Summer on Lovers' Island (Jewell Cove 3)

“I think it’s good news. I hope you will, too.” She spun on the rock so that her legs were over his and his arm was around her. “I’ve been offered a job in Brunswick, in the emergency room there.”

Josh’s face lightened. “But that’s so close! Commutable distance for sure.”

She nodded. “And my hours wouldn’t be heavy, either. No more sixty-hour weeks for this chick.” She leaned against his shoulder. “I love emergency medicine, but I thought it was time I had a life, too.”

“I like that idea,” Josh replied.

“Me, too. Since the best parts of my life right now happen to be in Jewell Cove, it made sense to look for something nearby.”

“Congratulations,” he said, squeezing her close and giving her a kiss. “I’m happy for you. For us, too.”

“So you’re okay with it? I haven’t accepted yet.”

“It’s your decision, Liz. But yeah, it’s incredibly workable. I’m more than okay with it.”

“I was thinking, too,” she said, “that it would be nice to have my mom closer. I found a few living facilities in the area that specialize in memory loss patients.” She met his gaze. “I was wondering if you’d go with me and check a few of them out.”

“Of course I will,” he said warmly. “I’d be honored, honey.”

She’d taken him to meet her mom a few weeks earlier, and it had been a good day for Rosemary. She’d taken to Josh right away, calling him a “handsome young man” and telling him stories of Lizzie when she was a girl. It had been so lovely and yet bittersweet. It always amazed Lizzie how her mom could remember things from the past like that but forget something that had happened only minutes before. Still, it had been important to have her approval.

And for the first time Lizzie had included someone else in her decisions, and that felt good. Like.… a partnership. Entirely new but wonderful just the same.

“Thank you, Josh. For being patient with me while I decided what I wanted my life to look like.”

“It’s the first of your rules that was easy to follow. At least until now.” He grinned and touched the tip of her nose with a finger. “There was one thing I wondered, though, Lizzie. And I don’t mean to rush you, but—”

He reached into his pocket. “I want to give you this. But only if you’re ready for it.”

He held out a key.

“To my house, to use as you wish. As often as you wish. And when you’re ready, to use every day.”

“You’re asking me to move in with you?”

He nodded. “But only when you’re ready. In the meantime, you can come and go.” He smiled at her. “Hell, you already have a toothbrush in my bathroom.”

She did, because she’d been spending more and more nights there lately. The cottage was great, but it had always been a temporary spot for her. If she was truly going to settle in Jewell Cove, she needed to have a home.

A physical home. Because she’d already found a home for her heart.

“I know you don’t like to overly plan your personal life, but I thought I’d put it out there anyway.” Josh put the key in her palm and closed her fingers over it. It was warm from his jacket pocket.

“I find I’m not so scared of planning these days,” she mused, squeezing the key tightly. Josh was inviting her into his life. Perhaps it was time she really invited him into hers.

She shifted so that she was sitting on his lap, her arm around his shoulders and her temple against his cheek. “I love you, Josh. And I’d be happy to accept your key, on one condition.”

“Oh God. You and your conditions…” But there was no apprehension in his voice this time, and she smiled to herself. He trusted her, she realized. Trust that had been so hard for him to give, but he’d given it to her along with the key. What an incredible gift.

“I’ll take it, if you make an honest woman out of me.”

Josh leaned back so he could see her fully. She loved the shock on his face. He hadn’t expected that, but it felt right. And one thing hadn’t changed about Lizzie: when something felt right, she made the decision and went for it. Just like she had the day Charlie had asked her to move to Jewell Cove. It had been the best impulsive decision of her life.

“An honest woman … are you talking about marriage?”

“If you’re interested in marrying again. I know the first time didn’t go so well—”

“Wait.” He stared at her. “Lizzie. Are you saying you would marry me if I asked you?”