by Elle Viviani
He nods, earning an eye roll from me. “It’s okay, though,” he says quickly, “because it’s already on your finger.”
I glance down at my left hand as the engagement ring catches the sunlight. A hundred pricks of light dance across the watery blue aquamarine gracing my ring finger. It’s hard to believe Koa proposed three months ago. It feels like just yesterday when he got down on one knee, took out a little black velvet box, and asked me to be his wife…
“I have something to ask you, Summer.”
I look over at Koa, the outline of his tall form silhouetted in moonlight against the dark backdrop of the crashing waves. We were out celebrating my newly minted status as a Maine high school teacher. When I’d come home from the testing center with the good news, Koa whisked me away to the beach. We had it all to ourselves this late in the year, just how we liked it.
“What’s that?” I ask, wrapping my coat a little tighter around my shoulders. I fill my lungs with the bracing sea air, hold it there for a moment, then let it out slowly.
Koa pulls us to a stop and turns to face me. He lets go of my hand, slips off his gloves, and reaches into his coat pocket. “I have a very particular question to ask you.”
I gasp as he gets down on one knee, his jeans sinking into the wet, pebbly sand. He pulls his hand out of his pocket and holds it in the air between us. His fingers uncurl to reveal a black velvet box lying on his palm. “My loveliest Summer…”
My hand flies to my mouth as he pushes a button and the box springs open. A brilliant aquamarine engagement ring is nestled between the velvet, the platinum band studded with sparkling white sapphires. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and Koa’s offering it to me.
“This is the sailor’s stone,” Koa says softly, his eyes lingering on my face. “It symbolizes protection, trust, fearlessness, and harmony. It symbolizes the love I have for you, a bond that will not be broken, no matter how far apart we are. So I ask you now…” his sea-blue eyes hold mine captive as he gazes up at me “…will you marry me?”
I stare down at him for a long moment before sinking down onto the sand in front of him. I reach out and cup his hands in my mine. They’re warm under the woolly fibers of my gloves, the brisk wind not dampening their fiery heat.
“Yes.” A tear escapes my eye as I meet his loving eyes, rolling down my cheek for only a moment before being carried away from the icy wind. I lean down and kiss his warm fingertips with my cold lips. “I will, my love…”
I look up from the sweet memory with a faraway smile. Koa’s watching me with a serene look of his own. “Is your last condition that we’re married before we set sail?”
“No, though we’re about to take care of that tomorrow.”
I giggle, a bit giddy at the thought of leaving behind my title as fiancée for wife in twenty-four hours. “Then what is it?”
“That you stop calling me Captain.”
“What? But why?”
Koa shifts the box of apples in his arms. “Because we’re more than that. I’m your partner, your companion…your husband.”
“Not quite yet.”
“Summer.”
“Alright, Captain.”
“Summer!”
“What? You told me to talk back!”
“Uh, I’m not sure that’s exactly what I said—”
“Too bad,” I cry, flashing him a puckish grin. “That’s my interpretation.”
A devilish smile grows on his lips as he slowly puts down the box in his hands. I start inching away as he comes toward me. “What are you doing?”
“Putting my first mate in her place,” he growls, skirting around the boxes and crates littering the deck.
Summer Catch is packed to the gills with everything we’d need for the journey ahead of us, the food being the final addition. Our destination is the Virgin Islands, someplace warm and tropical and fitting for a honeymoon. The world’s our oyster after that, though I have my eye on seeing the beautiful coastline of Brazil next…
“So I got the job?”
“That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“I want to make sure I have a—” I yelp as he lunges for me “—job!”
He sweeps me up into his arms and presses me to his chest, grunting as my elbow jabs him in the ribs. “Stop squirming or you’ll throw us both over the side!”
“Stop groping your first mate and I won’t squirm!”
His eyes flash as they meet mine. “You’re impossible.”
I snake my hands around his neck and kiss the tip of his nose. “And you’re sexy as hell.”
He cocks his head. “Are you buttering me up again, Rae?”
“Of course. How else am I going to get the job?”
Koa laughs and bends over, setting me gently on my feet. “You’ve got the job, babe.”
“Really?”
“Do you really think I’d leave you behind?”
“No…but I like to know I have a place on board.”
He takes my hand softly and places it over his heart. “You have a place here, always.”
I stare into his eyes for moment before resting my cheek against his chest. I sigh in complete and utter happiness. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he murmurs, resting his chin atop my head. We stay like that for a moment before he draws a deep breath. “We should probably finish up here so we can get to the rehearsal on time.”
The wedding festivities kick off tonight now that everyone’s arrived in Portland. We’re rehearsing on the beach this evening, the beach where Koa and I realized that maybe we didn’t hate each other all those months ago, before heading over to Kenny’s newly completed house for the rehearsal dinner. The renovations had taken twice as long as predicted, but the Victorian had been beautifully restored, with a chef’s kitchen to boot. Now all Kenny had to do was learn how to cook.
“Yeah, we should probably go…” But I don’t let Koa go. I press him close, gliding my hands up and down his back, as I remember the long and often taxing road we took to get our families together for this most happy occasion.
I had gone back to New York to pack my things for my move to Portland when my mom came over. She’d just gotten off the phone with Gran and wanted to have a “chat” about my future.
It had started off as they normally do, with her telling me exactly why I was ruining my life, before I’d finally had enough. I was halfway out the door before she promised to let me speak. It had taken hours of me saying that she needed to respect my decisions or risk never hearing from me again to drive my point home. I was done being her doormat. I had found the man of my dreams and wasn’t about to let him slip through my fingers just because my mom thought I would look better on the arm of some doctor.
I also had the help of a surprising ally: my sister. Nora was there that day to help me pack, and when the shit hit the fan, she sat next to me and held my hand as I had the first honest conversation with my mom in…ever.
I’m also pretty sure Nora did a lot of soothing and cajoling on my behalf behind closed doors, because it only took a few days for my mom to “inform me” that she “approved” of my decision. And when she could help me decorate my new place. I politely declined. But hey, it’s the thought that counts.
I squeeze Koa tighter as happiness and relief floods my limbs. I can’t believe it all worked out. I can’t believe our families are here to support us as we take this next step in our lives; even the newest addition to the family, Theodore, but we all call him Teddy for short. I’m an auntie now, and my Lord, is that little boy going to be one spoiled nephew.
“It’s great having all our family and friends with us, isn’t it?” I murmur into Koa’s chest.
I feel the faint tilt of his chin on my head as he nods. “It is. Though this is nice, too.”
“What is?”
“Having you all to myself.”
I lean back and gaze up at Koa, so strong and handsome as he holds tight me in his arms. “You’re the lo
ve of my life, Koa Rendell.”
“And you’re the love of my life, soon-to-be Summer Rendell.”
I smile in pure bliss as he brings his warm lips to mine. He holds me there in a soft, captivating kiss, just us and the quiet murmur of lapping waves against the hull.
We have an adventure ahead of us, though I know it’s only the beginning of a lifelong adventure of love and happiness. And a few arguments, for old times’ sake. Who really knows what we’ll find as we head out to the open sea?
But I do know one thing as we join our hearts tomorrow at sunset. We’ll do it together, as sure and constant as the endless horizon, and as eternal as the bottomless depths of our love.
Acknowledgments
A lot went into giving this book life. Thank you to my husband and sister for kicking butt as my beta-readers. You always do such a wonderful job making the characters and plot shine.
Thank you to Anita and Christie at Proof Positive Pro for triple checking my work. You two are the best proofreaders an author could ask for!
A hundred thank you’s to my family and friends who kept me motivated and on track in the distracting months of July and August. It’s always more fun to play in the summer sun than sit inside and write!
A special thanks Mom and Dad for all those happy hours and dinners while I was trying-to-be-on-vacation-yet-still-writing-like-a-fiend. You two are amazing.
And thank you readers for picking up this book and getting swept up in Summer and Koa’s story. I hope you enjoyed a quick trip up to Portland, by far one of my favorite New England cities.
Now is it just me, or does anyone else desperately want a lobster roll?
About the Author
Elle Viviani is a romance author, dog momma, art lover, and romcom junkie. She lives in Texas with her husband and adorable fur-child, and when she’s not spending her days writing about saucy heroines and hunky heroes, you can find her on a hike with the two of them. She loves dark chocolate, street tacos, and sushi (in any order), and binge-reading stories of all shapes and sizes.
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