Epilogue - Eighteen Months Later
Wren
Istepped up to the counter at the airport and presented my information to the woman working there.
Jasper was one counter over getting checked in too.
A year and a half ago, we had been in a similar situation.
That day had ended with me on a plane and him sleeping on the floor.
This would end with us on a beach in Maui, the first real vacation we’d taken as a couple.
It had taken us a long time to get to where we were now. It was both of our busy seasons when we decided to try texting.
Text messages just aren’t the same as intimacy.
Anytime we were together though the fireworks were too real to ignore, so we persevered. Getting to know each other, one little piece at a time.
After the summer fire season in Canada had ended last year, I had gone to Australia with a crew for a month.
When I’d gotten back to Canada, the first thing I’d done was go to Jasper.
The second thing I’d done was call the commander from my last job, Evan, and inquire about a crew boss job.
Something that would have me doing what I loved, but with a more solid home base.
Jasper’s cabin became my unofficial home base over the last year and a half.
Then my official one.
It took time, but our connection became love, and love became a commitment to forever. Now I had a connection deeper than I ever dared hope for and a tropical vacation as the icing on top.
I collected my ticket and stepped past the counter, turning to wait for him.
I watched the muscles of his arm move under his tattoos as he picked up his suitcase and came to join me.
It was like every time I saw him he’d gotten sexier and I couldn’t wait to be alone. “What’s that look for?” he asked.
“What look?”
“Well, you stared at me with heat in your eyes the first time we were in an airport together. Last time it was because you wanted to kill me, this time it looks like something else.” He pumped his eyebrows.
My cheeks heated and I leaned into his chest. “I might be a little eager to get to the fun part of our vacation.”
A smile spread across his lips. “We’ve had sex in some strange places before, think we can manage in the bathroom of the airplane?”
I swatted his chest. “Not a chance. I don’t want to risk getting kicked off the plane. But as soon as we get to our hotel we are christening that bed.”
He groaned. “You can’t get me hard right before we go through a full-body scanner.”
I laughed. “Looks like I just did.” I turned, not so accidentally grazing my ass over his crotch, and headed for the security line.
After an uneventful flight where we did not have sex in the bathroom, we arrived in Maui. The sun was just setting. It was still beautifully warm, and the air smelled like plumeria flowers.
The airport wasn’t enclosed like it was back home. They didn’t have to worry about snow here. Birds flew through the space and we gawked at all of it.
“This is amazing,” I said, falling in love with the place before we even left the airport.
“It’s going to be the best trip ever.”
When we arrived at the hotel everything was just as breathtaking. Fish ponds, flowers, the ocean in the background.
“Checking in, reservation name is Jasper McLean, honeymoon suite.”
I was looking around the lobby of the hotel when I heard what Jasper said. I waited until we had our keys and were on the way to the elevator before asking.
“The honeymoon suite?” I asked him, raising an eyebrow.
He shrugged. “This is our first vacation. I thought we should make it special.”
The elevator stopped and we walked a short way down the hall to our room. Once the door was open I dropped my bag and took in the space. It was exactly the way I’d pictured it. Crisp white linens, paintings of waterfalls and flowers on the walls.
I wrapped my arms around Jasper’s waist. “Even though this isn’t really our honeymoon, I’m glad you got this room. It is beautiful.”
He brought his arms around my waist too and pulled me close. “Well, we haven’t done a single thing the way we were supposed to. Why stop now.” He paused. “Besides, we could get married here on the beach, then it really would be our honeymoon.”
I pulled back enough to look him in the eye. “You can’t just wander onto the beach and get legally married.”
He slid his palms from my waist and took my hands in his.
“Legally no, but I have a ring in my pocket and if you want to wear it, we can stand in front of the ocean and make each other a promise. That’s all a marriage needs.
Two willing people and a promise. The rest is just government forms and tax stuff. ”
I laughed. “You’re crazy.”
“For you, I’m crazy for you.” The sincerity in his dark eyes almost knocked me backward. “So, what do you say?”
There was only one answer that was honest.
“Of course, let’s do it. We made a promise we both intended to keep that day in my tent by a wildfire, so here in this beautiful place we can make another one.”
We didn’t do anything special.
Didn’t put on a white dress or a tuxedo. We just changed into shorts and t-shirts and walked to the ocean.
It was dark but the sound of the waves was soothing and the moon was high. Jasper picked a flower, a hibiscus I think, from outside the hotel and handed it to me.
I tucked it behind my ear as we walked, hand in hand.
We kicked off our shoes and headed across the beach, barefoot in the white sand.
When we found a place to be alone he turned to face me and took my hands in his.
“Wren, you stubborn, beautiful, kickass, firefighting woman. You put me in my place the first time we met and then made a place for me by your side. I promise to always send you airplane emojis when I’m safe, give you space to be you and love you more than anyone else. ”
My heart leapt in my chest. The rightness of the decision to commit to each other was as clear as the night sky.
“I wish I’d prepared something. That was beautiful, Jasper.”
“Just say what you feel.”
I squeezed his hands and tried to put every feeling in my chest into words.
“I’ve never been one to settle in one place.
Home was a transient thing. Then somewhere along the way you became my home.
I might be physically with you or an ocean away but I always have a place to come back to.
That place is wherever you are.” He squeezed my hands again.
“Right now that place is a beach in the most amazing place I’ve ever been.
I promise a life of adventure and supporting your dreams.”
We kissed long and slow, then Jasper pulled a ring from his pocket and slid it onto my finger. I had no idea how he had gotten it through security without me noticing.
He handed me another ring, identical but bigger, and I put it on his finger.
“They’re nothing special,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“They are made of tungsten. The person at the jewelry store said they wouldn’t scratch or bend out of shape like gold so they are perfect for people who work with their hands.
” He stared down at the ring on my finger, a perfect circle shining in the dim light. “I could get you a diamond if—”
“Jasper,” I leaned in and kissed him. “They’re perfect.”
We sat in the sand, holding hands and watching the ocean until the air cooled and we started walking back to your room.
“I love Hawaii already. Maybe we should move here one day,” I said as we stepped through the sand.
“Wherever we are, we’ll make it work. We always have.”