Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
THEA
Summers in Maine meant warm days and cool nights.
A soft breeze gusted off Haven’s Bay as we walked along the beach.
The dark gray sand was scattered with rocks.
We’d frequented this stretch of beach between Joe's new house and my old family home when we were together.
We didn't have much spending money back then, so we'd often go for walks.
“Do you think our place is still there?” I asked just as the wind caught my hair and spun it in a swirl. I lifted my free hand, brushing it back.
“Of course, it's still there. The rocky ledges aren’t likely to go anywhere soon.”
I grinned. “Do you think anybody else has found it?”
Joe shrugged. “Maybe not, but I’d guess so. I'm not up for chasing off teenagers tonight, so I hope we have it to ourselves.”
“Oh, are we planning to make out?” I teased.
A giddy sense of joy rose inside my chest, and a sense of lightness gusted like a soft breeze through me.
Finally telling Joe that I'd been thinking about moving up here was such a relief and felt so freeing. It felt right. He was so careful to make sure I understood he didn’t expect me to.
He’d gone out of his way to make it seem like it would be no big deal if we got married and I commuted to Boston forever.
That wasn’t what I wanted, though. I wanted a life with Joe.
This was the right move for me, and it felt really good.
Now that I'd voiced my plans aloud, I was almost annoyed that my lease didn't run out until after Christmas.
That said, it probably was for the best. I didn't want to rush too much as far as Joey was concerned. While I could move up here and bang around my family’s home by myself, it would be nice to move right in with Joe.
A few minutes later, the shoreline curved, and we approached the edge of a cliff.
Joe's hand was warm around mine as we walked around a cluster of rocks with the sand damp under our shoes.
The tide was out and wouldn't come in for hours.
A moment later, a sheltered outcropping of rocks was revealed.
It was still there, just as he assured me.
I squealed. “It's here!”
He smiled down at me, stopping and pressing a fierce kiss to my lips. “I thought it would be.”
I leaned back to peer up at him. “We can kiss, but it has to be standing up. We're not sixteen anymore, and we don't need to deal with the sand.”
Joe's laughter sent a blazing shiver through me. “Making out on the sand isn’t what I’m after.”
I glanced around, my eyes scanning until I found the spot. Along the outer edge where the ledge hung over the rocks, we'd scratched our initials.
Joe grinned. “Still there. It's probably more permanent than carving them on a tree.”
“Definitely. I never thought I'd come back here,” I said, glancing up at him.
“No?” he pressed, his tone low and soft.
I took a deep breath when my chest tightened with a sting of pain. “No, this was our place, and it hurt that we broke up.”
Still holding his hand, I turned to look out at the ocean, breathing in the crisp salty air.
Seagulls were calling in the distance, and a crow was somewhere nearby, chattering right back at them.
The wind blew my hair back from my face, and I watched as a wave broke on the shoreline.
The sun was a golden ball of fire in the sky, just about to disappear behind the horizon.
When I looked back at Joe, his eyes were waiting for mine, and he held something in his free hand.
“What is it?” I asked.
He began to move as if to bend down on one knee, and I squeezed his hand tightly. “Are you…?”
He kneeled before uncurling his hand. A beautiful white gold band with an emerald-cut diamond in a solitaire setting lay there. I slapped my palm to my chest, my lungs seizing as my heart sputtered to a stop and then lunged, my pulse speeding so hard and fast my entire body was reverberating.
“I love you. I already told you I was going to ask you to marry me. I thought this was the perfect place because it is our place. This is actually the first time I've walked back since the last time I was here with you,” he explained.
I didn't realize I was crying until I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I brushed it away with my knuckles.
“Will you marry me?” Joe asked. “I want it all with you—the good, the boring, and the not so easy. I know we can do it.”
I didn’t even have to think. “Yes, yes,” I whispered hoarsely.
He slid the ring on my shaky finger as I held it out before standing and looping his arms around my waist. I took a deep breath, pressing my lips at the base of his throat before looking up at him.
“I love you, and we already have a plan.”
“A plan for what?” he prompted, a smile teasing at the corners of his mouth.
“I'm coming back home.”
His smile was sunlight shining down into my heart. “I love you,” he murmured before bending low to kiss me.
By the time he lifted his head, I was breathless. He’d copped a feel of my bottom and slid his other hand up under my shirt. I giggled. “We're not doing it here.” I gestured to the sand below our feet.
“Let's go home.”
We walked back along the beach as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, and the stars began to appear in the dusky sky as darkness came to claim it. We made good use of Joe's bed that night.
The next morning, I looked over at him enjoying waffles because that was definitely his breakfast specialty, and asked, “Did Joey know?”
“Know what?”
I rolled my eyes. “That you were going to ask me to marry you this weekend.”
“He didn't know it was going to be last night because if I told him, I wouldn't have been able to persuade him to go with my parents. He knew it was coming because I took him with me to help pick out the ring.”
“Are you serious?” I sputtered.
He shrugged. “Totally. It's very important to him. Honestly, if you're really into the big wedding planning thing, he's going to be heartbroken if you don't include him.”
I threw my head back with a laugh as joy rose inside. “I'm kind of probably in the middle on that. I really don't want to go crazy like some people do, but I would like to have something. I feel like we waited a long time to get here. Joey can help me plan it all.”