“You can turn around now, but keep your eyes closed, and you’ll see soon what the game is.”
Confused, I turned around, squeezing my eyes closed just as the lyrics to the song started. My hands flew to my mouth as I heard the beginning words. “Carter.” Tears sprung to my eyes.
“Open your eyes.”
When I saw him kneeled on the sand, I dropped to my knees in front of him.
“That’s not how this is supposed to go,” he joked, his voice wavering. “You’re supposed to be standing up.”
“I want to be right here, with you. I always want to be wherever you are. What is this song?”
He grasped my hands with his, and I could feel him shaking. “This song is Marry Me by Train. Julia Aylen Gibbons, I’m so in love with you. You’ve changed my life, and I can’t imagine anything better than spending my life being your husband. Will you marry me?”
Carter pulled a ring out of his pocket, and the tears escaped down my cheeks. It was a gorgeous solitaire that went with my earrings. My hands shook as he took my left hand, looking at me for an answer.
I flung myself into his arms, knocking both of us backwards onto the sand, me on top of him. The song continued to play from his phone, the lyrics surrounding us. “Yes. One thousand percent yes, Carter. Oh, my . . . I had no idea. I wasn’t sure . . .”
Carter closed his lips over mine, silencing both of us. We were engaged. Carter McIntyre wanted to marry me.
JULIA LAID ON TOP OF me, her body pressed to mine, and our mouths fused together, both of us pouring our elation at what had just happened into each other. She said yes. I’d been a complete wreck the entire day and ended up telling my parents what I had planned. I couldn’t wait to take Julia back up to my family and tell them the good news. They were getting their first daughter-in-law. I was going to get married. Who knew? Five months ago, I’d flown to Denver with the hopes of my life changing with the best job in the world. Instead, what I got was my life changed by the best woman in the world, and she was going to be mine. Forever. Julia Gibbons would become Julia McIntyre. I’d only had that name myself for a few years, and now I was going to start my own family with it. I’d come full circle.
It wasn’t like I thought she’d say no, but I’d decided the day after we left her parents standing open-mouthed in their office that she was it for me, and I wanted to make it official. I’d bought the ring that day and had been carrying it around since, just waiting for the right time. Once we’d made the plan to be here at the beach for New Years, I knew it was perfect. Not only was it a new start, a new year, but I could propose to her on the same beach that was instrumental in my parents’ love story. I couldn’t wait to tell Hayden that now both of us were settling down and getting married.
Julia’s hands were on my face, which was her favorite thing to do while we kissed. She stroked the hair there, then through my hair and back again, running her fingers along my ears and neck before pulling away. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but I knew she wasn’t sad.
I still had the ring on the tip of my finger, so I sat us up, Julia straddling me as I lifted her hand again and slid the ring on the correct finger. It fit perfectly. The diamond shone in the moonlight.
“I’ll never forget this moment, right here,” she whispered. “I can’t believe it. We’re engaged.”
“You’re mine. For good now.”
Julia nodded. “I can’t wait to be yours forever, Carter. I love you.”
I kissed her finger, the one that now symbolized our dedication to each other. “I love you, Julia. I can’t wait, either. I never knew what I was missing before you. Now I know I couldn’t live without it.”
“You know you say you don’t know what you did to deserve me? Well, I don’t know what I did to deserve you. You make me believe in myself. You help me see myself the way you see me. I thought my life was full before you; that I didn’t need anything or anyone else. I was wrong. I needed you. I need you now, and I always will.”
We held on to each other for a long time, neither of us speaking or moving, just soaking in what had happened.
“Let’s go tell my parents the good news. I’m sure it’s killing them right now.”
Julia stood, holding out her hand for me. “You told them?”
“Yes. I needed my dad to calm me down. I was a wreck. You didn’t notice?”
“I thought you were just upset over leaving your family tomorrow.”
I slung my arm over her shoulders as we walked back up the beach. “I’ll miss them, but you’re my family now, Julia. Wherever you are is where I want to be.”
“That’s the last box, I think,” I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead. Winter or not, moving all of Julia’s stuff into my apartment had been hard work. We’d had help, thankfully, but that girl had way more stuff than I originally thought.
Julia walked up to me and handed me a water bottle. The sunlight caught the ring on her finger, and I smiled. It had been over a week since we’d gotten engaged, but seeing the reminder on her hand every day kept a permanent smile on my face. We’d been working every day with Colorado Cares since we got back, and it looked like Colby was going to make it work for me to do the remainder of my internship in their corporate offices. They were interested in designing a new corporate headquarters and adding some affordable green technology to their homes, so it looked like I might have a place after all. Julia was already on the payroll as of the day we got home, so for now we decided to stay in Colorado. Our friends were throwing us an engagement party tonight at our favorite hangout. Hayden had been so excited when I’d called him, suggesting we have a double wedding. I wasn’t so sure about that, but it would be fun to start our married life sometime around each other. Though he was starting on two paths at the same time, and I wasn’t sure we were quite ready for that yet.
“I think I should clean you up,” Julia said.
I lifted an eyebrow at her while I downed the water. “Oh yeah?”
“Uh huh. What do you say we leave these boxes for later? Did Colby and Ethan go home?”
“Yes. They’re meeting us later for the party.”
“Well, good. Then I think we need to celebrate our official move-in-together day.”
I didn’t need to be asked twice. I allowed her to pull me to the bathroom and strip me down. We stepped into the warm water together. This shower was perfect for sharing.
The water ran down her hair, and I smoothed it away from her face. She squirted some shampoo into her hand and reached up to put it in my hair. I bent down, sliding my arms around her waist.
“I’ll work like that every day if I get this sort of treatment afterwards.” I closed my eyes against the sensation of her nails against my scalp as she washed the grime away.
“You do work hard every day,” she commented, kissing my neck and down my chest. Julia turned and grabbed the body wash, lathering some on a washcloth as I watched her, my desire for her compounding with every second.
She smirked at my obvious physical response at what she was doing. “I’ll take care of that in a minute.” She took her time with the washcloth, making sure I was squeaky clean.
“Julia . . .”
“Patience,” she teased, running her hands along my body. “Put your head in the water and let me rinse your hair.” I did as she requested, groaning when she used one hand to wash the shampoo out of my hair and the other to follow the trail of water down my body, stopping to caress my desire for her.
“I think you’re all clean,” she said through her kisses, her mouth making its way down my body.
“But you aren’t,” I groaned, holding onto her as her mouth found it’s target. “Julia . . .” I watched for as long as I could take it and then lifted her up. “My turn.”
“But I wasn’t done.”
“You’re done. Now come here.” I pinned her against the wall, lifting her arms and twining our hands together. I bent, kissing down her body as far as I could reach before working my way back up.
“Turn around.”
She listened, and I held her shapely breasts in my hands as I entered her. “Let’s play a game.”
She shook her head. “No. No game.”
“You’ll like this game,” I said, biting her neck as our bodies moved together. “Do you want to know the game?”
She whimpered, moving my hand so I could touch here where she needed me. “Yes.”
I put my lips to her ear, the warm water running in between our two bodies. “Let’s see how many times I can make you call out my name in this shower. I say five.”
“What . . . do . . . I . . . get . . . if . . . you . . . win? Or. .if. .I. .win?”
“Well, we both win,” I growled. “Because every time I send you over the edge, baby, you’re going to call my name. And if you get to five, well then you’ll be very pleased, and so will I. It’s a win-win situation.”
There was no more talking.
“Julia?” I smiled, knowing how excited she was going to be when she saw what I had.
“I’m almost ready,” she called out. We were getting ready to head out for our engagement party.
I stepped into the master bathroom and smiled at my beautiful fiancée. “I have something you may want.” I held out the envelope and her eyes zeroed in on it.
“What is it?” Julia dropped the brush she’d been holding and turned to face me. I handed it to her, watching her face carefully. I knew the second she realized what it was because her hands shook as she opened the envelope. “He wrote me back,” she whispered.
Julia unfolded the sheet of paper, and I stepped next to her, putting my arm around her shoulders as I saw Johnny’s scrawled handwriting on the page. It had been forwarded from her address to mine, so he must’ve written it not long after she’d sent hers.
“Julia,” the letter began. “Thank you for your letter. I love you more than anything in this world, and I’ll always protect you. You’re my little sister, and your happiness and safety is the most important thing to me. I can endure anything if I know you’re okay. Carter is a great man, and I’m so glad you’ve found him. You don’t have to be sorry for anything. I didn’t want you to know, but now I understand you needed to. Even if it’s another nine years before I get to hug you outside of this place, I am going to get out. When I do, this will all be behind us, and you’ll be safe. I hope to see you at next visitation, but I understand if you can’t. Love always, Johnny.”
“We missed visitation while we were gone,” Julia lifted tear-filled eyes to mine. “He thinks I don’t love him.”
I shook my head. “No, he doesn’t. Write him back and explain. We’ll make sure we go together next month.”
She nodded. “Okay. I think he’ll forgive me for not coming once he finds out all that’s happened since we last saw him.”
“Of course he will.” I tipped her head back so she had to look me in the eyes. “Julia, I know you haven’t had the best example from your parents, but it’s part of what love and family are about. Johnny gets that, even if your parents don’t. Johnny will always love you, Julia. No matter what.”
She stared at me, and I could tell she was taking in everything I’d said to her. Finally, she smiled. “You’re right, as usual. Maybe you should listen to your own words, too.”
It was my turn to be confused. She waited patiently, until the light bulb went off. Ronan. He hadn’t been the best example of love and family, but I’d moved on from it. Hadn’t I? Hmm, guess I’d have to think about that.
I took the letter and placed it down on the counter, wrapping her in my arms. “Let’s go have fun tonight, okay? It’s our party.”
“To the happy couple,” Tracey lifted her glass. The rest of the table followed, including Julia and I. “Congratulations. May you have a lifetime of happiness.” We all clinked glasses and took a drink. Julia leaned over and kissed me, causing the entire table to say ‘awww’ simultaneously.
“When’s the big day going to be?” Paige asked. “And where is it going to be?” Zeke was sitting next to her, and it almost looked like they were an item. I made a mental note to ask Julia about that later.
“We’re not sure yet,” Julia answered. “We just got our job situation solidified and I finished moving in. So now we can focus on what’s going to happen next. I don’t think I want to wait too long, and I don’t want a huge event. Just close friends and family. We hadn’t talked about where to have it. A destination wedding would be kind of fun, wouldn’t it, baby?”
I didn’t care where I married her, just that I got to promise to love her forever in front of God and everyone we cared about. “You mean a Florida wedding?”
She nodded. “On Sanibel.”
No one else at the table knew the significance of that place but us. I lifted her hand and kissed it. “You’re amazing.”
Julia’s phone rang, and she dug in her purse for it. Her face went pale when she saw the name on the screen.
“What is it?” I took the phone from her. Dad was on the screen.
“You don’t need to answer it,” I said. “We’re at our engagement party. Let’s just have fun.”
She nodded, sliding the phone back in her purse and picking up her drink. A moment later, the phone dinged with a voicemail. I wondered what he would want with her at this point. I’d planned to take her apartment keys to him myself, so she didn’t have to see him. It still burned me up that they hadn’t contacted her at all since the day in the office. Then again, these were the same people that kicked their son out at eighteen for not agreeing with them. I wondered how different Johnny’s life would’ve turned out had they been supportive of him and what he wanted for his own life.
One of my favorite songs, The Fighter, came on. “Jules, let’s go dance.” She smiled, grabbing my hand and letting me lead her to the small dance floor. This song perfectly summed up both of us, and I wanted her to get her mind off of why her dad had called.
Wrapping her in my arms, I swayed with her. “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it. For now, let’s have fun together. We’ve fought so hard to get here, let’s just enjoy it.”
She tipped her face back and that dimple popped. “You’re right. Tonight has been fabulous. We’ll deal with reality tomorrow.”
Julia sipped her coffee while I whipped us up some eggs, both of us quiet. It had been a late night, and we’d probably had too many ‘celebratory’ drinks. I knew she was worried about the voice mail she still hadn’t checked from her father.
“Play me a song,” I said. “Breakfast is almost ready.”
Julia reached for her phone and clicked a few times. Music notes filled the kitchen. I didn’t recognize the song, but that was usual for us. I listened to the lyrics for a minute.
“What is this?”
She looked up at me, tears in her eyes. “‘Where it All Begins’ by Hunter Hayes and Lady Antebellum.”
“Why are you upset?”
She shook her head. “I’m not. Just happy. These lyrics are exactly how I feel about you, Carter. I feel like my life just began since you came into it.”
“I like this song,” I said, sliding a plate of eggs in front of her. “And I feel the same way, baby. I think we need to play this at our wedding. It’s perfect.”
A knock at the door made both of us look up in surprise. It was rather early for visitors, and I didn’t usually have company unannounced.
Julia stood up to go back to our room since she was dressed in only a tee shirt and a thong. Our room. I loved the sound of that. I walked to the door, hoping it wasn’t someone trying to sell me something or convert my religion.
I didn’t expect to see Mr. Gibbons standing at the door with his wife right behind him. I thought immediately of the voice mail Julia hadn’t listened to. They were both wearing casual clothes and looked like they hadn’t slept in days.
“Hi,” I said, blocking the doorway with my body. Stay in the room, Julia, I willed her.
“Carter, we’re sorry to interrupt you so early. I ass
ume since Julia’s moved out of her apartment that she’s here?” Mrs. Gibbons wrung her hands, looking obviously upset.
I crossed my arms. “Does this have to do with you calling her last night?”
“We need to speak to both of you,” Mr. Gibbons said. “It’s important. Can we please come in? Is Julia here?”
I sighed, wishing I could go back to our room and warn her at what she was about to walk out to. “Come on in. Julia’s in our room.”
Her parents nodded, following me silently into the family room. “I’ll be right back. Please have a seat.”
I hurried to the bedroom, smiling when I saw her in a pair of tight jeans and a long sweater. She was leaned over the bathroom counter, applying mascara to her long eyelashes. Her hair was braided down one side. Julia looked over at me as I walked in. “Who was it?”
I sighed. “Your parents are here.”
She stood straight up. “What?”
“They want to talk to us.”
“I never listened to his voicemail.”
“I know. I guess he figured out you were gone from your apartment so they came here.”
“Are they . . . mad?” Even after everything, she was still intimidated by them.
“No. And they won’t disrespect you in my home, Julia. Our home. So we’ll listen to what they have to say, but if they cross the line even once, I’ll escort both of them out of here.”
She nodded. “Okay. Let’s get it over with.”
We walked down the hallway, Julia gripping my hand for dear life. When she saw her parents sitting on our couch, she stiffened. We sat on the loveseat across from them.
“Julia, you’re looking well,” Mrs. Gibbons said. Mr. Gibbons looked at both of us but didn’t say a word.
Julia nodded. “What are you doing here?”
John leaned forward and opened the briefcase that was on the coffee table. “I called you last night to tell you this, but it’s better to show you in person, anyway.”
Julia leaned forward. “What is it?”
John started laying out papers on the table, all pictures of men with information printed under it. The word DECEASED was stamped across all of them. It had to be at least twenty sheets of paper.
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