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I blush and raise my pina colada. “Here’s to us. We made it.”
“We made it,” Tai says, raising his beer.
We all clink our glasses together. I look Tai deep in the eye as we drink.
“Not going to lie,” I tell them all. “I thought we were going to die. Just because we were all ready to kill each other on more than a few occasions.”
“I slept with a knife under my pillow,” Richard jokes.
The waitress comes by at that exact moment with our desserts, carefully eyeing Richard as she places the treats on the table. It’s hard to tell when he’s joking.
“I have banana cream pie, macadamia nut cheesecake, a passionfruit tart, grasshopper pie, homemade mango and lychee sorbet, plus vakalavalava, a cassava cake that’s popular here. Enjoy.” Layla gives Richard one last weird look and walks away.
“I’m not sure I can eat anymore,” Lacey says, staring at it all with overwhelmed eyes.
“I don’t think so either,” I tell her, picking up a fork and spearing the cheesecake. “But I’ve never backed down from a challenge.”
The moment it hits my mouth though, melting on my tongue, my stomach calls out for me to stop. There is such a thing as overdoing it.
“So, where do you think you’re going to go to school?” Lacey says, pulling the sorbet toward her and poking it with her spoon.
I glance again at Tai, who is lost in a daze as he starts sampling all the dishes.
“Actually, I want to study in New Zealand. I haven’t obviously been able to Google around yet, but I bet at least a few universities have the program. Then I’ll see if I can get in.”
Now Lacey is really surprised. The spoon pauses halfway to her mouth. “Really? Why New Zealand?”
“Because…” I trail off. Do I really have to say?
I look at Tai. He’s smiling politely as if asking, “Yes, why?”
Guess I do.
“Because I want to be with Tai,” I tell them, feeling myself flush. God, I’m such a dork. Why is admitting this out loud so hard for me?
“Huh,” Lacey muses, sitting back, tapping her spoon against her lips. “I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me at all.”
“Definitely isn’t a surprise to me,” Richard says, gesturing to us with his drink. “Just look at the two of you. It’s quite apparent you’re in love with each other. Even the goat knew that.”
The room feels like it comes to a screeching halt.
At least my heart feels that way.
Love?
Did Richard really just say that? I mean, I know how I feel but there’s no way in hell that Tai feels the same way, and now that bomb just dropped and everything is so awkward and my face is burning and—
“Damn right I’m in love with her,” Tai says, before having a sip of his beer.
Oh.
My god.
My mouth drops open.
Words fail to come out.
Heart feels like it’s grown too large for my chest, about to consume me whole.
He…what?
I swallow, staring at him.
He gives me a sly little grin. “What? You didn’t know that?”
My eyes bug out.
Is he kidding me right now?
I shake my head. “You…you love me?”
“Uh oh,” Lacey says, elbowing Richard as she gets up. “Richard, let’s step outside for some fresh air.”
“Nah, stay,” Tai says to them, motioning for her to sit. “I don’t care if the whole world knows it.” He turns in his seat to me, leans over, and cups my bewildered face in his warm, large hands. “Daisy Lewis, I am utterly, totally, madly in love with you.”
Oh my god.
I’m still in shock.
This is beyond anything I could have imagined. I feel like I’m not even here right now, and my body seems to pop and fizz with the kind of joy I’ve never felt before.
“You love me?” I ask again, my voice cracking.
“I do,” he says, leaning in to kiss me softly on the lips.
This man. This beautiful man.
He loves me.
Tears suddenly spring to my eyes and spill down my cheeks, making our kiss salty and sweet.
He pulls away, resting his forehead against mine, breathing hard, like all of this has his heart rate up. It sure has mine going.
“I’m sorry you first had to hear it in front of your sister and brother-in-law,” he says wryly. “I was planning on telling you tonight. Something a little more romantic.”
“Sorry,” Richard mutters.
“Don’t be,” I whisper to him, staring at Tai, feeling absolutely giddy. “It doesn’t matter how I hear it, so as long as it’s true.”
“It’s true, Gingersnap,” he says. “I knew you’d get under my skin the moment I saw you.”
“Did I ever,” I comment.
Lacey clears her throat loudly.
I pull back from Tai just enough to give her a look. “What?”
She jerks her chin at Tai. Raises her brows. “Shouldn’t you…you know?”
“Don’t pressure her,” Tai tells her. “I didn’t say it to hear it in return. I said it—
