Chapter 28
LEIGH
Icouldn’t sleep.
Today Trace and Delaney would get married. Today would be perfect and beautiful and everything they deserved.
And the day after, my life would change completely.
Dex was thinking about moving to Blue Point Bay. We’d made the decision, we had a plan, it was happening.
So why did I still feel this knot of anxiety in my stomach?
I grabbed my phone, scrolling through messages. There was one from Wren from earlier in the evening.
Wren: So? Did you figure it out?
I typed back, even though it was almost three in the morning.
Leigh: He’s coming to Blue Point Bay after the wedding. We’re going to try and figure it out.
The response came immediately. Of course Wren was awake. She kept terrible hours.
Wren: WHAT!
Wren: He’s moving?? To here??
Wren: Tell me everything
Leigh: Can’t sleep. Can I call?
Wren: Obviously
I slipped out of bed, grabbed a sweatshirt, and crept downstairs and out to the porch. The night was clear and cool, stars visible in a way they never were in Blue Point Bay.
Wren answered on the first ring. “Okay, spill. Everything.”
And I told her. About the rehearsal dinner, about how beautiful the whole thing was, about Dex asking me to stay and me asking him to come and the whole messy conversation that followed.
“So he’s actually moving,” Wren said when I finished. “Like, really moving. Selling his business and leaving his hometown and completely upending his life.”
“Well, potentially. He’s going to visit first and then we’re going to see what he thinks.”
“For you.”
“For us,” I corrected.
“That’s... that’s huge, Leigh.”
“I know.”
“So why do you sound like you’re about to throw up?”
I laughed, the sound a little hysterical. “Because it is huge. Because he’s giving up everything for me and what if I’m not worth it? What if he gets to Blue Point Bay and realizes he made a terrible mistake? What if…”
“Stop,” Wren interrupted. “You’re spiraling. That’s supposed to be my job.”
“I’m being realistic.”
“You’re being terrified, which is different.” She paused. “Leigh, listen to me. That man loves you. Like, really truly loves you. The kind of love that makes you willing to change your entire life.”
“That’s what scares me.”
“I know. But here’s the thing… he’s not doing this just for you. He’s doing it for himself too. From everything you’ve told me, he’s been stuck for years. Maintaining instead of living. This is his chance to build something that’s his. You’re just the catalyst.”
“So I’m not special?”
“You’re incredibly special, you idiot. I’m just saying that you’re not responsible for his happiness. He’s choosing this. For himself. You just happen to be the best part of that choice.”
I let that sink in. “When did you get so wise?”
“I’ve always been wise. You just usually ignore me.”
“True.”
We talked for another hour, about everything and nothing. About logistics, where he’d stay when he first arrived, how to find him a space for a garage, whether she should start looking for apartments for us and if we should even live together right away.
“Live together,” she said firmly.
“What if we’re moving too fast?”
“You’re literally asking him to change his entire life for you. I think sharing an apartment is pretty tame in comparison.”
She had a point.
Around four, I heard movement inside the house. Mom, probably, getting water or heading to the bathroom.
“I should go,” I said. “I need to at least try to sleep. Big day today.”
“Leigh?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m happy for you. Really, truly happy. And I can’t wait to meet this guy who loves you enough to turn his whole world upside down.”
“Thanks, Wren. For everything. For always being there. For not making me feel guilty about this.”
“Please. You’re my person. I want you to be happy, even if it means I have to share you with some mechanic from Kansas.”
“It’s not Kansas…”
“Close enough. Now go. Get some sleep. And text me tomorrow after the wedding. I want all the details.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I hung up and sat on the porch for a few more minutes, letting the quiet of the night wash over me.
This was really happening. Dex was moving to Blue Point Bay. We were building a life together.
It was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure.
My phone buzzed. Dex.
Dex: You awake?
Leigh: Yeah. Can’t sleep.
Dex: Me neither
Leigh: Come get me?
Dex: Be there in 5
I went inside, grabbed my shoes, left a note for Mom in case she woke up and panicked. Couldn’t sleep. Out with Dex. Be back soon.
True to his word, his truck pulled up five minutes later. I climbed in, and he didn’t ask where we were going. He just drove.
We ended up at the lookout. Our lookout. It almost felt like the place where this had all started which was a much better than the bar it had actually started at.
We got out and walked to the edge. The moon was nearly full, highlighting the town below, turning everything silver and magical.
We stood there in silence for a moment, just breathing in the night air.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked finally. “Really sure? Because if you have any doubts, any at all, now’s the time to say so.”
He turned to face me. “I’m sure. Are you?”
“I’m terrified.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I looked up at him, at this man who’d somehow become everything to me in the space of a summer. “I’m sure. I want this. I want you. I want us.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
“But what if…”
He kissed me, cutting off my what-ifs. When he pulled back, he was smiling.
“We can what-if ourselves to death, Leigh. What if it doesn’t work? What if we make a mistake? What if we regret it?” He took my hands. “Or we can choose to believe in us. To trust that we’ll figure it out. To have faith that love is worth the risk.”
“Since when are you the optimistic one?”
“Since I fell in love with you.”
My breath caught. We’d said it before, but somehow, here, now, in the moonlight at the place where it all began, it felt more real. More permanent.
“I love you too,” I whispered. “So much it scares me.”
“Good. Being scared means it matters.”
We stood there, holding each other as the night slowly started to give way to dawn. Neither of us spoke. We didn’t need to. Everything that needed to be said had been said.
Finally, as the sky started to lighten at the edges, Dex sighed.
“We should go. Big day today.”
“Yeah.”
Neither of us moved.
“Dex?”
“Yeah?”
“I think this is going to be really amazing.”
“Yeah, me too.” He kissed my forehead. “Now come on. Let’s get you home before your mom sends out a search party.”
We drove back as the sun rose, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold. A new day. A new beginning.
Dex walked me to the door, kissed me goodbye like he had a hundred times before.
But this time felt different. This time felt like a promise.
“See you at the wedding?” he said.
“See you at the wedding.”
I watched him drive away, then went inside to finally try to get a few hours of sleep.
Today Trace and Delaney would get married.
And the day after, Dex and I would start building our future.
Together.