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“Oh my gosh—Sawyer—what is the plan for when we get home? Where are we going to live, long-term? I can’t expect you to just move everything to my apartment forever.” Worry floods her eyes.
“I’ve done a lot of thinking about that, actually. Obviously, we stay put for now, for Gram.”
The deep crease between her brows softens. “You called her Gram.”
I shrug. “She’s family now.” A smile plays at her lips, lightening the concern in her expression more. “And once we’re ready, I was thinking of a small town with a lot of character and charm, not too far from home. A little closer to Mom and Nan, maybe, but a place that’s ours.” I peel back the side of the suit jacket and reach into the pocket inside, pulling out a folded piece of paper, weathered at the creases and corners from the hundreds of times I’ve opened it, reviewed it, and tucked it away again in the past few months.
I found Songbird Springs by accident on the trip from Mom’s place back to Gwen’s one weekend, and it felt like home. It felt like a place to hold hands and walk to the coffee shop, or trudge through the snow to the bookstore on a wintry day. When I saw they were building a new neighborhood, it felt like a place where we could start fresh, someday. And when I took her there in December and she loved it too, it felt like it could be ours.
Gwen steps back while I open the paper and turn it toward her. She scans it, her eyes returning to the top after reaching the bottom, taking it all in again, then meeting mine. “It’s perfect.”
“I thought maybe we could take a little honeymoon up there. Stay at the B-and-B, meet with the builders.”
“You just want their breakfast sandwiches.”
I shake my head. “No, Gwen. I just want you.”
“You have me. As long as we both shall live.” She pulls my face down to meet hers. The taste of champagne lingers on her tongue as she parts my lips and kisses me like we’re back in my room with our Couples’ Game consolation prize.
Gwendolyn
“Did you even notice?” he asks, dangling the champagne bottle in front of me. We’ve docked again, said our goodbyes to our guests. Mel and my parents are tidying up downstairs while Gram and Nancy prop up their feet after a busy day, but someone had the bright idea to send us up here without supervision to “clean up,” and there is no cleaning happening. Sawyer’s hand is on my hips as we sway along with the boat’s generic music, since the DJ has also packed up. He refills my glass as I try to read the label.
“Is that—”
“Mhmm.” He nods. “Same as what we had on the ship.”
“You really thought of everything, didn’t you, Husband?” The whole night has been perfect, with touches of us sprinkled throughout in unexpected ways, from the music to the spread of desserts, from the champagne to the piña colada cocktails. From the vows he’d prepared months ago, using two lines from my first romance novel—lines he said he committed to memory the first time he read them because they moved him so much, to the fish pun I made in my own vows that I’d written in the thirty minutes between knowing I’d need them and actually saying them. Then there’s the ring, which pulls in stones from both of our families: an oval diamond from Nancy’s engagement ring, and a pair of pearls from a necklace Gram had bought for Mom when she was still a baby, combined beautifully in a modern but classic setting.
“Can you handle one more big announcement?” He grins, and I’m tipsy enough to fear for a second that there’s a surprise baby involved, but I shake that off pretty quickly once I realize it would be pretty hard for him to know something that I don’t when it comes to that subject.
“Sure,” I lie, overwhelmed in the best way. I don’t think I can handle anything else right now, and definitely not any more alcohol after that last thought.
“I got a job. A real one. A good one.”
“You did? When?”
“The offer came through a week ago. And before you get mad at me for not telling you—” he says, holding up a finger to shush me before I even have a chance to scold him in the way he predicted I would, “I don’t start for another two weeks, and I wanted to wait until I’d met the team until I officially accepted. That’s part of the reason I came out early—they’re based about two hours from here. I’ll be working remotely, though.”
“So, what is it? Data analytics for some tech firm? Are you a Silicon Valley snob now?” I gasp, mocking. “When do we get our self-driving spaceship?”
“Ha, ha. Funny,” he says, and he kisses the tip of my nose. “Actually, it’s working in education. There’s a software company out here that’s developing an app to create cross-curricular content, like incorporating math into other subject areas. I’ll be in charge of making sure different states’ standards are met in the process.” The way he beams when he says it is everything. He still gets to help students, but without reopening the old wounds from his teaching days.
“How did I not know about any of this?”
He raises his shoulders, drops them, forms his mouth into a perfect grin. “Because I wanted to surprise you.”
When I met Sawyer, everything was falling apart—even things I didn’t know about yet. But now—with his hand in mine and his ring on my finger—everything feels like it’s coming together.
“Can I make a request?” I peer up into his eyes, through the tousled hair that hangs over his forehead. The stars bear witness to the water gently lapping the side of the boat and the sparkle in his eye.
“Anything.”
“For our honeymoon… can we take a real one? Maybe, I dunno…” I bite my lip, drop my gaze to his tie, straighten the loosened knot. “Maybe a cruise?” Somehow, I manage to hold in my laughter until I hear his. He pulls back and sets the champagne down, then takes my face in his hands. He shakes as he presses his mouth to mine, firm and hot and sweet.
“Gwendolyn Pierce-Dawson, I think that is o-fish-ally the best idea I’ve heard today.” His lips meet my cheeks, my nose, my forehead.
“No, Sawyer Dawson-Pierce.” I wink at him. “The best idea of the day was us getting married.”
“Def-fin-itely.”
