Shelley wanted to tell him how much she loved him and that he was right—the only thing she cared about was that they were together—but when she opened her mouth, emotions swallowed her voice. Which was just as well, because he had more he needed to say.
“I knew you’d be here working late to try to drown out the voices in your head that said we shouldn’t be apart, just like I was. But I don’t want you to ever have to work to drive away pain again. I want to give you more joy, more happiness than you’ve ever known before. More than you ever thought was possible.”
“You already have.” Each word was drenched with love. So much love she was bursting with it. “You already do.”
“No, sweetheart. This is only the beginning. You told me that I held your heart in my hands. What kind of a man would I be if I didn’t cherish your heart with everything I had? From the first night we met in the cove, you made everything brighter, everything better. You’re the light of my life, Shelley.”
Give me a guiding light, had been her wish. Lead me to my forever home.
Her wish—all of her wishes—had come true. But who would have ever thought that she would be his guiding light, too?
Shelley couldn’t stop smiling as she told the man she loved, “I’ve wished for true love my whole life. And now here you are. Giving me Cape Cod kisses in the moonlight.”
“I want to make all your wishes come true, Shell. Let me teach you how to skip rocks, and you can teach me how to keep making the most out of every precious moment, especially the ones when we sneak out to our cove and go skinny-dipping together.” She had to kiss him, had to let him know how happy he made her, even as he continued to say, “I want us to have rebellious children with minds of their own. We’ll teach them to enjoy all the little things in life, and they’ll grow up with more love than any children have ever known. I want to drink in every single gasp of pleasure as I make love to you each night...and then be the luckiest guy in the world when I get to love every inch of you again each morning.” He gazed deeply into her eyes. “Say you’ll marry me, Shell, and be mine forever.”
“Forever,” she echoed breathlessly, before laughing out loud in amazement at the realization that her solo honeymoon was going to end with her saying, “Once upon a time I thought dating was a bore and husbands were overrated”—both of them were laughing now—“but now there’s nothing I want more than to be yours. Forever.”
Epilogue
Six weeks later…
TRENT ROCKWELL HAMMERED in the last few nails on the shelves he and his brothers were building inside the old gristmill that Shelley had purchased for her new coffee shop.
The renovations were really coming together. Quinn, Shelley, and Derek had come up with impressive plans to maintain the integrity and character of the old building while using materials that would enhance the rustic charm of the historical structure.
Trent set the hammer down on the old millstone and took stock of what was left to do. A little sanding, some painting, staining. In a few weeks, the coffee shop would be up and running. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed working with his hands and how great it was to come together with his family on a project that was separate from running the resort—which was also shaping up, though not quite as quickly or as simply as Shelley’s café.
It was after ten p.m. and his siblings had already called it a night. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, trying for the hundredth time since he’d gone outside an hour ago to retrieve tools from his truck to distract himself from thinking about the light he’d seen on at Reese’s gallery. He knew Reese was still away, helping her sister with her new baby, which meant her assistant, Jocelyn, was probably working late.
Working late had become the bane of Trent’s existence. He thought of how much Quinn had changed since meeting Shelley. His brother had finally begun to take some time off work and enjoy life. Trent had learned the hard way what being a workaholic earned a person—and other than the income and prestige, which in his view were highly overrated, he didn’t have much to gain by continuing on that path.
Which only sent his mind drifting back to Reese.
Was she ever far from his mind?
A little more than ten years ago, they’d shared both a wild passion for each other and big hopes and dreams of building a life together in New York. They had thought he’d establish his career as an attorney and she’d grow to love city life and would eventually open her own gallery. But she was an island girl at heart, and he…