She lifts a shoulder, a little shrug that reminds me of her brother. “I decided to stay.”
There’s a pulsing in my chest. A throbbing, really. Something that lights my soul on fire and has every nerve-ending on my body standing at attention.
She’s here.
She decided to stay.
I can’t help but grin, so enamored with her that my body physically can’t hold my happiness inside any longer.
She reaches up with her own hand, placing it on my cheek, mirroring my position and allowing her thumb to trace lightly under my eyes.
“You look tired,” she whispers. “Did you not get any sleep?”
I press my cheek into her hand, unable to keep this stupid, shit-eating grin off my face.
Because she’s here.
She decided to stay.
“I couldn’t fall asleep until I knew your bus got to Phoenix,” I say. I know it makes me sound like a pussy. But I don’t give a shit.
From this moment forward, every single word I utter is going to have the sole focus of making sure she knows how crazy I am for her.
How much she means to me.
How much I want her here.
“You read my letter?” I ask.
A soft expression comes across her face, and I see everything flitter across it that I was hoping for. Most importantly, I see the love shining in her eyes.
“Yeah. I read your letter.”
We just stare at each other for a minute, and I still can’t wrap my head around it.
That she’s here.
That she decided to stay.
“Did my begging work?”
Her softness shifts away and she rolls her eyes, but there’s a playfulness to it. A teasing lift that she’s given me a few times before.
And I’ll take it.
Gladly.
“I figured if you’re going to be able to show me all these things you’ve promised, it would probably help if I was around here to see them.”
I shake my head, not knowing how to express myself. Not knowing how to tell her how glad I am that she decided to believe me.
Believe what I said.
What I promised.
There are so many unanswered questions moving forward. So many problems and issues, drama and pain, things on the horizon that I have to deal with because… well, because that’s life.
But knowing that she decided to stay?
That she decided we are worth taking a risk on?
It makes all of the shit that makes life complicated seem a lot more manageable.
Hannah is, by far, the most amazing thing to ever happen to me. The best gift life has ever been kind enough to throw my way. And I know I need to work to continue to deserve her.
To deserve her time.
To deserve her smiles.
To deserve her love.
Luckily, she makes me want to be the best version of me.
So working my ass off every damn day to make sure I continue to deserve her doesn’t sound like too much of a hardship.
Hannah scoots just a little bit closer, sticks her hand out and gives me a little smile that I know is just for me. “I’m Hannah Morrison. I’m Lucas’ sister. And Ivy’s sister. And maybe I have some other siblings out there somewhere in this town, but I’ll deal with that if it happens.”
I grin, unable to keep my love for her off my face.
“I’m Wyatt Calloway,” I say, slipping my hand into hers and gently pulling her towards me, into me, so I can press a kiss to the inside of her wrist. I love the way her nose wiggles and her cheeks flush. “It’s really, really good to meet you, Hannah Morrison.”
EPILOGUE
Hannah
A few days later, I sit between Wyatt’s legs on the rooftop at Lucas’ house… my house… as we wait for the 4th of July fireworks to shoot into the sky. But this time, I’ll actually be watching the fireworks. There are a handful of other people up here with us, too.
So I already told Wyatt. No funny business.
He gave me this furrowed brow and told me he would never try ‘funny business’ when we haven’t gone on a real date yet.
He wasn’t joking when he told me he wants to start over.
Be honest.
About everything.
And I do mean everything.
It meant we had a hard conversation the other day.
I talked to him about what happened to me in foster care. All of the horrible shit, from Rob’s assault to the year I lived at the shelter, and everything in between.
He cried. Partly because he feels responsible. I don’t know if that’s ever a weight he’ll be able to let go of, even though it isn’t something I would ever hold over his head. I took his face in my hands and told him that whatever guilt he feels about it, that I wanted to absolve him of it.
He countered with telling me that he wanted to absolve me of the guilt I feel about how Joshua passed away.
It had been a hard thing to hear. I guess we’re both going to have to work on letting things from our past go. Because really, we can’t move forward together completely if we’re still holding on to past pain.
Talking about Ivy and the transplant and why Lucas brought me to Hermosa in the first place was also a painful conversation. Learning that things were orchestrated around me – like Lucas finding a way for me to ‘win’ a free MatchLink kit, or the bike getting stolen, and the night at the sand dune – made me feel manipulated and maneuvered in a way that’s hard to explain. And hard to get over.
But I have every faith that we can work through it together. And I think that’s something that’s different about my relationship with Wyatt. Maybe even my relationship with Lucas.
The hard times don’t mean we have to quit. I’m not going to get shuffled off to a new house just because I get into an argument. It means we’re going to talk. We’re going to work through things. We’re going to compromise and flex and negotiate.
I’ve never had that before. Never had someone who stuck around long enough that those things ever came into play. So it’s definitely different. But I love it.
We’re still figuring everything out for the long-term, like what’s going to happen with his job and that move to London, and where I’m going to end up when the summer is over.
But it’s something we’re going to figure out together.
And Wyatt was right.
Weathering a storm together means I’m not as scared.
“You know, if you decide you don’t want to do the speech, I won’t let him run me out of town,” I tell Wyatt as I sit snuggled in his arms.
He told me about the fight he had with his dad. It made me sick, knowing the depths Calvin would stoop to in order to get what he wanted. But I loved hearing how Wyatt defended me.
“I’m doing the stupid speech,” he grumbles. “This shit between me and my dad… it’ll work itself out. Someday. But I’m not letting that prick do anything to hurt you, and if I know anything about him, it’s that if he sets his sights on you, he won’t stop until he’s ruined your life.” He places a kiss on my temple, his arms tightening around me just slightly. “There will be other times when I can stand up to him. And I will. But not over this. I won’t let him use you. Ever.”
I tilt my head up to look at him and give him a soft smile, my love for him seeming to grow and expand in ways I’ve never known were possible. Then I stretch up and press a kiss to the base of his jaw.
I believe him when he says that. And it feels good to hear, knowing I’m in a relationship with someone who doesn’t see me as a pawn in his larger game. That line in his letter really did make me swoon.
But I also don’t expect that he’s going to be able to keep me safe from every shitty person or horrible situation, from any asshole who might see me as a means to an end.
Instead, I just have to be thankful for the effort he does make, and continue to focus on the good. The good people, the good experiences, the good life.
And it reall
y is a good life.
Sienna is going to come out to visit at the end of the summer. I got a sweet little video message from Melanie a few days ago of her and Lissy saying hello and telling me all about New Mexico. Lissy apparently has a new best friend in the neighborhood they moved into, and she’s starting to sign more, feeling a little bit less like she doesn’t fit in.
And then there’s tonight. Right now. I’m surrounded with people I really like, some of them that I love.
Ivy is in her pajamas, sitting on the actual roof with Ben, who agreed to come if I didn’t talk to him, since he’s trying to keep ‘a healthy work balance’ since he’s technically my boss.
I give that a few weeks before it falls apart.
Lucas is here with Remmy, which is a little bit weird, since I’ve never seen the two of them together before. Who knows what’s happening there, but they both look happy sitting in the hot tub.
Paige and Eleanor are sitting happily together, chatting and alternating between the hot tub and the other loungers on the roof. Those two have gotten pretty close, and I’m so glad they hit it off.
Lennon is here as well, but she seems to be a little down, opting to stay on the loungers and face out to the water instead of getting into the hot tub. Though every time she walks over to get another drink, her eyes look to Lucas and Remmy. It makes me sad for her, but I guess I don’t know everything that’s happening there.
Lucas’ parties are typically a lot larger, with hundreds overflowing to the streets. But tonight, he agreed to do something small and intimate with just close friends and family.
Besides, I don’t think he wanted to be shown up.
Apparently all of Hermosa Beach is in a tizzy because the guy with all the dogs decided to do one more 4th of July party before he retires the title as the Hermosa Beach Party King and hands the crown over to Lucas.
I’m not kidding when I say that is a paraphrase of his literal quote when he took out a full-page ad in the local newspaper letting everyone in town know that the party was happening.
Good luck to the cops trying to police that party tonight.
It makes me laugh, all of the weird things that make this town so unique.
I don’t know if I’ll ever understand it. Or if I’ll ever really feel like I fit.
But I’ve decided to try.
My decision to stay was definitely about Wyatt. About our connection and the amazing love I feel from him.
But it was also about other things as well.
Reading those letters, the ones Wyatt was able to get put together with just a few hours notice… knowing that the people who wrote those wonderful words actually care about me, want me around, believe in me…
Something inside of me just… clicked.
I finally feel like I deserve that.
That I deserve to be surrounded by people who love me.
That I deserve to find a place that I belong.
Staying in Hermosa Beach isn’t as risky of a decision as I originally thought it was going to be. Because when I look at my true options, the paths life has presented to me, the choice is clear.
Head back to a place where I have almost nothing.
Or stay here.
A place that affords me the chance to live near family.
Build friendships.
Find love.
Maybe that’s what Frost meant in that poem that I hate so much. About picking the path less travelled.
It isn’t about picking the one that’s harder. That’s filled with branches and limbs and things that will make me trip and fall.
It’s about choosing to go a different route than I normally would. Seeking out something better. Something more meaningful.
Because the path I’ve walked my entire life has been filled with nothing but pain, raw emotion, broken promises and feeling like nothing will ever work out.
This time, I chose the path less travelled by me. I’ve never gone down the road that’s filled with love. The one overflowing with people that want to walk the path by my side.
And I don’t doubt at all that Wyatt will be one of those people, helping to pull those limbs and branches out of the way when I think I might trip and fall.
It won’t always be perfect. I can’t assume that I won’t get hurt. But I’ve decided to take that risk.
I’m going to start believing in promises.
And that includes believing Wyatt when he says he wants to promise me everything.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From the Author
I can’t imagine ever starting this section without focusing on my husband first. Danny, it is because of you that I believe happy endings exist. It is because of you that I know the type of love I write about is possible. Thank you for always encouraging me to go after what I want in life, and supporting me on this journey every way, large and small.
My beautiful sister, I am so glad you’ve found your own romance hero, and I hope he loves you ten times more than my leading men are ever capable. Your relentless encouragement and regular “you’re amazing” comments help push me through.
Mom and dad, your emails and texts and constant praise about my work ethic and drive are so, so, so welcome and appreciated. I love how you believe in me!
Oh, my sweet J-Crew, how you’ve grown recently! Your reviews are priceless. Thank you for helping me catch those final typos that I always seem to miss. And Kara, I mixed up the food this time! I hope you’re proud!
The Kaipii Ohana is officially my escape, and a much needed one when I feel overwhelmed by work. I’m so blessed to call all of you neighbors and friends, and to be able to giggle and laugh and drink endless wine with each of you. Also, I really do love your kids. So thanks for letting us be a part of their lives.
Dawn, thank you for giving cover feedback and asking questions and being so supportive. I’m so glad we’re friends.
To every blogger and reader who has been willing to read, review, steal, download, tag and like my work – this one or any other – thank you! I love to write, and I love hearing your thoughts on the creative works I put out into the world.
Now, on to the next!
Lots of love, and smooches,
Jillian
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jillian Liota
Jillian Liota is a Southern California native currently living in Kailua, Hawaii. She is married to her best friend, has a three-legged pup with endless energy, and acts as a servant to two very temperamental cats. When she isn’t writing, she is traveling, reading a good book, or watching Harry Potter.
Always.
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ADDITIONAL TITLES
From the Author
KEEPER SERIES
The Keeper
Keep Away
LIKE YOU SERIES
Like You Mean It
Like You Want It
HERMOSA BEACH SERIES
Be Your Anything
Promise Me Nothing (Hermosa Beach Book 1) Page 35