Page 74 of Finish Line

We walk silently, moving closer to the tide, letting the water rise over our feet.

I stop. “Babe, I want to tell you again how sorry I am for having doubts about our relationship.”

Shelby holds her free hand up. “Please, Mav, stop right there.”

Worried she’s mad at me, my gaze drops to where my toes squish in the watery sand.

“I won’t lie to you. It hurt me a lot, but since I have been down here, I have had a lot of time to think. I was in a terrible place and wasn’t thinking right. You have every right to have doubts.”

At this, my head whips up to find her blue eyes staring straight into mine.

“You’ve known me for less than a year, so I understand. But, tomorrow night, we need to sit down and talk about what happened to me.” Her head drops.

I touch her chin, bringing her gaze back to mine. “Babe, you don’t have to if you’re not ready.”

She shakes her head. “I’m ready. I’m worried about you guys and how you’ll react.”

Hearing her say that makes the beauty around us gray. Tears fill my eyes. Her recent actions tell me more than words that something bad happened in that basement.

I take a deep breath. “Shelby, we know something terrible happened.”

She flinches before turning and stepping away from me, closer to the water, dropping my hand in the process. She stares at the ocean, and I finally understand what Cam said weeks ago. The fear in my chest of her drifting away in the waves is like a lance to my heart.

I need her to hear me. “No matter what, we’re here for you.”

Something in my tone must catch her attention. She turns around and takes my hands, wrapping them around her.

We stay like that for a while, her body wrapped in my arms, holding her, anchoring her to me, listening to the waves crash along the shore, the water caressing our feet.

“I read your notebook, Mav.” She sniffles. “It touched me deeply. Thank you for sharing what you were feeling. It’s something I’ll always treasure.”

I turn her around, step back onto dry sand, and bend down on one knee. “I’ve been calling you princess, but you are my queen. My one and only, and I love you. I hurt you by having doubts, and I can’t say I won’t screw up because, let’s be honest here, this is me we’re talking about.”

She slaps my arm as tears well up in her eyes.

“I’ll make it up to you for the rest of my life. Please take this ring as a token of my love and commitment. You’re my everything, my queen.” I pull the ring box out. “If you accept this ring, know you’ll be my only one.”

I stop, because that’s not true. There’s another that I love.

I smile and meet her gaze again. “You’ll be the only girl I’ll love. Two separate pieces of silver are woven together to make the ring. That’s how I think of us. We’re woven together. Will you take this ring?”

Her hand covers her mouth, and tears spill down her cheeks.

She lowers her hand. “Yes.”

I rise and slip the ring onto her finger right next to Luke’s. She reaches up and twines her hands into my hair, pulling me down for a sensual kiss that I never want to end.

When Shelby shivers in the cooling night breeze, I loosen my embrace. “I better get you home before Dom sends out a patrol for us.”

She turns in my arms, and we walk toward where we parked.

“Thank you for a wonderful night.” She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

“I would love to.”

I brush my thumb along her cheek, down to her lower lip, and lean forward to rest my forehead against her for a beat before moving us on our way.

I drive us home, and we find everyone on the beach having a bonfire.

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