Epilogue
THREE YEARS LATER
The Caribbean morning sun warmed my skin through a tinted window of the Treasure Hunters.
I blinked several times, staring at Hunter’s face, edged with hope and excitement.
I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard his proposal.
We talked about it many times, but I didn’t think he was seriously considering it.
His eyes searched mine, and I was afraid the longer I didn’t give him the answer, the more he would think I was against it.
I wasn’t. I was just surprised. And a bit scared, too. And a whole lot excited.
We were in St. Thomas Bay with a beautiful sliver of white sand lined with dozens of palm trees.
The waters were always calm, providing the perfect spot for swimming and wading.
The beach had a Shore Thing bar, and Just For Fun, a small place that rented umbrellas and chairs, SUPs and kayaks, and snorkeling gear.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, leaning over the table in the gallery and taking his hands in mine. “This is a huge commitment.”
“Of course.” The corners of Hunter’s lips turned up. “I think it will be great for us.”
“Well, yeah.” I laughed. “Let’s do it.”
I slid from the booth, careful not to bump my five-month pregnant belly on the table corner, and circled to Hunter’s side, where I climbed on his lap to kiss him but stopped.
“Wait a minute, why are you suggesting it now?” I peered into his eyes, my hands loosely looped around his neck.
After Hunter and I had placed the Treasure of Lima discovery into motion with officials and found a good lawyer to represent us, we left the Cook Islands.
He sold Edward’s business, and I sold my parents’ house, and we bought a new home—a sixty-five-foot sailboat, the Treasure Hunters, and explored the world.
By the way, three years ago, I knew diddly squat about sailing, and now I was an exceptional captain.
As soon as news broke about the discovery of the Treasure of Lima, Hunter received numerous offers to buy Teaku.
Per the original purchase agreement, he couldn’t sell it for another few decades, so he leased the island for a handsome sum of money for the next ten years to a treasure enthusiast who built a small eco-friendly adventure camp with an option to renew it.
A third of the profit it brought us, we donated to several ocean cleanup nonprofits.
My phone vibrated on the table, its screen filled with Tina’s smiling face, wearing sunglasses and a large beach hat.
With some regret (because it was rude to disregard friends), I pushed the ignore button because Hunter and I were having a vital conversation that could and would change the course of our lives.
“So tell me why we are talking about this now?” I asked, looking back at Hunter’s handsome face.
My phone came back to life again. Tina. The universal rule of calling twice in a row in case of emergency applied to our friendship.
“Go ahead, answer it.” Hunter smiled and tilted his head at my iPhone, relaxing against the seat’s cushioned back as if we were discussing a grocery list and not our future.
“Hey, are you okay?” I answered the call.
“Yes. Are you?”
I glanced around the tidied-up galley, then at the calm aquamarine ocean outside the window. “I think so,” I said suspiciously. “Why are you asking?”
“You usually text me to have a safe trip before my flight. And I’m almost at my gate, and still nothing from you,” she said, her breath huffy as she speed-walked through the airport. Tina spent all her vacation days with us, flying to meet us wherever we were.
“You haven’t taken off yet, have you? So technically, I have time.” I smiled.
“I can’t wait to see you and your cute belly,” Tina squealed. “We haven’t hung out since my visit to Italy. When was it? Five months ago?”
“Yes,” I said.
“When you got pregnant after seeing Henry Cavill,” she said, and if not for the airport hubbub, I would hear her snickering.
Tina and I have an ongoing debate about whether I got pregnant the same evening we caught a glimpse of Henry Cavill (fine, we watched him for about an hour) filming his movie in Sardinia because my ovaries were overly excited.
And yes, he was just as handsome in real life as on TV, but my Hunter was much better looking.
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. I needed to wrap up this call since it was obviously not an emergency. “Hey, I need to go right now. You have a safe and good trip, and I will see you in about four hours.”
“I take an Uber to Emerald Beach bar like last time?”
“Yep.”
“And your rats are still with you?”
Tina wasn’t a huge fan of cats, but Monday and Tuesday were our faithful companions since we had left Teaku, so she would have to get over her cat-erade for the next two weeks.
“They can’t wait to see you,” I said, running my palm over Hunter’s cheek, enjoying the soft feel of his freshly shaved skin.
“Okay, see ya soon.” Tina hung up before I could say bye to her.
I blew air through my pursed lips, loosely draping my arms on Hunter’s shoulders. “So, where were we?”
“Remember the house you liked on the top that overlooks the bay?” Hunter said, his palms skimming my back. He was holding back something, and I was afraid to let my hope soar high until I knew where he was going with it.
“Yeah,” I said warily, but anticipation fizzed through my veins like champagne bubbles.
His expression was unabashed bliss. “It came up for sale yesterday, and it can be ours if you want it.”
And now my stomach was full of butterflies (it could also be a baby moving). I arched an eyebrow. “How? It’s a bit out of our price range.”
“This morning, I received a call from Lisa Browne’s firm…” he said, his smile widening, cheeks showing off his cute dimples.
“Oh my God.” I shrieked. “Is it really done?”
“Yes. It’s done.”
“Done?” I repeated, shocked to my core this day had finally arrived.
Hunter nodded, and I entwined my hands behind his neck. He buried his face into my shoulder crook, his chest expanding in rhythm with mine.
After three years of waiting, we had given up on the idea that our finder’s fee would ever be granted to us.
It turned out that the finders-keepers rule only worked in elementary school and didn’t apply to multi-million-dollar historical treasures.
The process of receiving the “thanks for locating the long-lost treasure” payment was not as easy and straightforward.
“It’s eight and not ten percent as we initially were promised, but I think we will be okay,” Hunter said, his gaze tracing my face as his fingers gently smoothed hairs out of my eyes. “If you still think we should buy Shore Thing and Just for Fun and settle here, now we can.”
When we came across this slice of paradise three years ago, Hunter and I were on our honeymoon voyage, and we fell in love with it.
While having drinks at Shore Thing, we befriended the owner, Brad, who was considering retiring soon and wanted to sell his beachfront property with both businesses.
At that time, Hunter and I weren’t looking for a place to anchor yet, but we knew eventually we would need to pick a spot to call our home.
With a baby coming on board soon, it was time to think about where we would want to land and start our family.
“I already know which room will be our nursery.” I released a happy breath and kissed Hunter’s stubbled cheek. “Can we go see it today?”
I was already on my feet, reaching out to pull Hunter onto his.
“Of course,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer so he could press a kiss to my belly.
My fingers worked their way into his sun-bleached golden hair.
My heart was impossibly full. I conjured a rich image of us chasing our little ladybug on the green lawn in front of the house, her blonde curls bright against blue skies, and her giggles so loud I could hear them right now. I wanted that so much.
Hunter looked up at me, his blue eyes catching sunlight. “I love you.” I bent and brushed my lips against Hunter’s, saying it back. His hand slid down and grabbed my ass, and I was glad we didn’t have an appointment with a realtor that morning because we would certainly be very late.