Tears glistened in her eyes. “Hayden . . . we’re only nineteen.”
“I’m twenty, but so what?”
“So, people don’t get married when they’re twenty.”
“When they know what they want they do. And I know what I want, Joy. I’ve known since the first moment I laid eyes on you.”
“What if you change your mind?” Her voice was a whisper.
“I won’t. But if you want to wait, if you want me to prove that I’m not going anywhere I will. I’m happy to show you that I’m here to stay every day for the rest of my life, because I’ve waited twenty years to find you, and I’ll wait a hundred more as long as you tell me there’s a chance that you’ll wear my ring.” He pulled a tiny black box from his pocket and popped it open.
Joy gasped. Tears were streaming down her face when she finally spoke. “There’s more than a chance.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes, but only if you promise me a hundred years.”
“I promise you more than that, baby. I promise you forever.”
Joy
Hayden slipped the ring onto Jo’s trembling fingers and she leapt into his arms, all the doubts she’d ever had obliterated by the sudden hope surging though her heart. Hayden was hers. He wasn’t letting go. And that meant that she finally could.
She let go of it all. Her fears and doubts and guilt. She set them all free, making more than enough room in her heart for a lifetime of love with Hayden. She couldn’t believe she’d ever feared she didn’t have enough love to give him. Because in this moment, she was brimming with it.
“This has been the best summer of my life,” she whispered. “I don’t want it to end.”
“Summer might end, but this,” he gestured between them. “This will endure.” Hayden kissed her softly. “This is just the beginning for us.”
Jo smiled up at him, feeling brighter than the moon as Hayden held her in his arms. She gazed at the sparkling ring now adorning her finger and squealed.
Hayden pulled her to him, settling down on the still warm sand. He nestled her between his knees and she leaned back, resting her head against his chest. “I love you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.
She grinned, still staring at her ring. “I love you, too.”
“Oh, so you believe me now?” he teased. “If I knew it was that easy I would’ve put a ring on it a long time ago.”
She laughed. “You know, this is a pretty big ring for someone who’s penniless.”
“Yeah, about that . . . I’m not exactly penniless.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you walked away from everything.”
“I did, but not without a safety net.”
“What does that mean?”
“I have a savings account.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “How much of a savings account?”
“Does it matter?”
“You know it doesn’t.”
Hayden smiled. “True. But I suppose it’ll make it a bit easier to convince you to have a big fat wedding if you know we can afford it.” He reached down and wrote a number with far too many zeroes in the sand.
Jo’s hand flew to her mouth. “Holy shit!”
Hayden laughed. “Good thing I already know you’re not marrying me for my money.”
She smirked. “And good thing I know you’re marrying me for more than my sweet, sweet ass.”
“Speaking of that sweet, sweet ass . . .” Hayden tackled her into the sand and they made love under the endless summer stars.
Epilogue
Jo
3 years later . . .
“Mommy your belly is so fat,” Kai said climbing onto the bed with Piper following closely behind.
“Hey,” Hayden said scooping him up and tickling his belly. “That’s not a fat belly. This is.” He blew kisses on Kai’s stomach until he was out of breath with laughter.
Jo grinned at her favorite boys, watching them from the comfort of her big, fluffy bed. Piper crawled up to her face and showered her with kisses.
“I love you too, girl,” Jo said, snuggling the dog to her side.
“I want kisses, too, Mommy!” Kai called, trying to wriggle out of Hayden’s grasp.
Hayden climbed up the bed with Kai in his arms, setting him down next to Joy. “Careful of your sister,” Hayden warned.
“I know, Daddy, ” Kai said, like the bossy almost-six-year-old he was.
Kai gently wrapped his arms around Jo and she planted a dozen kisses on his cheeks. He gave her just as many back.
“I love you, Kai,” she murmured into his dark curls.
“I love you too, Mommy.”
“How ‘bout a kiss for your sister?” Jo asked.
“Okay!” Kai bounced further down the bed and knelt next to Jo’s pregnant belly. He pressed his little lips to her stomach and whispered. “I love you, too, baby sister.”
Jo’s eyes teared up whenever Kai did that.
Knowing her all too well, Hayden reached for the tissue box and settled next to her on the bed, pulling her against his chest as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Kai turned his head toward them. “What’s my sister’s name gonna be?”
“I don’t know. We have to ask Mommy.” Hayden replied, grinning at Jo. “Have you decided yet?” he asked quietly.
Jo’s heart constricted in her chest. She didn’t know why she was afraid to say the name her heart had chosen for her daughter. Especially since she was due any day. Jo and Hayden had been married for almost three years and they’d grown closer than she ever dreamed possible. Their relationship was open and honest. Jo had shared every moment of her and Max’s love story with Hayden. Even the heartbreaking parts.
Perhaps that’s why she was worried to say the name she chose for their daughter out loud. Hayden would know where it came from. He would know what it meant to Jo. And she prayed that he would love it the same way she did.
“Babe, you realize the anticipation is giving this secret name some pretty big expectations. It better be epic.”
Jo took a deep breath and exhaled as she stared into Hayden’s eyes. “I was hoping we could name her Summer.”
Tears instantly welled in his blue, blue eyes. It was all the answer Jo needed. He pulled her into his chest and pressed a kiss to her hair. His voice was scarcely a whisper when he finally replied. “I couldn’t love any name more.”
Jo hugged him back. “Thank you,” she murmured into his chest.
She could feel the steady beat of his heart against her cheek and she closed her eyes breathing him in. She didn’t know why she’d been scared to share the name she’d chosen with him. It was a name she’d chosen almost six years ago on a beach with Max, when babies were just wishes she made to the moon.
Hayden’s heart was big enough to accept that. After all, it was Max’s heart, too.
Kai wiggled between them, his tiny hand splayed out on Jo’s giant belly as he whispered secrets to his sister.
Jo reveled in the perfect moment. She closed her eyes and laid her head against Hayden’s chest, one hand on Kai’s back, the other on her belly. Not to be ignored Piper curled up between Jo’s legs, resting her soft chin on Jo’s swollen feet.
Jo gazed out the open French doors to the ocean just beyond their home.
Ua ola loko I ke aloha: love gives life within.
As the sea breeze blew the white gauze curtains in a lazy rhythm, Jo found herself wondering if her ancestors knew just how perfect the name they’d chosen for the little beach cottage was.
Love gives life within. It held so many meanings for Joy.
For the baby daughter growing inside her.
For her son.
For Hayden.
For Max.
So much love had grown between them all in this house, and Jo knew it would only continue.
“I love you,” she whispered, looking at Hayden.
He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I love
you, too.”
Kai looked at them both with an impish grin. “Can I pick the next baby’s name?”
“Sure thing, buddy,” Hayden replied.
Jo arched an eyebrow at her husband. “There’s gonna be a next one?”
Hayden laughed. The beautiful sound vibrated through Jo, as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Oh yes. You’re gonna have all my babies, Joy Anderson.”
Jo closed her eyes, grateful for this moment with all the people she loved nestled around her. She drifted into an easy sleep as one of the last conversations she had with Max floated to her mind.
6 years ago . . .
“You’re gonna have all my babies,” Max teased.
“Max! Shut up.”
“What?”
“That’s not funny. You can’t say stuff like that after we just had sex.”
“Why not? We used a condom.”
“Because, it’s like tempting fate.”
“Fate, smate.”
Jo smacked his arm. “You can’t say fate, smate! That’s even worse than ‘You’re gonna have all my babies’.”
Max laughed and rolled on top of her, grinning like a lunatic. “I can say whatever I want, baby, ‘cause you and me are written in the stars. Nothing’s gonna change that.”
Well, goddamn. How could she argue with that statement? Or that smile?
Max kissed her long and hard, making Jo seriously consider having sex with him again even though they’d used their last condom.
“You’re thinking about it aren’t you?” he asked
“What?”
“How cute our kids would be.”
“Max . . .”
Okay, she totally was. They would be the cutest kids ever.
Jo blushed as she admitted it. “Okay, yeah they would be ridiculously cute.”
“I hope they get your smile,” he said.
“And your dark curls,” Jo added, running her hands through Max’s hair.
“And your eyes.”
Jo popped up on her elbow. “No way, they have to get your eyes. Your eyes are my favorite. They’re the color of the ocean.”
Max grinned shaking his head. “Nope, your eyes are my favorite. They’re the color of life.”
Jo laughed. How did Max always manage to say the right thing? She would’ve said her eyes were the color of grass or something lame. But life? Damn, now she was imagining kids with a perfect mixture of their eye colors—Ocean and Life. “How about a blend of both?” she asked.
Max smirked. “I can live with that.” He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the night sky. “Do you hear that Man in the Moon? We’d like to place an order. One dark, curly headed boy with an angel’s smile and blue-green eyes.”
Jo giggled. “I hate to break it to you, but you can’t order kids from the moon.”
“Who says?”
“Um, everyone in the real world. And PS, why do you get to decide we’re having a boy?”
“Because boys are awesome. And I already have the perfect name picked out.”
Jo’s eyebrows arched. “You’ve really put some thought into this, huh?”
Max grinned. “Maybe.”
“Okay, so what’s this perfect name?”
“Kai.”
The word wrapped around Jo’s heart like an embrace. “Kai.” Once she said it out loud she felt it cement in her soul. “It means ocean.”
“Right. Do you like it?”
“I love it.”
Max kissed her tenderly. “I knew you would.”
Jo gazed up at him, wondering how the hell she’d gotten so lucky. Her heart physically hurt when she thought about how much she loved Max. She exhaled the terrifying thought and decided to continue their silly conversation. “What if we have a girl?”
“Well . . .”
She laughed. “You have a name picked out for a girl too, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I was sorta thinking Summer.”
“Why Summer?” Jo asked.
Max’s smile was so bright it rivaled the moon. “Because this has been the best summer of my life and I never want it to end.”
“Our endless summer,” Jo whispered. “It’s perfect.”
Hayden
Hayden stared down at the bed that contained his whole world. It’d been three years since Joy came into his life and every morning he still pinched himself, not quite sure how the universe had guided him to his other half. But it had. And now his world was growing. In a few days they’d would be welcoming their daughter—their Summer.
When Joy said the name out loud, that familiar ache filled his heart. Hayden had grown to welcome it, because it wasn’t pain, it was proof. Proof he was alive. And he would welcome that pain every single day to thank the man who gave him his heart and a second chance at life.
Max had given Hayden so much more than he ever thought existed. He’d give him a true gift, a world full of joy.
Also by Christina Benjamin
YOUNG ADULT FANTASY/DYSTOPIAN SERIES
The Geneva Project - TRUTH (Book 1)
The Geneva Project - SECRETS (Book 2)
The Geneva Project - LIES (Book 3)
The Geneva Project - DESTINY (Book 4)
The Geneva Project - Complete Box Set
The Geneva Project - Prequels Collection
YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
(All Boyfriend Books are Stand-Alone Novels and can be read in Any Order)
The Practice Boyfriend (Book 1)
The Almost Boyfriend (Book 2)
The Goodbye Boyfriend (Book 3)
The Holiday Boyfriend (Book 4)
The Stand-In Boyfriend (Book 5)
The Maybe Boyfriend (Book 6)
The Accidental Boyfriend (Book 7)
The Summer Boyfriend (Book 8)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE (18+)
Retreat To Me
Retreat Again
The Practice Boyfriend (Book 1)
Hannah Stark is a high school senior with a resume of straight A's. She's never stepped a toe out of line. But that's also why she's never had a boyfriend. While all her classmates are counting down the days until graduation, Hannah is dragging her feet. She feels like she missed out on the high school experience. Can a practice boyfriend change everything for her?
The Almost Boyfriend (Book 2)
Sam Connors always follows the rules. But when her father forces her to leave Boston to finish her senior year of high school at a posh prep school in Ireland she has no choice but to rebel. She’s determined to break all the rules with a little help from bad boy Devon James and to return to Boston by any means necessary. Her plan is crazy, but she’s convinced it will work—almost.
The Goodbye Boyfriend (Book 3)
Camille LaRue is a nobody, and she likes it that way. She has her senior year planned out and it doesn’t include falling in love. That’s why she’s quick to say “Goodbye” when Nate says "Hello.” But the handsome new transfer student from California is intrigued by Camille’s quirky NOLA charm and doesn’t give up easily. Will his persistence pay off or is Camille too far gone to risk her heart with so little time left?
The Holiday Boyfriend (Book 4)
Emma Rhodes is hesitant to return to Manhattan for Christmas. After all, she left for a reason. A tall, dark and handsome reason named Will Taylor. But Emma has been homesick for the city ever since she moved to Boston with her mother. So when the opportunity to spend her last high school holiday with her father presents itself, she can’t resist. Will there be magic in Manhattan for Emma and Will?
The Stand-In Boyfriend (Book 5)
Beth Bennett has it all—the world’s best friend and the world’s best boyfriend. As the last few months of school tick by Beth scrambles to balance being a girlfriend & best friend to the two most important guys in her life. But when her perfect Spring Break plans get ruined, Beth’s life spirals out of control as the boys in her life pull her in two different directions. Who will Beth choose…her boyfriend, or
the boy who’s never let her down?
The Maybe Boyfriend (Book 6)
Megan has stars in her eyes and dreams in her heart. As a Boston University film student, she never could have imagined going to Ireland for a semester abroad. But that’s exactly what happens when her dream guy, Zander O’Leary’s company offers her a film scholarship. Their Irish adventure soon goes awry and things get dangerously close to revealing Zander’s dark past. Can Megan push past his walls …or will she decide that maybe, isn’t enough?
The Accidental Boyfriend (Book 7)
Can an accident lead to love? All signs point to yes. Lucy Adams meets the boy of her dreams during a car accident. Did fate bring them together for a reason? Armed with a Magic 8 Ball and a quirky best friend, Lucy decides to find out if this accident was meant to tear her world apart or put her right where she was always meant to be.
The Summer Boyfriend (Book 8)
Can summer last forever? Joy Wright has only two rules. Don't ask questions and don't get attached. So when Hayden Anderson comes into her life with a tempting proposition, she has a decision to make that could change her entire future. Surviving this summer romance won't be a walk on the beach.
About the Author
Award-Winning author, Christina Benjamin, lives in Florida with her husband, and character inspiring pets, where she spends her free time working on her books and speaking to inspire fellow writers.
Christina is best known for her wildly popular Young Adult fantasy series, The Geneva Project and her bestselling Young Adult romance novels, The Boyfriend series.
The Geneva Project has won multiple awards and stolen the hearts of YA readers. Packed with magic and imagination, her epic tale of adventure hooks fans of mega-hit YA fiction like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson.
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