“And that saysGifte seg med meg igjen? Please marry me again?”
The early evening sounds filtering from the nearby woods go quiet. The gentle lapping of the waves is silent. The world is still. All my overthinking, over caring, and over-stressing dissolves. In its place is certainty.
Everything is frozen except me. My thoughts match my heart as I shoot out of my chair and rush toward the water’s edge where the seaplane lands.
Grey picks me up and spins me around.
He takes my hand and with his other hand, he points to the sky. “That’s for you. Will you marry me, again, Everly?” He produces an engagement ring with a medium-sized diamond—not too flashy, but just the right amount of sparkle.
“Yes, yes, I will.” There is no hesitation. No doubt. No fear.
“Remember that first day at Blancbourg when I said there were three things that you needed to know about me? The third thing is that I love you, Everly.”
“I love you too,” I say.
“We did things a little out of order, but I want to spoil you. For starters, we have a few additional guests arriving—Heidi, some of your friends from college, and a few others. We’ll eat dinner, have chocolate cake from Concordia and cookie dough ice cream for dessert, and then we’ll dance, celebrate, and do the things people do when they get married, even though we already are.
“Don’t forget the dress,” Ingrid says. “The PS ladies and I picked it out. They’ll be along too.”
“Is this our wedding reception?” I ask, breathy with shock.
“Since we’re technically already married, yes.” Grey beams.
“And then there’s the honeymoon,” Dad says.
I turn back to Grey, my eyes wide, my heart full of love and wonder. They must have all worked together to make everything happen.
Grey says, “As for our honeymoon, we’re going island hopping.”
“As long as we don’t make a pit stop to see Princess Papaya, I’m good.”
“Nope. We’re going to chase sunsets because I want to have many, many more with you,” Grey says, wrapping his arms around me from behind and kissing me. “I picked the setting sun because I know you like to sleep in.” He winks.
“I’d get up to watch the sunrise with you anytime.” I lift onto my toes, twist, and kiss him on the lips.
“I’ll take you up on that, Buttercup,” he says.
“Greyson, you’re the best decision I've ever made.”
Sonny scrambles toward us and we have a family hug as the sun sets.
Grey whispers, “This is the beginning of my happily Everly after.”
EPILOGUE
Dear Diary,
Remember the kissituation I mentioned? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that it was resolved. Or I should say it has evolved into a once-a-day dose. Er, more like a dozen times a day. Okay, lots of times. All the time. Grey and I are head over heels for each other. Who would’ve thought I’d reunite with my marriage of convenience husband, we’d fall in love, and have a family?
Okay, a quick update while the Christmas cookies finish baking and Sonny paints his dad a picture with blue paint that we’ll wrap and put under the tree.
Even though it’s a little later in life than I’d have liked, my father and I finally have a relationship. We talk at least once a week on the phone. He’ll be up here to celebrate Christmas with us, too.
He’s gone to church with Ingrid a few times. The P.S. Ladies mentioned he’d joined them for cherry pie not long ago.
As for Todd and Princess, I haven’t even bothered to try to stalk them on social media. But I hope they get their happily ever after.
Bran is in surprisingly good physical health, considering everything he went through—a plane crash, hiding out on a freighter across the Indian Ocean to the Caribbean, where he wandered for a while until he heard the familiar Princess Papaya song. He was never in enemy hands, but had hit his head incredibly hard and suffered the trauma of a plane crash. But the good news is, his memory is recovering and he’s medically retiring from the military with plans to start a blueberry farm on the island.
