Mac turned in her arms, kissing her forehead. "But I'd do it all again. Every ridiculous thing. If it meant I got to keep you."
"You have me. Forever. I promise."
"Good. Now help me with this French press before I throw it out the window."
53
Rachel
Rachel woke up to sunlight streaming through the bedroom window and Mac's face buried in her hair.
Four months since the grand gesture at the hockey game. Four months since they'd gotten back together. Four months of therapy, communication, growth, and building something real.
Not perfect. They still had hard days. Rachel still had moments of fear. Mac still got frustrated sometimes.
But they worked through it. Together.
"Morning," Mac mumbled, his voice rough with sleep.
"Morning. Big day today."
"Mmm. Very big day." Mac's arm crept around her. "Can we stay in bed forever instead?"
"No. Your entire extended family is arriving in three hours. My mother and Leah are already here, they came last night, remember?"
"I remember. Your sister kept me up until midnight asking about Jamie’s dating history."
Rachel smiled. Leah and Jamie had been dating long-distance for months now, with her sister visiting Evergreen Cove monthlyand Jamie making trips to Burlington. It was working surprisingly well.
"Sophie's still weird about it," Rachel observed.
"Sophie's in denial about her feelings. It's painful to watch."
"We should help them—"
"No. They need to figure it out themselves. We're not interfering." Mac kissed her neck. "Besides, we have enough to deal with today without adding Sophie and Jamie's relationship drama."
Today was the Evergreen Cove Fall Festival, the town's biggest event of the year, except for Christmas. And this year, it was special for multiple reasons.
One: Ellie's physical therapy license had been fully reinstated after the board's investigation concluded that Derek's complaint was baseless and potentially motivated by personal vendetta.
Two: The Eagles had won their division summer championship, with Mac named MVP.
And three: Mac had been acting suspiciously secretive for the past week, which made Rachel both excited and nervous.
"What are you planning?" Rachel asked, turning in Mac's arms to face him.
"Planning? Me? Nothing."
"You're a terrible liar."
"I'm an excellent liar. I'm a professional athlete. Lying is part of the game: you know, faking passes, pretending you're going left when you're actually going right—"
"Mac."
"Rachel."
They stared at each other, both smiling.
