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His words make a lump form in my throat. “Thanks, Chip.”
We exchange another kiss, and when he pulls away, he looks down again at the ring still in my hand, expression thoughtful. “You should do it tonight. I’ll make up some excuse, something I’ve got to do for the move, so you two can be alone and have your moment.”
I smile. “Thanks,” I repeat.
“Do you know what you’re going to say?” he asks.
“I’ve thought about it, but I think I’m gonna let most of it come to me on the fly,” I say, smiling to myself a little, “I haven’t done the best job at sticking to plans thus far anyway.”
The two of us get back to packing quietly for a bit. “You know,” Chip pipes up after a few minutes of silence, “It’s not something I’ve done often, because most of our guests bring their own officiant or the timing just hasn’t worked out because I’ve had a class, but I’ve performed a couple of weddings here on the island. I’m not ordained through an official religious organization or anything, so if that’s important to you, then I won’t be offended if you say no. I mean, I won’t be offended if you say no for any reason, really, it might just be weird-”
“Chip, you’re rambling,” I say, halting him, “Stop for a second, take a breath, and get to the point.”
“If you and Hazel are interested…I could marry you.”
It’s an interesting thought, and immediately, the idea appeals to me. “Well, the first step is to get her to say yes,” I say, tapping the ring box in my pocket, “And obviously I’ll have to ask how she feels about the idea, but as long as she’s on board, I would be honored.”
There’s something weirdly perfect about it, and I realize that’s just kind of a perfect summary for all of us as a whole: Weirdly perfect.
So later that afternoon, Hazel returns from the spa, looking refreshed and relaxed and proudly showing off delicately painted flowers on her nails and soft highlights sprinkled throughout her blonde waves that beautifully frame her lovely face.
“You’re absolutely stunning, sweetheart,” Chip tells her, lifting one of her hands to her lips and kissing it, “But hey, I think you two should go do something without me this evening.”
Hazel frowns. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fantastic,” he assures her, “I’ve just got some stuff to do, I pulled up some job postings and I want to get some applications sent in, and I need to call Emma and let her know I’ve kind of got an ETA for when I’ll be coming to town.”
That much was actually true. He’d realized that with him moving, that kind of complicated things with the divorce paperwork, so he’d had to call his ex to let her in on the situation and they’d decided to just wait until he was back in New York. Once he was settled, it would be far simpler to handle everything when they weren’t living on separate continents.
He’s already found a couple of apartments he’s interested in, but despite him saying he could choose something online, we’ve talked him into waiting and checking them out in person before he makes a decision.
She frowns. “You sure you want to be doing all of that on Christmas Eve?” she asks.
“I’m sure,” he nods, “The faster I get my ducks in a row, the less time I’ll have to be away from the two of you.”
Hazel smiles. “Aww, well, when you put it like that, how can I say no?”
She stands on tiptoe and kisses him. “But if you change your mind and you miss us, just call us or come to the room, okay?”
“I will,” he promises, “You two go have fun.”
“We’ll see you later, babe,” I kiss him, then wrap an arm around Hazel, “Shall we?”
I lead her out of the room. “So where are we going?” she asks.
“Are you sick of walking along the beach yet?”
“Never,” she smiles.
“Are we going to ruin your pretty new toes if we walk in the sand?” I ask, “Because I can carry you if I need to.”
Hazel laughs. “They’ll be fine,” she says, “But I appreciate the chivalry.”
We make our way outside and down onto the soft white sand, kicking off our shoes and walking along the shoreline. I’m trying to play it cool, but my heart it going a million miles a minute.
“You okay?” Hazel asks, “You seem kind of tense.”
“I’m fine,” I promise her, “Just give me one second.”
