by Leigh James
I squeezed his hands and fought back tears.
"That's what I was trying to tell you at your mother's. You are my total market disruptor. You're the thing that's changed everything for me. I can't go back to the way life was before you. I've evolved. You've evolved me." His thumb stroked my knuckles. "And I love you for it. I love you, Blakey."
"I love you, too." I let the tears fall. We weren't hiding anything anymore.
"So, will you marry me? Again?"
"Of course I will. Do you mean it?"
He stood up and pulled me into his arms. "Of course I mean it. I mean it so much, I invited your mother, my dad, Serena, Robert, Jake, my cousin James and his wife, Nikki and your other friends—hell, I even invited Elena—up here this weekend so that we could renew our vows. Because even though you're already my wife, I want you to know that I really want you to be my wife."
"Oh. Wow." My shoulders shook as I cried. "You're the one."
"That's right, babe. I'm the one. And you're the one for me."
Epilogue
LUCAS
Turks and Caicos
Three Years Later
"Pull up over there." I motioned toward an inlet.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" the captain asked.
"Yeah, are you sure you want to do this?" my father asked. He was sitting on the boat, next to his new wife, Cindy, who was twenty years his junior—a respectable fifty-something.
At first, he'd refused to divorce Elizabeth, even after I'd shown him the pictures and informed him that she'd shown up at the Four Seasons to go to bed with me. She'd met Ian instead, and much to her chagrin, he'd taken a picture of her as proof.
My father, dirty old man that he was, initially said he thought it was sort of hot… But eventually, I think he realized that he wasn't going to be able to keep up with her and her varied, insatiable, and morally questionable appetite. So now he had a Cindy, and they played golf together. I even thought my mother would approve.
"Yes, I'm sure!" I barked. Blake eyed me nervously but loyal as ever, said nothing.
Serena sniffed. "You don't have to be rude to Dad." Robert wrapped an arm around her and shushed her. "Stop telling me to be quiet!" She laughed as he nuzzled her face and shushed her again. They'd been remarried for almost two years, but they were still acting like newlyweds.
We'd invited everyone to come out to the island for vacation. In addition to my father, Cindy, Serena, and Robert, Blake's mother was back at the house watching the baby, Lou, while she napped. Our two-year-old, Fletcher, was on the boat with us. Jake and Nikki had each respectively begged off for undisclosed reasons. They'd both been suspiciously avoiding our calls since the senate had resumed its session.
James and Audrey said they had three baseball tournaments and a banquet to attend, so they couldn't make it, either.
I'd invited Shirley, who was now my vice president of operations, but she and her husband were currently vacationing in Scotland on the Outlander tour.
Thankfully, Chelsea was in Texas, auditioning for The Bachelor Pad, and couldn't come either. She'd given the last guy on The Bachelorette a rose, but they ended up at an impasse. She was still on the hunt for Mr. Right-and-Rich. She and Blake had made a sort of peace, at Blake's mother's teary request, when we'd had Fletcher. I didn't have to like it, but as Blake’s husband, I did have to pretend to support her.
I grabbed the spear gun and ignored everyone. "Daddy!" Fletcher, cried, looking afraid of the thing.
I laughed and ruffled his hair. "Don't you worry. Daddy is an expert. At everything. Just ask Mommy."
Blake came over, taking Fletcher's chubby hand and watching nervously as I climbed down the ladder and precariously balanced the spear gun. "You don't have to do this," she whispered, "Not for me. I've made my peace with Dwayne. That was the day I knew you loved me."
I snorted. "That fish scared you, and I'm going to pay him back. He's been terrorizing French Cay for years!"
Fletcher's face puckered, as if he were about to cry.
"Don't worry, honey. Daddy isn't going to hurt the fish," Blake lied. "He just wants to go see him."
Fletcher shot her a look that cried bullshit, but he took after me, so he was smart and didn't say anything. Or maybe it was because he was just two, I couldn't be sure. He watched me solemnly as I climbed down the ladder and adjusted my mask. Then I let go and, clutching the spear gun, went under the aqua waves.
I snorkeled toward the reef. There were thousands of brightly colored fish. I spotted puffers and parrotfish, an eel, and a stingray.
No sign of Dwayne.
He could be dead by now, I reasoned. Barracuda could live as long as fifteen years, but we'd first seen him three years ago. He'd been a legend then. Maybe he'd gone to barracuda heaven.
I looked for a long time, crisscrossing the surface near the reef and occasionally diving down. When I still didn't see him, I had to admit defeat. Mostly because I didn't want to scare poor Fletcher and worry Blake. I reluctantly headed back for the boat. Just as I was about to surface, I thought I saw a flash of silver, but when I turned, it was gone.
If that was you, you old goat… thank you. Because the afternoon that Dwayne had scared the bejeebles out of Blake was the afternoon I was sure I loved her. I'd had an inkling before, but that was the day I still thought of when I looked back at the beginning.
I still wanted to put a spear through him, though. So I could mount him on my wall.
"No luck," I said, climbing the ladder. I pulled off my mask and handed a relieved-looking captain the unused spear.
"Aw, honey, that's too bad," Blake said, rubbing my arm.
"I might hire someone to come out here and try to find him—" I started.
"But you won't," Blake continued for me, "because you've evolved."
"Right. Thank you for evolving me, Mrs. Ford."
She grinned at me, which still gave me a thrill. "Anytime, Mr. Ford. Anytime."
Afterword
I hope you enjoyed this book. I love Lucas and Blake, and I hope you enjoyed their story!
Sign up for my mailing list at www.leighjamesbooks.com to be notified of my next release, as well as all my news and special sales!
Special Thanks
Thank-you to my readers! Every single one of you lights up my days. I love hearing from you. You are why I do this!
Thank you to my friends and family. You are always supportive, even when I'm wearing the same shirt two days in a row and am looking at you with a blank, writing-induced stare. I heart you.
Thank-you to my Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Frank for having me up to Acadia so many summers. It's a beautiful place to visit and to write about! And I, like Lucas, once met Martha Stewart in person at a Mexican restaurant in Acadia. She was lovely!
Thank-you to Suzi, Michael, Amy, and Kelsey for telling me about their respective adventures in Turks and Caicos. I've never been (*sniffle*), but it's totally on my bucket list.
Maybe I'll even have a Dwayne sighting.
I could not write without the love and enduring support of my husband and my three beautiful, patient, kind children. You guys make every day worth it.
Special thanks to Neila Forssberg, Red Adept Editing and Dana Waganer for your great work and support.
And a special shout-out to my mom, who is always ready with a pep talk, and who always told me to never give up.
About the Author
Leigh James is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. She is a vocal lover of strapping Alpha males in movies, books and real life, which makes her three kids roll their eyes and makes her husband feel appreciated. When she's not writing, you can usually find her reading or watching Outlander, Game of Thrones, and Vikings (see penchant for Alpha males, above). She has a degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire (which is good for deadlines and word counts) and a law degree from Suffolk University School of Law (which sounds good in her author bio).
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