Page 81 of Beachside Kisses With My Best Friend

Finally, I turn toward Marilee. She must sense my gaze because she glances over from her conversation with Chloe and Lucy and immediately walks toward me. We step slightly away from the group.

“We did it,” she says. Her soft smile is everything I want to wake up to every morning, everything I need day in and day out.

“Youdid it.” And I want to reach for her, want to fight for this, for us. I don’t want her to feel pressured, but I also have to show her what she means to me. So I gently take her hands in mine.

And she doesn’t pull away. In fact, she steps closer.

“Jay.” There’s chaos swirling around us, but Marilee’s zeroed in on me. “I’m so sorry I left like that.”

“I understand why you did.”

“And I’m sorry I was late.”

“You had a good reason.” I glance over at my dad, who’s got his arm around Mom, Ryder tucked against his leg as they chat with my sister. His eyes look clearer than they have in a long time. “How did you get him to come?”

“Let’s just say I summoned every bit of bossy I had in me—and also plied him with close to a gallon of coffee.” A pause as her face softens. “But for real, I just reminded him that it was literally his job to show up for you today, and that if he loved you at all, he’d be here. Because love is showing up, right?”

“Right.” I give her hands a squeeze. “I’m honestly surprised that convinced him, though.”

“Jordan, he was horrified. He said, ‘Of course I love him. But he’s better off without me there.’”

I frown. “How could he actually think that?”

“You two have a lot of talking to do, but I think…” She bites her lip, smiling. “Maybe something I said shook loose his own demons. I’m not sure, but I think he’s open to the idea of doing better now. He’s here, anyway, and that’s the first step.”

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Because if anyone could change a hard-hearted man, it would be her—pure sunlight cracking its way through dried-out concrete.

“Not really. I just thought you could use all the support you could get,” she says. “Though if I’d known traffic would take forever…”

“I love that you did that for me.” I close the final bit of a gap between us. “Thank you. And that picture—wow. You saved the day with that. Guess you found it at the house?”

She nods. “Marla helped me to realize a few things this morning. Once I did, I raced to your house to see if I could still ride with you. You were gone, but I found that instead. It was a beautiful reminder from that little boy, that love surrounds us…if only we hold it close. If only we choose it. And I’ve made a choice.”

Her voice is shaking, and I can tell the words are hard for her.

Oh man. This could be bad.

I brace for the truth.

Her chest expands with a deep breath. “If I thought I wouldn’t be kicked out of this courtroom, I’d march over to the clerk, grab the so-called evidence of our contract—and rip it to shreds.”

“Wait…what?” Laughing, I cup her face gently between my hands. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“It means that I choose you. I choose Ryder. I choose us.” Her smile lights up all my dark places and doubts. “No more fear. I choose love. Because I love you, Jordan, and not just as a friend. As a woman loves a man who is everything to her. And you’re everything to me. You and Ryder—you’re my family.”

“Marilee Holly Moffitt, you are unreal.” Smiling, I shake my head. I can’t even believe this woman’s sweetness and goodness. The fact she’s picking me, a guy who has screwed up more times than I can count, who will inevitably screw up again. “I love yousomuch.”

Eyes shining, she taps her chin playfully. My little minx, always bringing a spark of fun to my life. “Since we’re in a court of law, it feels appropriate to ask you to present evidence of that love.”

“Hmm. All right.” I gather her into my arms and tug her right up against me. “Allow me to present Exhibit A.”

And I don’t care that everyone is probably watching us. I kiss that woman like it’s the first time, pouring every memory into it—the beautiful, the painful, the hilarious, the everyday, the special, the angry, the quiet, and the unforgettable.

I want to kiss her like that for the rest of our lives…if she’ll have me.

But I can be patient. I can savor and enjoy. I can date my wife, give her time to make sure this is the life she wants to choose. And once she’s sure, I’ll ask her to marry me again…

This time, for real.

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