by S. E. Rose
Another round of applause and “congrats” occurs and a ton of hugs. Once that dies down, Vanessa tells everyone to enjoy the food. We all dig in and people separate into various groups around the house and around the fire pit out back. It’s a typical family gathering with lots of jokes and laughter.
The next morning everyone is up super early. We crowd onto the yacht and Jesse takes it out for us. My girl wants to be up on the top deck surveying for fish and, of course, dolphins. We’re alone up there as the sun slowly starts to rise over the horizon. It’s a breathtaking morning and as if Mother Nature planned it for me, a pod of dolphins begins to jump and play just a few hundred yards away from us.
“Oh look,” Melissa squeals with delight, grabbing my arm and pointing. I smile and pull her back against me, wrapping my arms around her. I know this is the moment, but I’m nervous as fucking hell. I kiss the back of her head and then slowly drop down to one knee behind her. She stays standing and doesn't turn for a moment, so I pull out the ring. The ring that is shaped in a silver wave pattern that ends with a dolphin jumping and a two-carat stone buried on the wave under the dolphin. I had it made for her after she pointed out a similar ring in a catalog months ago.
She finally turns and gasps when she sees me on my knee. Her eyes well with tears.
“Melissa, I knew you were the one the second I laid eyes on you. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. And you’re also the kindest, smartest, and funniest. I love everything about you, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. You’ve rocked my world, beautiful, and I want to spend every breath, every day for the rest of my life rocking yours. Be mine, Mel, be mine forever,” I end on a whisper, and she nods ferociously.
“Yes,” she breathes. And then louder says, “Yes!”
I rise up and slide the ring on her finger and pull her into a kiss. All the tension leaves my body as I take her in my arms.
She pulls back and looks down at the ring and laughs. “I love it,” she says. She whips out her phone and takes a selfie of us with the sunrise and dolphins in the background and the ring front and center.
“Oh darn, I think it’s too early to call my parents and brother,” she says. Their relationship continues to improve, and I’m happy for her. I don’t think they’ll ever be as close as my family, but it’s better and that makes me so happy for her.
I grin. “It’s alright, beautiful, they already know,” I say.
She gapes at me.
I chuckle. “I asked your dad for permission a few weeks ago,” I say.
“Seriously?” She raises an eyebrow, clearly incredulous.
“Yes, seriously. I’m old school. What can I say?”
She laughs. “Right…old school,” she says and then squeals in delight as she looks at her hand again.
“Shall we go tell everyone?” I ask her.
She smiles and nods, and I pull her against me for a moment longer watching the sky change colors from purple to orange to blue. I savor this moment with just us knowing about our future. It feels right, and I love it, I love her.
Of course, as soon as we step onto the bottom deck and Zoe spies the ring she gasps and jumps up and down, waking Viv who starts crying and then everyone descends on us to see what is going on. We are suddenly inundated by hugs and “congratulations” and kisses. Vanessa pulls out champagne and sparkling cider and starts serving everyone. Normally, they have staff to run their yacht but with everyone on board, they decided to make it a family-run trip, and I have to say, I’m kinda digging it.
I stand back and look at my family as I wrap my arms around Melissa and pull her back against me, tucking her head under my chin. Everything is as it should be, finally. We are all together, no more danger, no more loss, just love. They say “home is where the heart is” and looking around at my family, holding my love in my arms, I know that my heart is most definitely at home.
Nick’s Playlist
“Nightmares” by Easy Life
“I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas
“Life in Technicolor” by Coldplay
“Lovesong” by The Cure
“Inevitable” by Anberlin
“Try Everything” by Shakira
“Something I Need” by OneRepublic
“Finding You” by Kesha
“Addicted to You” by Shakira
“Under the Tide” by CHVRCHES
“Stranger Things” by Kygo
“Unconditionally” by Katy Perry
“Nobody Else Will Be There” The National
“Soldier” by Civil Twilight
“Lost Boy” by Ruth B.
“Rise Up” by Imagine Dragons
“Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People
“This Is War” by 30 Seconds to Mars
“Livin’ On The Edge” by Aerosmith
“Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars
“Won’t Back Down (feat. Pink)” by Eminem
“You Belong to Me” by The Boxer Rebellion
Acknowledgments
When I finished writing this book, a year ago, I wasn’t sure where this writing journey would take me. All I knew was that I wanted to share my stories with people, and I hoped a few of them might enjoy those stories.
There are so many people I have thanked along the way. You know who you are, the readers, my family and friends, my betas, my editor, my cover designer, my computer tech expert, my author friends, and probably so many more that I haven’t included.
But mostly, I want to dedicate this book to the dreamers in the world. Don’t wait to try to live your dreams, go out and seize the day now! It may not go how you expect it to, but at least you can say you tried, and you’ll definitely have experiences you wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Thank you to my readers for coming along on this journey with me. I hope you have fallen in love with this family as much as I have. I look forward to introducing you to some more folks soon!
About the Author
S.E. Rose lives in the DMV. And if you know what that means, then you know where she lives. She currently resides with her husband, two children, and always at least two cats and usually other random creatures her children decide they need. While she works at a desk during the day, her evenings and weekends are devoted to writing and editing her romance novels. She loves all things wine, coffee, tea, and dark chocolate, that’s right dark chocolate. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, traveling, going to concerts, and reading.
Learn more about upcoming books from S.E. Rose at www.seroseauthor.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @seroseauthor. She has many other social media accounts and you can find them all at: https://linktr.ee/seroseauthor. Did you like this book/series? Don’t forget to leave a review!!
Books by S.E. Rose
Series:
Portentous Destiny Series
Island (Book 1)
Secrets (Book 2)
Bravura (Book 3)
Determination (Book 4)
Home (Book 5)
Novels:
Chronicles of a Hot Mess
The Decoy
Novellas:
Neighbor in Apartment No. 5
The Tinsel Tango
