Chapter 20
Johanna stood on the balcony outside the Princess Ballroom while the Atlantic Ocean rolled against the shore below the Beaumont Hotel. The March breeze lifted softly through her curls, carrying the scent of saltwater and spring.
Inside the ballroom, vendors arranged tables across polished floors while staff prepared for another wedding-planning meeting that had somehow turned into a full-scale Beaumont family production.
But out here, everything felt still.
Peaceful.
And after the emotional storm of the last few weeks, peace felt almost sacred.
It had been thirty days since the fire.
Thirty days since Johanna stood in the rain outside a burning house convinced Blaze might die before she found the courage to stop pushing him away.
Thirty days of healing, rebuilding trust, and watching him prove, day after day, that he meant every promise he'd made.
Since then, something between them had settled.
It hadn't settled into perfection. It had settled into truth.
Blaze no longer loved her carefully. He loved her openly now. Every morning he showed up at her apartment carrying coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Every evening ended with him stretched across her couch or tangled beside her in bed despite his healing ribs and her constant lectures about rest.
And every night before falling asleep, he pulled her against his chest like he still needed reassurance she was really there.
Johanna was leaning about the railing when the sound of the balcony door sliding open pulled her from her thoughts.
Then came the warmth.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind while Blaze pressed a slow kiss beneath her ear.
Her eyes closed instantly.
Blaze kissed the side of her neck softly before settling against her back.
“You hiding from your boss again?”
Johanna smiled immediately. “Your definition of hiding is very dramatic.”
Blaze hummed thoughtfully behind her. “Ready to go home?”
Home.
She leaned back into him naturally while his hands rested low against her waist.
After all these years and that feeling still hadn’t changed.
The quiet emotional safety she fought so hard against in the beginning now felt like peace and certainty.
Blaze had stayed exactly like he promised.
He wasn't perfect or magical. He was consistent.
He showed up every day, through every hard conversation and every vulnerable moment.
Blaze kissed her temple. “What’s on your mind?”
The question still melted her a little every time. Blaze was always checking on her, always paying attention to the things she didn't say out loud.
Johanna turned in his arms slowly until she faced him fully.
God.
This man still stole her breath.
Most of the visible bruises had faded, though the injury still lingered in the careful way he moved, but something about Blaze had changed afterward.
He looked softer around her.
More open, as though surviving that night had burned away whatever fear he still carried about loving her completely.
“You know what I was thinking?” Johanna asked quietly.
Blaze’s hands slid slowly along her waist. “That I look exceptionally handsome?”
She laughed softly. “Your confidence really is exhausting.”
“But accurate.”
Unfortunately… yes. Then she finally said the thing that had been sitting heavy inside her chest since the fire.
“I was so angry at myself that night.”
Blaze’s expression softened immediately.
“At the fire?”
She nodded once.
“Because the whole time I thought you were trapped in that house…” Her throat tightened slightly. “None of the Seattle stuff mattered anymore.”
“I turned Seattle down.”
Johanna blinked.
His gaze held hers steadily.
“They called again.” A faint smile touched his mouth. “Told them no before they finished talking.”
Fresh tears gathered instantly. “Just like that?”
“Yeah.”
“Blaze—”
“No.” His voice stayed calm but firm. “I already lost you once because I spent too much time chasing things that didn’t matter enough.” His gaze held hers steadily. “I’m not doing that again.”
Emotion flickered visibly across her face now.
“There’s nothing out there bigger than this.” His fingers slid gently into her curls. “Nothing more important than you.”
The words cracked something open inside her chest.
Because years ago, Johanna always felt like she was competing with Blaze’s dreams.
Now he stood in front of her choosing her so completely it healed parts of her she thought would stay broken forever. “I love you.”
God.
That look.
Like he still couldn’t believe he got her back.
Johanna shook her head softly while emotion continued spilling down her cheeks.
“I love you too.”
The words slipped out without hesitation.
Blaze closed his eyes for half a second like hearing the words physically affected him. When he looked at her again, his own voice sounded rough. “I love you more,” he murmured softly.
Then he kissed her. Like a promise. Slow enough for her to feel every year they’d wasted and for every almost that finally led them back here.
Somewhere between the fire and choosing each other anyway… they stopped feeling temporary.
Blaze drew back and looked at Johanna for one long quiet moment. When his eyes came back to hers, they looked raw.
“I never stopped loving you,” he admitted quietly. “Not one damn day.”
The confession tore straight through her chest.
Then Blaze reached into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Johanna blinked.
“What are you doing?”
Blaze didn’t answer immediately, which instantly made her nervous.
“Blaze.”
His grin appeared slowly. “Relax.”
“That word has never helped anybody calm down.”
A quiet laugh escaped him before he pulled out a small velvet box.
And suddenly Johanna forgot how breathing worked.
“Oh my God.”
Blaze took one step closer, eyes locked steadily on hers. “I had this whole speech planned,” he admitted softly. “Real romantic. Probably would've made you cry.”
Johanna already felt tears gathering.
“But then I realized something.” His fingers tightened slightly around the ring box. “You already know how much I love you.” Blaze looked at her like she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
“I wasted years trying to outrun things that scared me,” he said quietly. “But loving you was never the problem.” His eyes locked fully on hers.
Tears spilled down Johanna’s cheeks instantly.
Blaze opened the box slowly.
The ring caught the sunset light and sparkled between them. It wasn't extravagant or overdone. It was elegant, timeless, and somehow felt exactly right. A startled laugh burst through her tears.
“Can you let me propose first?” he teased softly.
Then Blaze Carter, the love of her life, the man who once terrified her with how deeply she loved him, grew serious again.
And for the first time in years, Johanna realized she wasn’t afraid anymore of loving him. Because Blaze had already proven something more important than promises.
He stayed.
Blaze took her hand carefully in his. “Mary Johanna Bennett,” he said quietly, emotion thickening his voice, “will you marry me and let me spend the rest of my life loving you the right way this time?”
The answer came without hesitation.
“Yes.”
Blaze closed his eyes briefly like relief physically moved through him before he slid the ring onto her finger.
Then Johanna launched herself into his arms laughing and crying at the same time while Blaze held her tightly against him beneath the spring sky.
Cheers and clapping erupted behind them.
Apparently the executive staff had been spying from the doors the entire time.
Bianca screamed loud enough to alarm nearby birds. “About time!”
Johanna covered her face laughing and leaned against Blaze’s shoulder while he kissed her deeply beneath spring sunshine and ocean wind.
And somewhere below them, waves rolled steadily against the shore of Sheraton Beach.
The same town where they first fell in love.
The same town where fear nearly tore them apart.
The same town where Blaze Carter finally learned that the greatest thing he’d ever chased… was never a place.
It was her.
Johanna laughed softly as Blaze kissed her temple and led her through the hotel lobby.
Hand in hand.
Finally, together.
And somewhere behind them inside the Beaumont Hotel lobby…
another love story was already beginning.