The early May temperatures were ideal; the slightest breeze blew and rustled the dune grass. The weather wasn’t too hot or humid, and everything was perfect for our small gathering. Drew sat beside me, beautiful and glowing in a plum maternity dress. She was as big as a house and never stopped complaining about it, but Gavin doted on her, and took her bitchy attitude with a grain of salt. In fact, he was looking at her with as much love in his eyes as he’d had when they’d broken the news to us eight months ago. She was due at the end of this month, just over three weeks to go, and while she wasn’t supposed to be traveling so far from home and her doctor, she’d refused to miss this. Deep down she loved Silas; she just didn’t like to admit it.

Gavin sat next to her, a heavy arm wrapped around her shoulders, caressing the bare skin of her arm. She turned and laughed at something he said and then pecked him on the lips. I could see happiness dancing in their eyes, and the only thing that made me sad was that they lived so far away.

Justin’s parents sat beside Justin. They looked just like him and were so sweet and supportive. Silas had married into a loving family and I couldn’t have been happier. He’d never had that; I’d been his only family for so long. He deserved to know what love and acceptance felt like. Justin’s parents were also happy because Silas and Justin had set up their permanent residence near them. I was overjoyed that Silas would be less than a half hour from me. Life was finally falling into place.

“A toast to the beautiful couple.” Tristan raised his glass and everyone followed suit. “I would, without a doubt, be wildly jealous of another man cuddling with my girl on the couch watching sappy chick flicks, but thankfully, Silas likes boys, so as long as I don't have to watch those movies with her . . .” I trailed off as I winked at Georgia. She rolled her eyes back at me. “In all seriousness, Justin and Silas, you both deserve all the happiness in the world. Everyone deserves to find their other half, and I know both of you will cherish the love you've found for a lifetime.” I paused as soft clapping sounded around the table. “And a toast to the beautiful hostess. The last year has been the best of my life because you’ve been in it, Georgia. We didn’t always do things in a conventional way, and our love didn’t take a natural path, but it took the one it needed to take, and I’m just glad that my path led me here with you.” He stood and I raised my eyes at him in question. He pulled my chair out to face him before he dropped down on one knee and reached into the pocket of his dress pants.

“The last year you’ve made me so much happier than I could have ever imagined being. You bring light to my life in a way I never thought possible. I want to spend my life with you, wake up to you, fall asleep with you, fall asleep in you,” he murmured the last part under his breath. My cheeks flushed as a smile tugged at my lips. “I want to give you everything, experience everything with you. I want babies and minivans and family vacations and Christmases. I want to spend my life giving you everything you deserve. Will you spend yours with me?” Emotion swirled in his deep green orbs and I forgot to breathe. Once again, he took my breath away. He kept me on my toes and had me smiling and laughing more than anyone ever had. I loved every minute of it and I loved my life with him.

I nodded and sucked in a sharp breath. Mist fogged my vision. I laughed nervously, trying to hold back the tears.

“Will you marry me, Georgia?”

“Yes.” I nodded and lunged into his arms. He locked me in his embrace and held me so tightly I could barely breathe. He consumed me. I inhaled his scent and my eyes fluttered closed. I was as happy as I’d ever been.

“Let me get this ring on your finger.” Tristan pulled away and slipped a large cushion-cut diamond with pave diamonds surrounding the center and the sides on my finger. It was stunning. He’d chosen a ring that left me breathless, just like he did, every day.

Cheers and claps from our little group erupted.

“A toast for the newly engaged couple,” Justin sang as he lifted his glass. Everyone toasted around us. Tristan stood and lifted me with him. I was too scared to let go of him. Too scared that this couldn’t be real, couldn’t be my life.

“I’m so happy for you, love.” Silas leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek when I sat down.

“Did you know?” My teary eyes searched my best friend’s.

He nodded with a small smile. “He asked me.”

My heart cracked and love filled it even further. Tristan had asked Silas if he could marry me. I couldn’t even put into words how much that meant to me. My parents had been stolen from me and Silas was the only family I’d had for a long time. Tristan knew and respected that. The gesture alone clearly showed the love he had for me. How much he got me.

“You deserve beautiful, love.” Silas pulled my head into him, our foreheads pressed together and tears falling down my cheeks.

“You do too,” I murmured.

“I’ve got it,” he whispered and pecked me on the lips.

“I love you, Silas.”

“I love you too.” He kissed me on the tip of the nose before pulling away. I swallowed the lump in my throat and then turned back to Tristan. The love pooling in his eyes made me smile. He rested a warm hand on my thigh and squeezed. A little gesture to let me know he knew and understood. A sign that the love he had for me was even more than I had imagined. From the moment we’d met, our paths had been leading us here, regardless of what we'd wanted. It’d been inevitable.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you so much more.” He snagged my chin and planted a kiss on my lips. A grin broke out across my face as I shut my eyes.

“Thank you.” I meant for everything. For putting up with all we’d been through last summer and the indecision that had me torn every which way. For taking me back, for loving me, for asking me to marry him, for accepting me, for accepting my friends. For all of it.

“No problem,” he whispered as his lips lifted in a breathtaking smile.

24

“I’ve got an appointment. Do you want me to pick anything up for dinner?”

“What kind of appointment?” Tristan’s eyebrows knit together. He sat in his office chair, laptop open before him, fingers hovering over the keys.

“Therapy.”

“Yeah?” He pushed the chair away from his desk and held his arms open. “Come here.”

I stepped up to him and he wrapped his arms around my waist, fingers tracing small circles at the base of my spine. I threaded my fingers through his tousled hair; I think it soothed me as much as it helped to soothe him. “I did some research into alternative therapies. I’ve seen a therapist before, but it never really seemed to help much. There’s a guy at the University of North Carolina who practices a new type of therapy, focusing less on feelings and more on happy memories, accepting the past to live in the present. My appointment’s at one,” I finished softly.

“That’s great, baby,” he murmured before he lifted the hem of my shirt and placed a soft kiss on my belly.

“I’m excited. I just . . . need to do something. After last summer, I . . . I need to stop being tied to the past. I need to find a better way to live,” I murmured.

“Anything I can do?” His beautiful green eyes turned up to me.

“Whatever you’ve been doing is perfect.” I leaned down and pressed my lips to his in a kiss. He groaned and pulled me into his lap, my legs dangling over his knees. He traced his hands up under the hem of my shirt and up the length of my spine.

“Sure you don’t have five minutes?” he murmured before swiping one palm around the front of my ribcage and palming my breast through my bra.