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“Parents learn as we go. We all make mistakes along the way, but what you did for Marissa this summer…” He paused, emotion written all over his handsome face. “What you did for me with the website—I can’t thank you enough.”
“That was all Marissa,” she said. “She’s so incredible. The before and after pictures, the quotes from locals, and creating the website design…all her.” Man, she missed the little girl as much as she’d been missing Wes.
“She is incredible,” he said. “And so are you. I’ve always thought so, and these last few weeks, my feelings for you, my attraction—has only grown.”
He paused, and she held her breath. She felt the same way, but doubt and fear held her back from saying anything. She’d put herself out there too many times already. Maybe he still wasn’t ready…
“Sarah, I’m sorry.” He stepped closer. “And I’m hoping you’ll give me one last chance to prove to you how I feel about you. This is what I want. Sarah, I want you here with us.” He took her hands in his and pulled her toward him, his gaze locked on hers.
She stepped into his arms, desperate to believe that this was the right decision for all of them. That everything was going to work out. She was in love with him, and she loved Marissa, and she wanted this new start. Blue Moon Bay was her home and she wanted to be here. With them.
He touched her cheek, then cupped her face in his hands as she stared up at him. “I love you, Sarah. I’min lovewith you,” he said.
The words were everything she’d been wanting to hear. “It’s only ever been you for me, Wes.”
His gaze burned into hers with a look she’d never seen before—desire, affection, attraction. No sign of hesitation or uncertainty.
She swallowed hard.
“Sarah, kiss me. I promise you I won’t hurt you this time. Or ever,” he said, tracing his thumb along her bottom lip, his eyes darting back and forth between her eyes and her mouth.
She released a deep breath as she raised her arms to encircle his neck, drawing his head lower. “Say my name again,” she whispered.
“Sarah,” he said against her lips as their mouths connected and she let everything go—her fears, her reservations, her doubt. She clung to him as they stood on the broken staircase, feeling as though all the pieces were finally put together.
She could feel her heart opening a little more with each second and the stress of the last few months evaporated in the hot California sun.
Starting over wasn’t looking so bad after all.
Her breath caught in her chest, and all the happiness and hope in there made her feel like she might explode as she pulled back to look at him. “I’m in love with you, too,” she whispered. “But you know you need to fix my staircase again, right?”
Wes grinned at her as he held her close. “I was counting on it. At the very least, it gave me an excuse to come back here.”
Sarah kissed the man she loved again, knowing everything was going to be okay.
Thank you, Grandma.
Epilogue
A month later…
Wes could barely see the top of Marissa’s head over the stack of boxes she carried from the truck toward the office space on Main Street. They were finally moving back out of his kitchen and into a real office.
And he owed that to Sarah.
The woman he was in love with more and more every day.
The past month together, growing closer, growing stronger as a couple, as a family had been better than he’d ever imagined. They were good together. They worked so well as a team. He couldn’t imagine his life without her. Couldn’t imaginetheirlife without her.
He was a lucky man.
He unlocked the door and held it as Marissa entered. She set the boxes down on the floor and looked around. “Wow, it’s even bigger than I remembered.”
She’d been little the last time he’d been in the space. Being in there again now felt good. It felt right, like he was moving in the right direction.
“We’re going to be busy.” He’d hired two assistants to help run the office as Aunt Carmen had officially retired, and thanks to his new website, he had work booked into the summer of the following year. Life had changed in what felt like the blink of an eye. But in the best possible way.
Sarah’s car pulled up outside and she climbed out, carrying a box of her own.
