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“I love you,” I whisper dreamily. Even when I thought he’d betrayed me, the love was still there, causing an endless amount of pain. Now it’s only peace and happiness. I should have trusted him, but from now on, I won’t let fear get in the way of my true feelings. He’s taken away everything I need to fear. The future is bright now, because of him. “I love you so much, Brian.”
Then I realize I’ve said both those things out loud. So lost in the afterglow of being in his strong arms, with the future no longer a scary, unsure place, I blurted out my feelings. I look up at him in horror, hoping by some miracle he might have fallen asleep.
He’s wide awake and smiling at me. Not condescendingly, but with pure adoration. I don’t even need him to say the words in return because I can read it on his face. I can hardly breathe from happiness.
“I love you, too,” he tells me. “So damn much.”
“Is this weird? Because it happened so fast?”
He shrugs. “Who cares if it is. I know what I’m feeling.”
“Me too,” I say. “I think I might have even gotten over it if you’d turned this place into condos.”
He looks shocked. “I mean, I could still make that happen. You want to own some buildings?”
I snicker because he’s clearly teasing. “You’d never do it. Not now.” To my surprise, he turns serious and takes my face in his hands.
“How do you know that?” he asks. “That I wouldn’t build anything here but a house for me and you?”
“Oh, we’re both living in it now?” I feel so bold and free around him that it’s easy to tease him back a little. He taps my nose.
“You know we are. Now why are you so sure I wouldn’t develop this land?”
“Because you love me. Because I made you remember that life is more than just making money.”
His mouth drops open. “That’s exactly right.”
“It’s the same as why I’d come around if you wanted to build them,” I say, feeling wise, like I’m the older one in this relationship. Brian looks at me expectantly and I kiss him before I answer. “Because being with you is being home,” I tell him, placing my hand on his chest. “My very own beach in your heart.”
Epilogue
Brian
Eight years later
It’s barely past dawn and the water is still dark, but the rusty morning light gleams off my gorgeous wife’s dark hair, slicked down her back. Her strong legs straddle her board and she stares at the horizon with a slight scowl on her face.
“Where are the waves, Mom?”
Our seven-year-old daughter, Ava, a perfect blend of Clarice and me, is astride her own small board, kicking the water impatiently. She’s already adept at swimming and bodysurfing, and she’s been hitching rides with us on our boards since she was a toddler. We finally agreed she needed her own board and that this morning was calm enough to let her give it a go. A bit too calm, but that’s fine by me. I still get a little nervous when I see my daredevil wife shooting into a curl that’s twice her height, but we’ve made sure to follow all the safety precautions with Ava. She’s already planning on being a lifeguard when she’s old enough, now that Whitecross City Beach has two towers and a dedicated roster. Even I take a shift every once in a while, since I cut back on office hours.
“Maybe we can try again after school,” Clarice tells her, because it’s clear the waves aren’t cooperating.
“But Daddy won’t be home,” she says. “Surfing is a family sport.”
“I can rearrange my afternoon,” I tell her, reveling in her smile, a perfect, miniature replica of her mother’s.
Clarice reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze. “You sure you can?”
I nod. Of course I can. I gave up my offices in New York the moment I put a ring on Clarice’s finger, along with a lot of superfluous business that took up way too much of my time. Time I wanted to spend with Clarice. Surfing, getting our house ready to live in, helping her start her massage business.
I can’t help but laugh, making both my girls look at me strangely.
“Are you secretly happy I can’t catch a wave by myself?” Ava accuses.
“No,” I say, splashing her and blocking with my arm as she splashes me back. “I was just thinking how perfect everything is. Our life is absolutely perfect just the way it is.”
“You always say that,” she says. “The water isn’t perfect today.”
