45. Sydney
CHAPTER 45
SYDNEY
ONE MONTH LATER
This time in Newport, I’m not scrambling around trying to save my life.
This time, I walk down the waterfront with the confidence of a woman followed by three large brothers.
My pace is slow and leisurely but not carefree. I made the mistake of telling Maverick I needed some time away. I’d planned on coming back here and just soaking up the Oregon coast, staring at the dock where I first met West, and overall just feel miserable about myself.
Unfortunately, Maverick spilled the beans to Archer and Brooks. It was really rather rude of him. But he’s always been bad at secrets, that’s for dang sure.
I wanted to see the docks where I nearly lost my life. The same one where I found the love of my life. Too bad it was so one-sided.
My brothers think I need to talk about everything that’s happened…but I haven’t been able to tell them everything yet. Because if I tell them everything , I have to tell them about West, and talking about West makes me cry because I miss him and I want to be with him.
So my brilliant plan to retreat and lick my wounds has turned into a family vacation. Sipping coffee quietly in the mornings is not a thing when my brothers are around. They wouldn’t even let me sneak down to the dock without them this morning.
“Look at that guy staring at Sydney,” Brooks mutters as he tips his head toward the dock.
None of them wanted to come with me this morning. But I’d refused to stay put, so now they’re trailing after me like a trio of movie-style bodyguards.
They look ridiculous and conspicuous. I speed up my walk to try and get away from them.
Archer and Maverick swivel to see who he’s looking at. I don’t bother looking. My brothers imagine everyone staring at me. They really need to find themselves a hobby. In their own way, it was really sweet of them to come with me to Newport. Or overbearing. It’s probably a bit of both, honestly.
But they’ve done their level best to cheer me up and have even invited me to go into business with them. Getting invited to work at their pest control company is a big deal, so maybe I should consider it.
Because right now? I’m at a loss. I had hoped it was because I had achieved my goal of finding the money and getting the Riccis locked up for laundering, smuggling, murder, and countless other charges.
This listless feeling can only be attributed to one person, though.
“He’s still looking,” Archer mutters.
“Want me to go talk to him?” Maverick asks with a wicked chuckle. His version of ‘talk’ is getting into a fight.
“Wow, he’s coming this way. Gutsy.” Brooks chuckles.
And now I’ll have to break up a fight on the docks first thing today. I turn to look where they’re watching—and freeze.
Yup. There’s a man who’s staring.
And he’s definitely coming this way with determined steps.
My jaw drops as Archer steps forward to intercept him, but West Turner simply shoves my brother to the side like a six-foot-two boxer isn’t worth his time.
He stops directly in front of me.
“I changed my mind. I don’t want seventy-two percent. I want a hundred percent,” West says with a grunt.
He’s back to being grumpy West. And he’s here. Or maybe I’m in his space? We are walking the docks where his Rubber Ducky sailboat had been tied on that fateful day.
I suck in a deep breath and straighten my shoulders. He just wants his money, not me. “I might have spent a few hundred on hotels, but other than that, I’ll give you everything.”
“I’m not talking about the money, Syd.”
He takes another step forward, and I can see my brothers looking at me in confusion. Maverick tilts his head toward West and I give a choppy shake of my head and hope he understands what I’m trying to say: no, I don’t want you to beat him up.
West waves my brothers off but keeps his eyes focused on me. “You aren’t a burden to me. You aren’t a collectible wine to be sat on the shelf. You are everything I look for in a partner and, quite frankly, way more than I deserve. I’m here on the foolish hope that you can ignore my shortcomings and give me a chance to show you how much I could love you.”
I open my mouth to answer him, and he holds up a hand. “And before you go spouting nonsense about me not actually wanting you…I’ve been simply biding my time, giving you the space you need to be sure. Because I haven’t doubted my love for you since the day you grabbed my face and teased me about smiling.”
His words keep firing like little happy arrows at my heart, and I step forward to place a hand on his compass tattoo. “Do you know something West? I went in search of an adventure. And I found one. Just not the adventure I expected. I started to fall for you the minute you lifted me over the edge of your boat.”
West scoops me into his arms and I loop my hands behind his neck, smiling down at him. “I missed you,” I whisper.
“I missed you more,” he whispers back as he touches his nose to mine. “Please don’t send me away again.”
“Never,” I promise. “Please don’t walk away from me.”
“Never,” he promises in a low voice.
West tips his head and kisses me thoroughly, showing me his promise in his actions. The man has already protected my life with his own. Supported me in every area and believed me more capable than anyone else in my life.
“West, I think I could sail the whole world and never find someone like you,” I whisper against his lips.
He plants a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “I quite possibly had the shortest sailing trip in history to find my home. Because it’s with you.”
We seal our promises and words with another kiss. He’s shaved his beard and I get to grab his face, running my fingers over the rough stubble. We still fit just right. It doesn’t make sense. Kissing someone so much taller than me should be awkward, but instead, it’s the most consuming experience of my life.
And he’s mine. “Forever?” I ask.
“Forever,” he mumbles against my lips.
I part my lips and deepen the kiss, wanting everything he’ll give me.
All three of my brothers gag in the background, but I don’t care.
I thought I’d never see West again.
I love it when I’m wrong.