Page 8 of Free

“I think I’m falling in love with you,” I whisper, no longer able to contain the truth. We’ve never even kissed. We’ve come so close, so many times, but one of us always pulls away. Forever rational.

His job…

My home…

Right person, wrong time, again and again.

“I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you from the first time I saw you,” he murmurs and my heart leaps, until Nick closes his eyes and sighs. “But it’s bad luck to start anything before I ship out.”

I step out of his embrace and grip the railing at the end of the pier. “Then we won’t start it until you get home,” I say to the wind, then turn to lean against the rail because I can’t not look athim. “You go and you do what you have to do, and we’ll talk the way we always do. Text. Calls. Letters… God I love your letters. Until you’re home, we’re whatever it is we’ve been up until this point. But after?”

Words can’t encompass everything I’m feeling so I put a hand to my heart, desperately holding his gaze, imploring him to hear me, to accept me, to want me.

“After,” he repeats, the word thick with unspoken promises. His gaze holds mine, steady and sure, as though he’s committing every detail of this moment to memory. The way my hair blows in the wind. The way my hand clutches my heart. The way I’m looking at him like he’s my everything—because he is.

“I’ll be home in six months.”

“You better be, Marine.” It’s a plea wrapped in the guise of wit.

Nick nods, then tugs at his jacket sleeves and squares his shoulders, straightening his spine and lifting his chin. All six-foot-three of him is a towering set of lines and angles. He is strength and confidence and security. He is safety. He is everything I’ve ever needed.

“Yes, Ma’am.” He snaps into a crisp salute before dropping me a wink.

I drive him to the airport, stealing every last second with him I can. The air is thick with the bustle of travelers—luggage wheels clattering, voices overlapping, announcements echoing overhead. But all I hear is the steady beat of my heart and the ticking clock counting down the seconds until he’s gone. I grip the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles ache, trying to find words. I open my mouth to say goodbye, but he shakes his head.

“No goodbyes.” He cups my cheeks. “Makes it feel too permanent, you know?”

I bob my head. “How about, ‘Talk to you soon but see you in six months?’”

“That’ll do.” Nick kisses the back of my hand, then swings open the car door. I join him, watching as he pulls his bag from the trunk, then throw myself into his embrace. He holds me tight. I want to kiss him so badly it’s almost a need.I tilt my head, drawn toward him like gravity itself is pulling us together. His hand cups my cheek, the warmth of his palm grounding me as his thumb brushes lightly across my skin. Our foreheads touch, and I feel his breath against my lips, shallow and uneven. For one breathtaking moment, the world disappears. And then, just as quickly, it snaps back into place.

“After,” he whispers, his voice breaking slightly, before he pulls away.

I watch him disappear into the crowd, my chest aching with longing, but my heart swelling with something stronger.

Hope.

Love.

Certainty.

This is it.

Nick Hutton is the one. The man I’m going to marry. I know it the way I know the sun will rise tomorrow. The way I know the ocean will always meet the shore. He’s my home, my forever, as inevitable as my next breath.

FIVE

Charlie

Today

“Oh my God,Charlotte Anne Cooper!” Angela, my sister-in-law, best friend, and maid of honor, covers her mouth and squeals, startling the beautiful baby girl on her hip. “You are the most beautiful bride ever!” she finishes in a more soothing tone, shushing her sweet daughter, Elise.

With a shaky hand, I refocus on my reflection, smoothing the bodice cinching my waist. The boning cuts into my ribs and the beaded lace scratches my palms. I force a smile as I fluff the voluminous skirt flaring off my hips. “I feel like I’m drowning in this thing.”

“Metaphorically or literally?” Angela casts a worried glance at my bridesmaids, Ivy and Mina.

I tug at long strands of tulle attached near the armpits of the bodice and tied in bows around each of my arms before the rest of the fabric cascades to join the twenty-inch train.

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