“I don’t want us to ever be apart,” he says, squeezing me tighter against him.
I turn around in his arms. “Where’s this coming from?”
His brows furrow as he glances over every inch of my face. Dropping to one knee in the sand, he reaches into the pocket of his board shorts and pulls out a tiny, black box. “Chloe Sullivan, will you marry me?” He pops open the small box, revealing a glistening diamond ring. The center diamond is larger than the row of other diamonds beside it.
My eyes widen and I gasp. “Logan—”
“You’re my lifesaver, Chloe,” he interrupts. “When I was drowning, you rescued me. I won’t ever forget what you did.” He grabs one of my hands and brushes his thumb over my skin, sending another shiver through my body. “I can’t live without you.”
I close my eyes. Is this really happening? Did he really just ask me to spend the rest of my life with him? I mean, we’ve already been together for a year and stuck it out through some crazy times. What else will life throw at us?
“Just think about it,” he adds. “You don’t have to—”
“Okay,” I say decisively. “I’ll marry you.”
“Yes?” A hesitant grin appears, like he can’t believe I’m agreeing. Like my brave, sweet Logan was terrified I would’ve turned him down.
“YES!” I squeal. “A thousand times, yes!”
He laughs and picks me up, wheeling me around in circles as he kisses every inch of my face. Sometimes, in seconds like this, I imagine it’s just him and me, all alone on our private island, hidden from the rest of the world. I imagine, once upon a time, we had normal lives, and our families met on the lake: Logan’s parents on their imaginary boat, and Dad taking ours on the water like he used to. I imagine Mom and Dad happy and in love like they were twenty years ago, socializing with Phil and Marcie, while Logan and I jet-ski with Lucas. I imagine Logan wasn’t a homeless heroin addict; he was still an all-star on the football field, who didn’t require morphine to dull the pain of his shoulder injury. I imagine Jessica and I were still best friends, and that her father was never tragically killed.
But the truth of the matter is fate brought us together under different circumstances, circumstances Logan’s still not proud of. With time, though, he’ll overcome his demons, and I’ll be there to support him every step of the way. Although, years from now, when people ask us our secret, I’ll tell them the truth: where it all began and what we went through together. How we managed to move mountains just to get where we are right now. But, most of all, how it was the best and worst summer of our lives.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca Rogers expressed her creative side at an early age and hasn’t stopped since. She won’t hesitate to tell you that she lives inside her imagination, and it’s better than reality.
To stay up to date with Rebecca’s latest books, check out her website at www.rebeccaarogers.com or find her on social sites such as Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
Last Summer Page 17