Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
Jenna
I ’m hurrying around my newly renovated kitchen, prepping food for our first ever Christmas Eve dinner in our little house on Monarch Street.
Even when my parents lived here, there was never a Christmas celebration under this roof.
I could not be more excited. Miles and I picked out the perfect tree from a little farm offshore.
We bought all of our decorations from Joy’s Hardware, and it feels like a Hallmark movie in here.
It’s cliché to say, but I am living my own Hallmark love story every day.
After Thanksgiving last year, Miles and I decided we couldn’t be apart any longer; we wanted to wake up together every day until the end of time.
Instead of listing my house and moving into his condo, we listed his condo.
It’s beachfront, so it didn’t take long to sell.
Miles and Pete moved in with me just shy of a year ago, and I have never been happier.
Pete has a yard to play in now, but we still take him to the beach.
Miles and I have fixed the house up and made it our own—starting with new kitchen counter tops and Miles’s furniture from his condo.
I haven’t vaulted any ceilings yet, but maybe someday.
I put family photos of my parents around the house because I never want to forget that they’re always with me. I know this is where they would have wanted me to end up—and who they would have wanted me to end up with.
I’ve also started my own interior design company. I’m working from home for now, but Miles and Joy have my business cards and hand them out to customers regularly. They have been keeping me busy. I still have to pinch myself—I can’t believe that I get to do what I love every day.
Speaking of what I love? This crazy man of mine has embedded a love of surfing in my soul.
I can hardly believe it, but he has me out there with him on my dad’s beach almost three hundred days a year.
I still won’t go in when it’s ice cold like he does, but now I understand why he chases those stars every night.
There’s something amazing about seeing the universe from the ocean under the inky night sky. I guess I’m a convert.
“Jenna!” Miles’s voice interrupts my daydreaming. He sounds like a kid on Christmas, his voice brimming with excitement.
I put the knife down I’m using to slice cheese for a charcuterie board. “In here!” I call, wiping my hands on a paper towel.
“I have to give you your gift.” He marches into the kitchen holding a large, wrapped gift box out to me.
I frown, but a smile tugs at my lips anyway. “Babe, no. It’s only Christmas Eve. I haven’t even wrapped yours yet.”
“Please.” He puts the box on the table and folds his hands at me like a begging child. “Pretty please. I can’t wait until tomorrow.”
I laugh, rolling my eyes. “Fine.”
Miles pulls out a kitchen chair for me. It’s still my parents’ old kitchen table, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. “Sit,” he orders, pointing to the chair.
“Yes, sir.” I tease with a grin.
Miles sits across from me, placing the sloppily wrapped box in my lap. Hey, at least he tried. “Open it,” he says eagerly, rubbing his palms together.
I tear off the paper and lift the lid, pushing the tissue paper aside…
a wet suit. God love him. He really tried.
“Oh…another wet suit.” I bite back a grin.
I don’t need anything for Christmas, being in our home, surrounded by loved ones with Miles, is all I could ask for.
Bless him for getting me another wet suit so we can spend even more time together.
“Not just a wet suit. A top-of-the-line winter wet suit. You won’t feel the cold water at all. There is a hood, gloves, and even booties for your feet!” He grins proudly.
“This is great, baby, thank you.” I smile, pulling him toward me for a kiss.
“Can we go right now?” Miles asks excitedly.
“Right now? No. It’s Christmas Eve.” I laugh incredulously.
“Yeah, but we’ll be back. Come on. We haven’t been out together in a while.
The surf report says the waves are amazing.
Please. Plus, it’s Christmas Eve and this is the closest I get to religion.
” Miles does the hands folding thing again and he looks so cute my chest constricts.
“It’s only three. No one is coming over until six,” he urges.
I’m mostly ready for company. We’re having a slow-cooked pot roast and vegetables.
Aunt Leona is bringing some seafood dishes to keep things Italian, and dessert is off my radar because Miles’s mom said she’d bring it.
I sigh and then relent, but not without an eyeroll.
“Fine. Let’s go.” I tell him, but his excitement is rubbing off on me too. “But only for an hour!”
Fifteen minutes later, we’re pulling up to Cove Beach. It’s after three, and the December sky is already turning shades of cotton candy as the sun sinks lower into the horizon. Miles was right though, I’m not cold. This new suit is pretty cool.
We trek down to the beach and get to work waxing our boards. I’ve since adopted Miles’s longboard as my own, and he seems to love his shortboard. “You ready?” he asks me with a lopsided grin. He can’t contain his excitement.
“Sure,” I say, “but Miles, just a few runs. It’s Christmas Eve.” But I have to force away my smile. This man has stolen my heart in every way possible. If he’s happy, I’m happy.
“I know, I know.” He pulls me to him and plants a kiss on my lips. “Let’s go!”
Then he’s off, running full force into the ocean, the one place he feels untouchable.
I follow him more slowly; it’s been a while since I’ve been out.
But my arms have gotten stronger and no longer feel like limp spaghetti as they slice through the water.
I duck under each crashing wave with expertise.
The butterflies I once felt coming out here long gone.
Now, I feel something like Miles does. Invincible isn’t the word, but peaceful might be.
I feel at home in the ocean just as much as he does now.
Miles waits on his board, watching as I make my way to him. Once I do, I spin around and sit up. I’m so warm in this wet suit, the cold December air doesn’t even give me a chill. Impressive . “You made it.” Miles grins.
“Are you happy?” I joke, splashing him.
“Hey now,” he says, holding his hands up in defense. Then, more seriously, he says, “Coming out here with you has been some of the best times of my life so far.”
His emotion catches me off guard. “Mine too, Miles. I love it here,” I say sincerely.
“I love you, Jenna. So much, ” Miles says tenderly. “I never knew it was possible to love another person like this, so selflessly. Your happiness is all that matters to me.”
“Is that why you dragged me out here in forty-degree weather on Christmas Eve?” I tease, splashing him again.
Miles ignores my remark and looks up at the sky. “Look, first star.” He points to a bright spot in the sky that I am pretty sure is actually Venus and then grins at me. “This is my favorite part.”
“Mine too,” I murmur, reaching across the water for his hand. He takes it and pulls me and my board closer to him.
“Do you remember last year, when I told you I didn’t care about surfing every day anymore because I have you? And you make me feel alive?” Miles’s eyes penetrate mine. He doesn’t look away until I answer.
“Yeah,” I say slowly.
“That’s still true. You make me feel alive, every single day,” he croaks.
“You make me feel alive too, Miles.” I smile, wondering what the heck he is trying to say.
“And you know how I love to surf at night, chasing the stars, because it makes me feel invincible?” Miles asks.
“Miles, I know all of this,” I say quietly. “What are you trying to say?”
He grins widely, glancing behind him at the wave building and starts paddling. “Race you!” he calls over his shoulder and then he’s gone.
“That jerk!” I say to no one but myself. I laugh and start paddling after him, catching the next wave and riding it in smoothly. When my feet touch the sand I yell, “You stole my wave!”
But Miles isn’t ready to paddle back out for another one. He’s on one knee, holding a diamond ring, grinning at me. I rush to him.
“Beat ya,” he croaks.
“Oh my God,” I gasp, covering my mouth with trembling hands. “Miles,” I whisper, my heart hammering in my chest.
“Jenna, I used to chase stars, believing on some level that if I could just reach them, I'd find a way to feel invincible. But the moment I met you, I realized I was already there. With you by my side, I don't need to chase anything anymore—because your love makes me feel like I can do anything. You make my whole world as vast and beautiful as gazing at the night sky from the middle of the ocean. Here, with your parents as our witnesses, I’d like to ask you a question.” He pauses, licking his lips.
“Jenna Rose Rossi, make me the happiest man in the world, marry me, and be my guiding star? It’s the only gift I want this Christmas.” Miles’s grin is wide, and his eyes are glassy but hopeful.
I’m shaking, both from the cold air and Miles’s heartfelt proposal. I rip off my glove and hold out my trembling hand, nodding and crying. “Yes,” I whisper. “I would be honored to marry you, Miles.”
His eyes light up. “Yes? You’ll marry me?” He stands up and wraps me in a hug, swinging me around the beach. “She said yes!” he shouts to the sky. “She said yes!”
I’m laughing and my heart is bursting—I have never been happier in my life. Miles puts me down, grabs a fluffy beach towel, and wraps it around me. I look at the glittering ring on my finger for the first time and my eyes fill with tears. “It’s beautiful.” I hold back a sob.
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I hope we’re still out here surfing when we’re seventy.” He grins, his eyes glistening.
“I hope so too.” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him softly. Our foreheads press together, and I whisper, “Thank you for including my parents.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Miles murmurs. “Now, let’s go see everybody else. We’re celebrating.”
When we get home, Miles’s parents, Nate, Caden, Aunt Leona, and Jake are already gathered in our kitchen.
Everyone holds champagne, and Jake passes us each a glass as we come inside.
Miles filled them in. They all knew that he was giving me the greatest gift this Christmas—his heart, completely open and unabashed.
It’s midnight before everyone leaves, and Miles and I head up to sleep in the master bedroom of our cozy beach bungalow.
I slip into bed, pulling the blanket up to my chin, admiring my ring.
Miles slides in beside me, pulling me close and taking my hand.
He kisses my neck, and we gaze out the window at the starlit sky.
“Merry Christmas,” Miles whispers in my ear.
“Merry Christmas,” I say with a happy sigh. “Today was the best day of my life.”
Miles chuckles. “There’s a lot more where that came from.”
And I know he’s right.
THE END