Page 51 of Island Homecoming

A lifetime ago. When things were simple and they shared more friendship than romance. And still… He’d been too young to appreciate how special she was, how special they were together. Wouldn’t make that mistake again. He reached for her hand and held on. Loving her, growing with her, gave him a sense of purpose and fulfillment he’d been searching for. Amazing to think that now he had the rest of his life to share the ups and downs with her.

“Knowing Gamble and Swann, I think this will be a good fit. For me and for us.”

“Having you around—”

“Underfoot,” she warned.

“I’m going to love it,” he promised. “Almost as much as I love you. We can make an office for you at my place. Or we can share office space at the nursery.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That might be a little too much togetherness.”

He bent his head and kissed her. “Well if this romantic glow ever wears off, we’ll adjust.”

“That easy?”

He shook his head. “I don’t expect every day to be easy,” he admitted. “But as long as we’re together, Jess, we can handle anything. That’s all I want. All I’ve ever wanted.”

“Me too.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re the best part of coming home, Nash.”

“I promise to be the best part of staying home.”

They sat there on the dock for a long time, just letting the weather move around them, letting the sounds of their own island settle back into its familiar rhythm and song.

“We’re bound to have more trouble,” she warned him as they finally walked away from the water. “It’s inevitable. Riding a desk or not, my job will be putting the right folks in place to solve those troubles.”

“And you’ll run right into the fight when needed,” Nash said. “I understand it. And I’ll be waiting for you when you come back.” He hugged her close to his side. “You’re my soulmate, sweetheart. No amount of trouble will ever change that.”

She lifted her face to his and drew his mouth down to hers. The kiss spun out, as warm as the sunshine. “You make me better. You make this home.”

He’d never heard sweeter words. “That’s only fair.” He grinned. “You make me better too.” He let himself get lost in another kiss. Forcing himself to back off, he caught her hands. “Come on! Let’s go find some food. Then we can move your stuff into my place. Start making it our home.”

“Today?” Her eyes went wide.

“Is there a reason to wait?”

“No.” She shook her head, looking adorable and bewildered. “I need to call the Key West PD and let them know I’m not coming back. And deal with my apartment too.”

“I forgot about your place down there,” he said. “We should drive down and pack up whatever you want to bring.” He stretched. “I haven’t had a vacation in a while. The road trip could be fun.”

Her brow furrowed. “Or we could fly.”

He laughed, his heart soaring free. He felt lighter than he could ever remember. “Yeah, we can fly. I don’t want to risk getting caught up in some kind of Bonnie and Clyde situation.”

She shoved him, then came in close once more and they walked toward town, partners for life already. Sure, she would marry him soon—their mothers would see to that. And for the first time in years, Nash could see a future he was truly excited about.

Epilogue

Onemonthlater…

Jess stretched out on the bed, skimming through her email. It wasn’t quite dawn, but she’d gotten up with Nash’s alarm. Seeing an urgent tag on the overnight update from the agency, she opened the email. Thrilled with the news, she went flying out of the bedroom and down the stairs to catch Nash before he left for work. “Nash, wait!”

He was filling his travel mug with coffee, his jug of water already on the counter. “Don’t panic.” He caught her around the waist. “I won’t leave without a kiss.”

She sank into the kiss, let it spin out, let her heart do its happy dance over the wonder of being loved by him. She might never get used to it, but she kind of liked that notion. What a marvelous reality that day by day she could find more reasons to love him.

They’d had their disagreements and one serious fight about the upcoming wedding. Her mother called that learning to argue productively. She considered it sound advice since her parents were still happily married. And even those less comfortable moments were interesting. Because they didn’t give up on each other, they stuck together. No pressure to be perfect, only to keep loving.

And making up was definitely fun.

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