Summer Ever After: A Sweet Romantic Comedy

Chapter 41

I glanceup at the darkening sky. Since the tropical storm last week, we’ve had a lot of rain, and it looks like today will be no different. It’s funny how the weather has mimicked my feelings since Walker left Sunset Harbor. Darkness. Turmoil. Fierce wind. Pounding rain. I’ve felt it all the last week and a half. But there have also been moments of scattered sunshine, where warmth and love from my friends and neighbors have sustained me.

Feelings of sadness and happiness can coexist. I think that’s been the biggest takeaway from this experience.

Mayor Barnes follows my eyes to the sky. “Let’s hope the weather holds up for a few more minutes.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

I spent all morning setting up chairs and arranging a giant red ribbon around the property where the new community pool is going to be built. Since we raised enough money from the golf fundraiser, the ribbon-cutting ceremony could go on as planned. After Mayor Barnes gives a short speech, we’ll take some pictures with him and the city council in front of the site, and then he’ll cut the ribbon to kick off the construction process.

The giant backhoe used to dig the pool arrived by boat an hour ago. We had to block off some of the roads to drive it down the street to where the pool will be built, but now that it’s here, we can get started digging this afternoon.

Besides the city council and the people who work in the city building, the usual islanders showed up for the event. There are probably twenty to thirty people in total. I’d say that’s a pretty good turnout for something like this in the middle of the day with a storm threatening.

Mayor Barnes glances down at his watch. “Should we get started?”

“I think so.” My eyes dart to the sky one last time. “That way, we can get people in and out before the rain comes.”

He heads to the makeshift podium we set up for his speech.

The wind picks up intensity.

He better make his speech quick before we all get soaked.

The Sunset Harbor ferry crashes into another wave, rocking us back and forth as we make our way to the island. Maybe if it were a calm day, the boat could pick up its speed, but with the whipping wind pushing against the bow, we’re moving at a snail’s pace.

These last few miles have been agonizing. I just want to be there already.

I’ve traveled twelve hours straight to get back to Jane. Now that the phones are working again, I thought about calling her, but what I want to say shouldn’t happen in a phone call. This is a face-to-face conversation. A life moment every person should experience at least once. I mean, this will be my first time telling someone I love them. I have to make it count.

My cell rings, and I juggle everything I’m holding in my arms to answer. It’s Capri.

“Hey!” My voice sounds alarmingly desperate. “Did you find out where Jane is?”

It’s a random Wednesday. Typically, she’d be at work, but when I called Capri yesterday and told her I was getting on a plane to come confess my love, she said Jane had some community event she’d be at.

I can wait until she gets home from work, or I can meet her where she’s at.

I’ve waited this long. I’m not sure I have it in me to wait a few more hours for her to get home from work.

“Jane is still at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. It just started. Are you on the ferry?”

“Yeah, we’re almost to the island.” My eyes catch the man across from me, staring down the giant check I received from winning the British Open. I watch his eyes go wide as he reads the three-million-dollar payout. I frown, turning the check around. “Are you going to pick me up?”

“Yeah, I’m already at the dock. I see your boat coming in.”

“Capri…” I hesitate. “Are you sure you’re okay with me and Jane?”

“Yes. I told you that yesterday on the phone.”

“I know, but I have to make sure you really mean it. Because Jane is going to ask you if you’re okay with us, and I don’t want her to have any reservations.”

“She’s not going to ask me. She knows I just want her to be happy. So if you really think you’re the guy that can make her happy and that you won’t break her heart, then you have my blessing.”

“I promise I won’t break her heart.” My lips lift. “I know I can make her happy.” We can make each other happy.

At first, I didn’t think we could make it work. I knew she was someone special. I knew I felt more for her than I’d ever felt for anyone else, but I didn’t know how to get around all the logistics, like the fact that I didn’t live in Sunset Harbor.

I’m a little slow, but I finally realized everything I need and everything that’s important to me is on that island.

Nothing else matters.

I’ll move wherever I need to, just to be with Jane.

There’s no place too far.

“That’s all I need to hear,” Capri says.

“Okay, let’s do this, then.”

“What are you going to say?”

“That I love her.” My brows drop. “I mean, something more eloquent than that, but my love for her and the fact that I’m planning to move to Sunset Harbor will be the main points.”

“Walker, I don’t want to pressure you, but this is Jane we’re talking about. Jane, who’s spent every moment since I met her dreaming about the perfect I love you moment. Jane loves love more than anyone else I know. Jane lives for the big romantic gesture. Jane?—”

“I get it.” I rub a hand across my forehead, suddenly feeling nervous.

“Do you get it?”

“Yeah, I think so. Don’t mess this up. That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Exactly. Don’t blow this moment for her.”

“I’ll try not to.”

“Listen, we’ll go over your speech when you get here.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in a second.”

The call ends just as the ferry bumps into the slip at the marina, and a new wave of nerves rattles through me. I felt pretty good about all this until Capri called. Now, I feel like I need to go buy five thousand roses and decorate Jane’s front lawn with them, wear a tuxedo, and hire a string quartet to play. I went from no plans at all to the final rose ceremony on The Bachelor.

Passengers stand, closing in on the ferry exit. I gather my suitcase, golf bag, and the enormous check that sticks out like a zit in the middle of your forehead. I wouldn’t have brought it with me, but I went straight from the airport to here. So, the ridiculously huge check comes along with me for better or worse.

My heart pounds as I walk down the ramp, each step matching the bangs against my rib cage. The heavy wind blows past, threatening to carry the foam board into the water, but I awkwardly tuck it under my arm.

Capri waits at the end of the dock next to her golf cart, hair flying in the wind. The moment she sees me, her brows lower in confusion. “You brought the big check with you?”

“What else was I supposed to do with it?”

“I don’t know. Take it to a bank.”

“You can’t cash these things.” I put my suitcase and clubs under the weather tarp Capri has over her golf cart. “It’s just for show.”

“I think it’s weird you’re bringing a three-million-dollar check with you to tell the woman you love that you love her.”

“I’ll leave it in the cart.”

“What if somebody steals it?”

“Capri, forget about the check. Can we just go before it starts to rain?” I motion forward.

“Yeah, sorry.” She shifts the golf cart into drive, turning out of the marina parking lot. “Let’s work on your speech. What are you going to say?”

“Honestly, you’re kind of freaking me out about my speech. Isn’t, ‘Jane, I love you and want to be with you always,’ good enough?”

“No, that’s not good enough.”

My shoulders lift, and my voice rises. “Then, I don’t know what else to say.”

“Why are you shouting at me?” Her tone matches mine.

“I’m not shouting at you. I’m just nervous. You”re making me nervous.” I grab my chest, where my heart bangs inside.

“You’ve got this. You’ll know what to say when you get there, because you know Jane.”

Heavy raindrops splatter one by one on the windshield, picking up intensity as they go.

“Great,” I mutter, looking at drops as they trickle down the windshield.

“This isn’t a problem. Rain can be very romantic.”

Rain can be very romantic.

“That’s it!” I grab my phone out of my pocket. “Capri, you’re a genius.”

“What?” She glances over at my phone while still trying to drive.

“I know what to do. I know what Jane wants.” She literally spelled it out for me when we were stranded on the boat together.

“Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane starts playing over my phone speaker.

“Awww, she loves this song.” Capri sighs, looking at me with a weird, tender expression. “You do love her.”

“Did you still doubt it?”

“No, I just…” She shakes her head. “I’m going to cry. I’m so happy for you guys.”

Up ahead, a line of golf carts is stopped, backing up traffic.

“The road is closed for the backhoe,” Capri says.

“What backhoe?” I look out the front window. “I don’t see anything.”

“The one they’re using to dig the community pool.”

“In this weather?”

“I don’t know. I just know that the road is blocked.”

“Can you get me any closer?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’ll have to make a run for it before Jane leaves.” I unzip the makeshift door on the tarp and immediately feel wet drops cover me.

“Good luck!” Capri calls as I start running.

I’m holding my phone in my hand as I weave through golf carts and people running to get out of the rain. Heads turn when they hear the music playing over my speaker. Jane is really onto something with this song. The moment feels more dramatic than anything in my entire life. I literally feel like I’m running to catch her before she leaves me forever. These are make-or-break seconds in my life. It’s kind of exciting, like how I feel about our future—all the things we’re going to do together, the good and the bad moments, the family we’ll raise, the life we’ll share. It’s all culminating in a happily ever after.

Just what Jane wanted.

She actually did what she set out to do this summer.

She fell in love and took me along for the ride.

Across the street, Mayor Barnes and his wife run for cover from the rain.

“Hey, where’s Jane?” I call to them.

“Walker?” Betsy’s expression seems confused, as if she can’t comprehend why I’m here in Sunset Harbor.

“She’s back there, cleaning up the sound system before it gets ruined.” Mayor Barnes points behind him while still pushing Betsy along.

My feet slow as my gaze follows where he points. Raindrops pour down my face, wetting my hair, shoulders, and arms. But I’m only focused on one thing.

Then I see her.

Jane.

Relief floods my body. I’m finally home.

A sheet of rain is between us, falling on her brown hair, floral skirt, and a pink T-shirt.

She’s beautiful.

Everything I need.

I’ve been wandering aimlessly in a desert, and she’s a pool of water.

I’ve never wanted anything more.

Jane Hayes is my future and my forever.

I finish winding up the microphone cord, drop it into the bin, and fasten the lid, but my movements freeze when I hear “Somewhere Only We Know” playing.

Wow.

My imagination is really running wild. I miss Walker so much I’m hearing our song—okay, it’s not officially our song. I just made that up in my head. Just like I’m making up hearing it.

No, wait.

It’s getting louder. Like, so loud it can’t be fake.

I whip around, and Walker is behind me.

My mouth opens in shock. Damp curls drop to his brow like he’s been in the rain for hours.

Time slows, my mind catching every nuanced detail of him.

He doesn’t say anything. Desperation controls his body language and how his feet spread into a power stance. One arm wraps around my waist, jerking my body to him. His eyes scream, If I don’t kiss you right now, I might actually die.

Even though it’s happening fast in one fluid movement, I see it all.

The look.

The lean.

The way his head tilts.

The masculine one-arm waist grab.

The way I gasp when he pulls me to him like he doesn’t just want me…but needs me.

The intentional way his lips devour mine, kissing me like he just returned from battle, like he’s starved and I’m the only thing that can satisfy, like he’s been waiting for this moment his whole life.

You can’t plan a kiss like this.

It’s something you feel.

It’s straight out of a romance book.

All the angst from the past two weeks releases, pouring out from us as the rain blankets our bodies and the music pushes our frenzied heartbeats.

The kiss is a seal of I’m never letting you go again—a promise of more.

It’s the beginning of my happily ever after.

As the song winds down, his lips peel from mine, but he doesn’t let go. He presses his forehead to me, breathing me in.

“You came back?” I search his eyes, completely awed by the fact that he’s here, holding me in his arms.

“Of course I came back. I love you, Jane.”

My lips melt into a soft smile with a girlish laugh. “I love you too.”

“Then we’ll figure everything else out.”

“I’d love to figure everything else out.”

“Other than this, I don’t have a big speech. I hoped the kiss would say it all.”

“It was perfect.” Somehow, I know everything will work out between us. I know we’re choosing each other no matter what.

“I missed you.” His lips dust mine with a peck. “I don’t ever want to be apart from you again.”

I shake my head against his. “I don’t either.”

He wraps me into a bear hug as the rain covers us.

“I thought you didn’t like big grand gestures,” I say.

“I don’t.” He pulls back, blue eyes glimmering. “But I like you, and you like the big grand gesture, and that’s all that matters.”

My chin lifts, inviting another kiss.

A horn honks behind us, and we both turn to Capri in her golf cart, waiting by the road. She waves for us to come to her.

“You ready?” Walker says with the same smile that’s been melting my heart since seventh grade.

“I’ve been ready my whole life.”

He grabs my hand, leading me to whatever is next.