Page 71 of Adrift

It’s a beautiful thought.

When we finally pull apart to walk back toward the cabin, Gage’s eyes twinkle as he gazes down at me.

“So, lover,” he murmurs. “If I’d asked you properly, what would your answer have been?”

I mean, I already know my answer. And I think he does, too, judging by the playful tone in his voice. So I take my time and sip my coffee, letting him sweat it out a little bit.

Finally, I wink up at him. “I guess we’ll have to see, won’t we?”

Gage tips his head back and laughs. “That’s fair. God, is it ever fair.”

He catches his breath as we rejoin the main path, only to find the little clearing by the beach full of people—neighbours and friends who have come to help with setup.

“Now then,” Gage says, coming to a halt. “If we can get through this…”

“We can get through anything,” I finish.

“Mmhmm.” Gage squeezes my hands firmly and grins at me—just for me. “Let’s do this.”

I beam at him like the fucking sun. “Kiss me,” I order him. “For luck.”

And, by god, the way he leans down and kisses me, right here in front of everyone… this orchard ought to be blessed with a century of good luck.

Chapter

Twenty-Five

GAGE

It’s late afternoon,and the orchard isfull.

I’ve spent weeks worrying that not enough people would turn up for the inaugural relaunch of the Sunrise Cider Festival. But there are so many visitors that we’ve spilled out onto the beach and the road, like a block party that spans half the island.

The first batch of cider is long gone. Murph even set aside his afternoon to pick up a whole load of fresh pressed apple juice from Faraway Orchards. It arrived—one barrel at a time, pushed by friends and neighbours—to plenty of cheers and applause.

Ladybird, the red VW Beetle, is parked right outside the white gate. She’s the star of the show—everyone wants to pose for photos by the classic Bug, with my orchard right there in the background.

The mood has been sky-high all afternoon, and it shows no sign of abating. Now that people are hungry, the food has also arrived.

I don’t even know where it all came from. A lot of it is thanks to Kieran hustling his ass off for the last few weeks. Felix didn’t need much persuasion to hit up his catering contacts, either. The rest is from the neighbourhood—fresh produce from the community garden, and enough potluck-style dishes fromour neighbours that the folding tables are groaning under the weight.

And some of it is from my family. When my mom and dad showed up, they were struggling under the weight of enough picnic food to sink the Sunrise Island ferry. My siblings went over to my parents’ house last night to help them make it.

Kieran hasn’t stopped complimenting Mom on the banana-chocolate chip muffins, or trying to get the secret recipe out of her, so she’s already on board with the wedding.

Which is a good thing, all things considered… not that they know that part yet.

“Hot dogs? Burgers? Grilled salad?” Berty yells out, attracting another little wave of people wandering down to the beach.

He’s wearing a bright yellow apron and grilling on—inexplicably—an enormous, gleaming silver barbecue. I have no idea how he got it there, aside from volunteering most of the Sunrise Brothers to carry it.

Doug is sitting next to him in a beach chair, seemingly ignoring the world as he does his sudoku. Whenever Berty gets distracted by talking someone’s ear off, Doug takes over flipping the food. When Berty eventually realises the tongs aren’t in his hand, he’ll roll his eyes and insist that he had it covered. Doug only ever makes a noncommittal noise as he keeps tapping his pencil on the paper like he never stopped.

They make a good team.

Just like when I was a kid, it makes my heart ache with happiness to see them so comfortably familiar with each other. They know each other inside and out, and it’s plain to see how much they love it all.

Kieran and I are going to be that couple one day… I know it in my bones.

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