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Their gazes met and held for a long beat, and Tess removed her hand from Carly’s. “I’ll let you two talk,” she said, rushing off toward Darcy.
Oliver watched her, then turned back to Carly. “But is that what you want? To run an inn? What about the bookstore?”
“I’ll still work there part-time, but I’m handing the management role to Melissa. Turns out she wants to take a break from university for a few semesters. And, well, I need more time to write anyway,” she said almost sheepishly.
He shook his head, still in disbelief over that revelation. “I can’t believe you never told me.”
She shrugged. “It was easier when no one knew.”
“Everyone knows now,” he said with a grin, nodding toward the big group of women waiting outside the community hall door. “I think you have fans waiting.”
Carly looked adorably mortified at the thought. “Think I could slip out the back?”
“Can’t hide from them forever,” he said.
She nodded and looked uncertain as she shifted from one foot to the other.
He couldn’t stand it any longer. He didn’t care who was there, who was watching; he needed to tell her how he felt. He cleared his throat and took a step toward her. “Carly, I was an idiot.”
She shook her head, but he silenced her. “I was. For a long time. I was closed off and afraid of opening myself up again to love, to a new future, to you.” He paused for a breath. “But I love you. I love you with every part of my soul and I can’t imagine a life without you in it.”
Her eyes welled with tears as she smiled at him. She took a step toward him and he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry about everything,” he whispered.
She looked up at him with only love and affection in her gaze as she said, “I love you too and there’s nothing to apologize for. Life—and love—is messy and complicated.”
“Can we navigate it together?” he asked, pulling her closer and lowering his mouth toward hers.
“I’d like that. Does that mean you’ll continue doing my lighthouse tours?” she asked teasingly, standing on tiptoes to close the gap between their lips.
“Can I still live there with you?” he asked, his heart feeling like it might explode from happiness.
“I was hoping you would,” she said. “I love you, Oliver.”
He could hear her say those words every day for the rest of his life. “I love you, Carly, or Y.C. Salwert, or whomever you are,” he said with a teasing grin.
“Just Carly. From now on, I’m not pretending to be anyone but me,” she said, kissing him.
That sounded perfect to him because his best friend and the love of his life was perfect exactly the way she was. He held her tight and returned her kiss, feeling as though the new chapter in their love story had just begun.
EPILOGUE
Dear readers,
When I started writing this trilogy featuring the tragic, heartwarming, tender love story of Port Serenity’s fearless Serpent Queen, I never thought it would touch so many of you the way it has. I never thought it would touch me the way it has.
Sealena is me. Sealena is all of us. This story is mine. This story is all of ours.
Love is the greatest treasure of all. It is also the hardest joy to capture. It can be elusive. It can be cruel. It can break a heart over and over. But it can also uplift and heal and inspire, and in the end, it really can conquer all.
I’ve written this trilogy in the shadows, out of respect for a creature so powerful and majestic that I didn’t feel worthy of telling this love story.
It turns out I didn’t feel worthy of a lot of things when I started writing these books, but through them, I’ve discovered my voice, and within it, its power.
I am fearless. I am strong. I am worthy of love.
So are you.
Dear readers, I’ve heard your pleas for more Sealena stories and I’m happy to say that I will continue to write them. After all, her story is just beginning...
