Page 109 of Bean

He offered me the same patience I’d given him.

“I want to marry you, Bean. Merrill,” I added his name because I knew he liked the way I said it. His eyes flared wide. “This isn’t a proposal, and I can’t even believe I’m saying this because I thought I’d never get married again. But you’re it for me, okay? You’re it. I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me, but I was hoping we might be on the path toward more.”

He swallowed heavily. “You want to marry me?”

“More than anything. When we’re ready for it.”We.Not me. Not him.Us.

Bean bit his lip, then said, “Well, Nash did promise I’d always have a room there, even if I moved out. And I…I think he knows that, someday, we’re all going to make our way into lives separate from him. It could be good, um, to know that I can be with you but always have a space with him.”

I squeezed Bean’s hand gently. “Is that a yes?”

He looked at me, eyes glinting from amusement. “I mean, I’m not about to ask you to move into what’s basically an Army frat house.”

I burst into laughter. “Fair enough, though I do like it over there. Nash is basically my best friend now.”

Bean laughed. “Yeah, Heath is kind of pissed that you took his spot.”

“He can comfort himself with his handstands on that damn board,” I muttered, and Bean laughed harder. I picked up his hand and kissed his palm, then every one of his fingers. “I’m so in love with you.”

“My beloved,” he whispered. That was always kept between us, a secret between our hearts. It felt good to hear it whispered now.

“Our present is amazing, and I can’t wait for our future,” I told him.

He bowed his head and took a breath. “Me too. You’re my everything, Jarek.”

I waited for him to meet my gaze. “And you’re mine.”

EPILOGUE

BEAN

One Year Later

“Happy birthday to you!”

Somewhere along the way, we’d gotten horribly off-key in serenading Nash a happy birthday, but it didn’t matter. It was the thought that counted, right?

We were celebrating on the beach since it was a perfect day to catch some waves, and later on, we were planning a bonfire. We had soft drinks and plenty of food, marshmallows to roast later on, blankets to sit on, and Heath had brought surfboards.

“Thank you all,” Nash said, looking around the circle of people gathered. “I appreciate you all coming here.”

“Where else would we be?” Creek joked, uncomfortable with emotional situations, as usual.

Heath elbowed him. “Hush, Sergeant Grumpy.”

“Sergeant Grumpy?” Dayton quirked an eyebrow. “What’s that about?”

Tameron signed something to him that went too fast for me to understand. For some reason, he didn’t like Dayton—yes, the same Dayton Jarek had met when I’d had my seizure.

Dayton signed back at him, though at a much calmer pace. His parents were Deaf, he’d told us, and ASL was his first language—unlike Tameron, who was still learning.Maybe that was why he resented Dayton? Or was it because Dayton had been invited to this party and was now part of Nash’s admittedly close circle of friends?

Nash had surprised us all with the announcement that he’d decided to become an EMT, and that was where he’d met Dayton. They’d hit it off instantly and had grown close. I was happy to see Nash find friendships outside of our little circle—Jarek and Nash still hung out regularly together as well—but it seemed Tameron wasn’t always too happy with it.

Well, as my therapist would say, that sounded like a him problem and not something I needed to worry about. I had enough on my mind, no pun intended.

“Are you gonna give surfing another try?” I asked Jarek after Nash’s speech was done.

He made a face. “Because you think that somehow, I will now magically learn to do what I haven’t been able to the previous ten times I tried?”

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