Page 92 of Twenty Years Later

As the girls wandered down closer to the water and played with the smooth pebbles, we followed along to keep an eye on them. I took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air, appreciating the sun on my face.

A strong arm went around me. "How you doing, baby?" Alex asked.

"Great." I nuzzled my head into his shoulder. "This is really nice."

Whatever had been on his mind earlier, he seemed to have relaxed now. But a split second later, a buzzing in the distance made his whole body tense.

"What's that?" I asked.

I looked toward the noise and saw a small airplane headed our way, following the edge of the coastline. Gabby and Audrey jumped up and down, pointing at the sky.

"Look at the airplane, Gabby!" yelled Audrey over the increasing sound.

I noticed it had a banner floating behind it, probably advertising some local shop or festival. But as it grew closer, I started to decipher a few of the words... "will" and "marry."

"Aw, I think someone's getting proposed to," I said to Alex, keeping my eyes on the huge letters.

I gasped loudly, and my heart stopped beating altogether as the first word on the banner came into view.

Holy cow! It was my name!

My mouth went dry as I stared into the sky, breathless and shaky, until the plane flew closer and I could read it all.

Jayda, will you marry me?

Tears rushed to my eyes as I whirled around to look at Alex who was down on one knee, holding a little jewelry box in one hand. He looked up at me, smiling widely.

"Jayda, you have made me the happiest man in the whole world, and I can't even imagine what my life would be like without you. You're my best friend, and I love you more than I thought was even possible."

He looked down, rubbing his forehead with his free hand, and mumbled something that sounded like, "Not sure that came out like I practiced."

Oh, my heart. Could I love this man any more?

Shaking his head, he lifted his gaze back up to my face. "Anyway, you're my rock. You're my light. Will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me, sweetheart?"

Those deep, brown eyes and that gorgeous face were blurry through my tear-filled smile, but the words were crystal clear. The lump in my throat was so huge, I couldn't even say anything. I just kind of squeaked as I held out my hands to him, needing the strength of his body to hold me up right now.

He stood and pulled me as close as he could while the people around us burst into applause. I laughed and cried at the same time as Gabby and Audrey ran over, throwing their arms around our legs, Alex and I both ushering them into our hug.

And right then, that's when I felt it. A sharper twinge and a tiny trickle down the inside of my leg.

My heart beat all over the place as I pulled back from our group hug. Staring at Alex, I whispered the words, "I think my water just broke."

Epilogue Part Two

Alex

My hands trembled as I drove us all to the hospital. I focused every ounce of my energy on getting us safely there, Jayda sitting on a towel and holding onto her stomach while she called her mom.

After a few minutes, her parents decided the best thing to do was meet us there and take the girls back to their place. And Jayda's dad would swing by our house at some point and grab our already packed bag that was waiting in the coat closet. I wished I had thought of bringing it with us to the lighthouse. But I had never dreamed the baby would come this early. And I prayed to God that everything would be okay for both the baby and my Jayda.

I was a wreck right now. But I knew I needed to be strong.

Next, Jayda called her doctor who apparently was already at the hospital finishing up another birth. The doctor confirmed once again that even though it was early, she still wanted Jayda to go to the hospital because she'd had some issues with her blood pressure the last several weeks. Just as the call ended, we pulled up to the valet booth at the hospital.

God, I loved Maine, the lack of traffic, and how easy it was to get everywhere.

I jumped down to help Jayda out, rather than the skinny teenage valet who was heading to her door. Instead, I tossed him the keys quickly as I ran around to the passenger side. As she held onto me, she moaned while sliding from the seat into my waiting arms.

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