The warm February air caressed her cheeks as she followed him toward a cabana in the distance. Natalie gasped, pointing to it. “Is that…?”
Shawn nodded, grinning. “Yeah, it’s the same cabana from last time.”
She laughed, quickening her pace. The memories of the painful words they’d said to each other that day two months ago had faded, allowing the good ones to shine through. The last two months had been blissful. Shawn had moved to Arizona, and his bonus from the cruise had been enough to get his online travel agency up and running. He’d launched last month with an endorsement from Toujour had made business explode, and he was now the official agent for all Toujour-related vacations and trips. Natalie had no doubt that Erickson Travel Agency would only continue to grow.
Last month had been a big month for Natalie, too. Her article had been published in World Traveler Magazine and gone viral. Everyone loved the story of the cruise ship employee and journalist student who fell in love in eight days. A few magazines and newspapers had offered her jobs when she graduated in May, but Natalie was considering starting her own blog instead. Shawn loved the idea, and both Tamera and Wyatt, as well as Brooke, had promised to help her publicize it any way, just like they’d done with Shawn’s travel agency.
Natalie slowly stepped up into the cabana with a gasp. The rough hewn wood planks had been swept free of sand. Christmas lights had been wrapped around the rafters and down the poles, twinkling softly in the growing darkness. Someone had set the table. Silver trays covered two plates of food. A plate of gooey chocolate chip cookies sat in the middle of the table, with two large glasses of milk beside it, condensation on the outside of the glasses.
“Shawn,” Natalie gasped. “How did you get this all arranged? I thought the cruise employees were still mad at you for ditching them.”
He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist. “They owed me a few favors. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Natalie laughed, turning around and giving him a kiss. Brooke and asked Shawn to come along on one last Toujour cruise while he trained Jorge, his replacement. It hadn’t been hard to convince him to come. Both Natalie and Shawn had cleared their schedules for a chance to reconnect on the ship where they’d first met.
“I thought it was time we make better memories in this spot,” Shawn said, holding out a chair for Natalie.
She laughed and let him help her sit down. “I concur.”
“I thought we’d eat dessert first—”
“Naturally,” Natalie cut it.
“—and then follow it up with dinner.” Shawn lifted the silver lid off her tray with a flourish.
Natalie laughed, clapping her hands. “All the foods I pelted you with when we first met?”
“Of course,” Shawn said. “What else?”
Natalie and Shawn enjoyed their dinner as the sun dipped lower in the sky. The brilliant oranges and pinks of a Mexican sunset painted the horizon while the ocean glittered in the fading light.
“It’s perfect,” Natalie declared, gazing out across the water.
“Not quite.” Shawn reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small box wrapped in red and white striped paper with a green bow on top.
Natalie accepted the present. “From my Secret Santa?” she teased.
“Maybe,” Shawn said.
The box was similar in size to the one he’d given her with the seashell Santa ornament, and she eager tore away the paper. One day, she hoped to have a tree filled with the adventures they’d experienced together. She’d seen a beautiful blown glass cruise ship in a gift shop on the island. It would be perfect for the collection.
The paper fell away and she lifted the lid. Natalie gasped, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest, as she removed a small velvet box.
“Shawn,” she said, her eyes flying up to meet his.
But he was no longer sitting across from her. Instead, he knelt in front of her, his bad leg stretched in front of him instead of bent. Tears filled Natalie’s eyes as she pushed back from the table and dropped to the floor beside him.
“Shawn,” she whispered again, this time with more emotion.
He grinned, taking the box from her hand and slowly opening it to reveal an emerald cut diamond set in a simple gold band.
“I know we haven’t been dating very long,” Shawn said, his voice low and husky. “Some people would say that even considering marriage after only three months of knowing each other is insane.”
Natalie laughed, taking his face between her hands. “Those same people would probably say falling in love in eight days is impossible.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “Then they’re idiots. I love you, Natalie, with my entire soul. And I don’t want to wait another day to start our lives together. I can’t promise that things will always be easy. But I can promise to always work through things together.”
“I love you so much,” Natalie said, kissing him. “Yes. Yes!”
He grinned. “I haven’t asked the question yet.”
She laughed, looping her hands around the back of his neck. “Get on with it, then.”
“Natalie James, will you marry me?”
“Absolutely.”
Shawn removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto her shaking ring finger. It slid into place easily, as though it was meant to be there. Natalie threw her arms around Shawn’s neck, pressing herself close as she lost herself in his kiss.
She didn’t know where they’d live after graduation—Arizona, or California, or Oklahoma. She didn’t know which magazine she’d accept a job offer with, if any of them. She didn’t know how long it would take to make Shawn’s travel agency successful. But none of that mattered.
With Shawn, it wasn’t about the destination.
It was about the journey.
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READ MORE BY LINDZEE ARMSTRONG
Want to find out what happens to Jase? Read Never Say Match and watch Jase fall in love in Sunset Plains!
Read all the books in the No Match for Love series.
Love your romance with a dash of suspense and mystery? Read Kiss Me in the Moonlight, book 1 in the Kiss Me series.
Read all the books in the Kiss Me series.
Want a romance that gives you all the feels? Read Tomorrow’s Lullaby, Lindzee’s inspirational romance novel.
Read all the books in the Chasing Tomorrow series.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lindzee Armstrong is the USA Today bestselling author of the No Match for Love series, Kiss Me series, and Chasing Tomorrow series. In case it wasn’t obvious, she’s always had a soft spot for love stories. In third grade, she started secretly reading romance novels, hiding the covers so no one would know (because hello, embarrassing!), and dreaming of her own Prince Charming.
Lindzee met her true love while at college, where she graduated with a bachelor’s in history education. They are now happily married and raising twin boys in the Rocky Mountains.
Like any true romantic, Lindzee loves chick flicks, ice cream, and chocolate. She believes in sigh-worthy kisses and happily ever afters, and loves expressing that through her writing.
To find out about future releases, you can join Lindzee’s reader’s club. You can also find her on Facebook, BookBub, or her website.
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Copyright © 2018 by Lindz
ee Armstrong
Published by Snowflake Press
All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author.
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