Page 37 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach
Hazel’s throat tightened as happy tears filled her eyes. “Renovating this house, making it ours—it’s been so special. I love this house. But more than that, I love you. I want to build more than walls and painted rooms with you. I want to build a forever future with you.”
Jacob’s hand moved to her face, and his thumb brushed lightly across her cheek. “Hazel,” he whispered, his voice filled with warmth and certainty, “I want forever with you too. Why wait? Let’s get married.”
The words hung in the air, sweet and unexpected, wrapping around her like the softest blanket. Her breath caught. “You mean—now? Like, really soon?”
Jacob chuckled, and he laid his forehead against hers. “Why not? We love each other. What are we waiting for?”
Hazel’s heart leapt, happiness fizzing inside her like champagne bubbles. “Yes. Yes, I want to marry you.” A moment later, she bit her lip as her perfect happiness hiccupped for a moment. “But weddings take forever to plan. Venues, guest lists, dresses—it could be months before we get everything organized.”
Jacob grinned at her. “Who says we need all of that?”
Her eyebrows rose. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s go to the courthouse,” he said, and she could see his eyes shining even in the semi-darkness. “Just you and me. Maybe Samantha could be our teenage flower girl. It doesn’t need to be big. It just needs to be us.”
She felt a glow of excitement in her chest at the prospect. “You’d be okay with that? Skipping the big wedding?”
“I’d marry you in a parking lot if that’s what it took,” Jacob said with a laugh. “All I care about is being married to you.”
Hazel’s heart raced with emotion. She had spent so much of her life thinking that a wedding had to look a certain way—a perfect ceremony that made a carefully crafted milestone in life. But she knew that what she had with Jacob was something deeper than all that. She didn’t need a big wedding with Jacob. Their love wasn’t about the pomp and circumstance. It was about the life they were building, the love they already shared, and the family they had become.
“I love that idea,” Hazel whispered, leaning in to kiss him. “I love you.”
He pulled her toward him for a kiss, and it was as if it was a silent agreement between them that this was the right step for their lives. After they pulled back from each other, Hazel rested her head on Jacob’s shoulder as they gazed up at the twinkling ceiling again.
“I think Samantha’s going to be over the moon when she sees this room,” Jacob murmured.
Hazel smiled, picturing her daughter’s wide-eyed excitement. “It’ll be one of those memories she never forgets.”
“Just like this moment,” he said softly, kissing the top of Hazel’s head.
In the quiet of the glowing room, Hazel felt a deep, peaceful certainty settle into her bones. She had found the kind of love that didn’t just promise a future, it built it, painted it, andcarefully added little glow-in-the-dark stars to it. She knew that Jacob was going to love her for the rest of her life.
She had thought once that love was something you fell into. But with Jacob, she realized it was something that you chose to build with someone else, every day, hand in hand. And she couldn’t wait to keep building.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sally wiped down the counter at the Ocean Breeze Café for the third time that morning, although it didn’t need it. The soft swishing sounds the cloth made across the polished wood were soothing. It was more about giving her hands something to do than it was about cleaning. Her mind wasn’t in the café that morning, it was somewhere else entirely.
It was with Oscar. Try as she might, she couldn’t shake him from her thoughts. She’d replayed their coffee date at least a dozen times in her mind since it happened. The way his gruff, almost bristly edges had softened, and the way he’d looked at her with tenderness in his eyes. And of course, the memory of their kisses made her almost beside herself with happiness.
She kept thinking about when Oscar had first arrived in Rosewood Beach. She’d assumed that he was just another city slicker passing through, counting the days until he could leave. His impatience, his terse tone, and the way he’d looked around with discontent like the town was too small to contain him had made her feel sure that he intended for his sojourn in Rosewood Beach to be temporary.
I so want him to stay,she thought.And I know we kind of talked about it, but what if he’s planning on leaving again aftera little while? Or, what if he thinks he’s planning on staying, but then he decides to leave after all? What if he gets too bored with our little town?
She bit her lip, remembering how her last relationship had ended that way. She didn’t think she could take it again if a man she had feelings for decided he couldn’t stay.
Not that she had feelings for Oscar. It was much too early for anything like that. But she had to admit to herself that she was very capable of developing feelings for him, and that scared her a great deal.
It would be smarter to steer clear of him,she told herself with an achy feeling in her heart. She’d already promised herself that she wasn’t going to let herself get hurt by romance ever again. After her last heartbreak, she’d built walls up around her heart and she’d never really let them down.
But she couldn’t stomach the thought of letting Oscar slip through her fingers any more than she could stomach the thought of more heartbreak. She couldn’t ignore the pull of attraction that she felt toward him.
This is ridiculous,she thought finally, after her thoughts had tied her brain up in knots.I’m calling in the emergency girl forces. I need to talk to Vivian.
Sighing, she pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to her best friend.
SALLY: Hey, are you free right now? Feel like grabbing a bite? I could use some girl time.
