Page 209 of California Wild

“My apartment. I told you she was selling the building.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking smug as hell. “So I bought the duplex.”

Her jaw dropped. “You—what?”

Jesse grinned wider. “Yup. We’re moving into the bigger unit. The one with three bedrooms.”

“Presumptuous of you.”

“I had a feeling you’d say yes.”

Her eyes widened. “And your one-bedroom?”

Jesse shrugged. “I have a friend who is going to live there.”

“Who?” she demanded.

Jesse smirked, leaning in like he was letting her in on some grand secret. “My friend Kwilé.”

Hayley stared at him for a long second. Then, out of nowhere, she started laughing. Hard.

Jesse laughed too, pulling her into his arms, kissing her breathless all over again.

Because this time?

This time, it was real.

And he wasn’t going anywhere.

Epilogue

Coronado Beach, Mid-December

The evening air was warm, the December sky brushed in soft gold and deep violet as the sun melted toward the horizon. A light breeze rolled in off the Pacific, just enough to stir the waves, to cool the warmth clinging to his skin.

Jesse stood at the edge of the sand, hands clasped in front of him, his heart pounding like he was about to jump out of a plane at 30,000 feet.

Except this was more terrifying. More exhilarating. More real.

He was about to marry her.

And then—he saw her.

Hayley stepped onto the sand, moving toward him with slow, measured steps, her green eyes locked on his like she was walking toward her future.

Jesse’s breath caught.

She was a dream.

Her dress was simple but elegant, a soft ivory that skimmed her curves and flowed with each step. Delicate lace traced over her shoulders, catching the last of the sunlight. Her auburn hair was curled in loose waves, falling like a halo around her face, small white flowers woven through the strands.

But it wasn’t just the dress, or the flowers, or the way the sunset seemed to set her entire being aglow.

It was what she carried in her arms.

Chester Nathaniel Navarro—his son.

Just one month old, wrapped in the softest cream-colored knit ensemble that her mother had made, snug and sleeping against her chest.

Jesse’s world tilted.

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