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I smile. “Shots are what got us to this place.”
Daniel gazes into my eyes. “I should thank the shots because this is the best place I’ve been in a long time.”
I gaze out at the water and the endless blue sky beyond before I look back at my husband. “Me too.”
* * *
“Are you cold?”Daniel asks.
I turn to my left to find him right next to me. He has spent the past fifteen minutes with Leif as he listened to several tales about various fishing trips.
It makes sense since it sounds like Leif grew up spending his weekends on a boat much like this with his family.
“I’m good,” I assure him, even though my hair is whipping in the wind. “It’s beautiful out here.”
Daniel gazes at the water ahead as the boat cuts a path through it. “Don’t laugh, but this is my first time on a boat, Gina.”
I hold in a smile. “I would have thought you’d be out on a different yacht every weekend with your clients in California.”
“I’ve been invited,” he admits. “But it wasn’t what I wanted to do. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to trade a day trip on their yacht for a meal at one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles.”
“As long as you foot the bill for that?” I laugh.
“You know it.”
I look out at the water again. “It’s so calming, isn’t it? It feels like a different world out here. It’s serene and quiet.”
We passed other boats on our journey, but that was only twice, and after we waved to the people on board and they responded in kind, we continued on.
“Should we toast to our good fortune?” Daniel asks. “To the future?”
This moment. This man. All of this feels like what I imagined in my mind’s eye when I saw that boat on the water and the couple kissing all those years ago.
His hand reaches for mine. I give it willingly because I want to touch him.
“Sometimes, I look at you, and I can’t understand how someone can be this beautiful inside and out,” he says.
I want to thank him for the compliment, but all I can do at this moment is stare into his blue eyes.
“I know tomorrow has to come,” he whispers. “I’d trade everything I own to stop time. Even if it’s just for a little while.”
I want that, too, but the words get caught behind a sudden lump in my throat.
His hand drops mine so it can circle my waist. He tugs me closer. As the wind kisses the side of my face, his eyes lock on mine. “I’m the luckiest man in the world. I got to be married to you.”
“You’re happy you married me?” I ask, even though I already see the answer in his eyes.
“So fucking happy.” He smiles. “It’s been a wild ride, Gina Calvetti.”
“Calvetti-Lawton,” I whisper.
“Calvetti-Lawton,” he repeats. “Mrs. Calvetti-Lawton.”
“Mrs. Lawton,” I say out loud for the first time as I stare into his eyes. “I’m happy, too.”
He tugs me closer, his chin tilting slightly. “May I kiss the bride?”
As my heart skips a beat in my chest, I nod and push up on my toes. “You may kiss the bride.”
