“I said I want to marry you.” He licks his lips and smiles. “I guess I should have planned this a little better. I don’t have a ring. But I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I want you, Juliet. I don’t ever want to be without you.”
My lower lip trembles and I gape at him. Is he really saying what I think he’s saying?
“Are you sure about this?” I ask.
“I’m completely sure. Being here with you tonight made me realize I can’t let this chance go.” He puts a hand on the side of my face. “I’m sorry, I know you probably wanted a big proposal. And maybe this is too soon. You don’t have to answer me now. I can ask again when I can do it right. I just… I want you to know how I feel.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head.
“No?”
“Wait, not no to what you just asked,” I say. “I mean no, it’s not too soon, and no, I don’t need a big proposal. I don’t need that at all. And we can get a ring whenever. I don’t need any of that. I just need you.”
A wide smile spreads across his face, his dimples standing out beneath his stubble. “Is that a yes? You’ll marry me?”
“Yes,” I say, my eyes stinging with tears. “Yes, I will absolutely marry you.”
He brings his lips to mine and I wrap my arms around his neck. I’m giddy, ready to burst. Nothing with Finn has been what I expected, or could have planned for.
It’s been better.
Number of times I’ve regretted falling in love with Finn: zero.
And I never will.
Can’t get enough Jetty Beach? Lucas and Becca’s story, Could Be the One is coming soon!
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About the Book
Who else wants to move to Jetty Beach?
After finishing Must Be Home (Hunter and Emma’s story), I knew I wasn’t finished with our favorite beach town. I had an idea for a trio of friends who meet at the local Irish Pub, and those would be my three new heroes—one of them being Gabriel Parker.
But this isn’t Gabe’s story, you say. This is Finn!
I know. I started writing Gabe’s story (he’s Emma’s brother, and Clover’s boss). I was going to start with him, and move onto his two good friends, Finn and Lucas.
And then Finn happened.
I couldn’t get Finn out of my mind. The imagine of him leaning against the bar, running a clean white towel across the shiny surface, grinning at the poor girl whose weekend got derailed…
So I decided I needed to write Finn’s story.
I knew it was going to be a whirlwind romance—something that took both characters by surprise. And what better way to make a whirlwind romance more intense than by pairing easygoing, no-worries-for-the-future Finn with a type A planner who always worries about the future.
Juliet shares one key characteristic with me—her overthinking. I’m an expert overthinker. I taught her all she knows. In other ways, she’s a very different person from me, but in that, I feel her pain. Meeting Finn, and falling for him so fast, gave her a lot of overthinking fodder.
Finn had a couple hard lessons in life can suck, and he’s made some big decisions about his future based on those experiences. That clashes with Juliet’s need to know what the future holds, and these two almost walk away from the best thing that ever happened to them.
Fortunately, they both wise up and realize they can meet in the middle.
The chemistry between these two was probably my favorite part about this story. They’re so hot for each other so quickly. And Finn’s, ahem, proficiency in certain areas certainly doesn’t hurt. But their physical chemistry goes crazy, and leads them on a roller coaster of emotions neither of them were expecting. It was a lot of fun to write.
There are at least two more Jetty Beach stories coming. Lucas and Becca are in for a wild ride soon, and then yes, finally, I will come back to Gabriel Parker. Gabe’s story is going to have to be something else. I’ve made him (and you!) wait an awfully long time for it.
Thanks for reading!
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About the Author
Claire Kingsley writes smart, sexy romances. She’s in love with love, and finds inspiration in the stories of broken people who find love and healing together—with a generous dose of steam.
She can’t imagine life without coffee, her Kindle, and the sexy heroes who inhabit her imagination. She’s living out her own happily ever after in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three kids.
Join Alpha Ever After, my Facebook reader group. Come hang out with me!
@clairekingsley1
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Could Be Forever: (Finn and Juliet) (A Back to Jetty Beach Romance Book 1) Page 18
