speed after making it out of the marina. We skipped along the waves, laughing when we hit the big ones and caught air. Finally, after we’d had our fill of zipping around the cerulean waters, Ethan found a little cove to drop anchor for the night.
