Lucy gave another chuckle. “How about we freeze time when we get back to New York?” The thought of going home, of knowing that Skye didn’t live hundreds of miles away, and that they could see each other all the time, made her almost giddy with happiness. “Let’s pause everything else. Work. Bills. The crazy world. It would be so nice to keep it just us figuring out how to do this without any cameras around or Marla interrupting our conversation or Alexis threatening to blackmail us.”
“I think I could do that,” Skye said with an amused glint in her eye. “And considering I’m out of a job; I’ll have all the time in the world. You might even get sick of having me around.”
“Never,” Lucy laughed, this time a little breathlessly. “You know, I might actually be looking forward to traffic jams and subway delays. But only if it includes us.”
“Us,” Skye said, seemingly rolling the word over her tongue. “I like the sound of that.Just us.”
Lucy glanced over the ocean to her left. The waves sparkled under the late morning sun. The water was a perfect blue. The horizon seemed endless, and for the first time in many days, she felt the weight of the world lift off her shoulders. The weight of Kat and her opinion of her, and the weight of not thinking that she was good enough for everyone was gone.
“You know,” Lucy said, leaning into Skye. “I never expected this. Not when I signed up for the show. Not even for a second. I honestly thought you were going to vote me out at the first lei ceremony.”
“Is that why you walked up to me with just a towel wrapped around your waist?”
Lucy snorted, her cheeks surely coloring. She’d nearly forgotten about that moment, or maybe she’d deliberately shoved it to the back of her mind. Thinking back now, yes, she was mortified yet also incredibly grateful. If it hadn’t been for that spontaneous, ridiculous skinny dip, none of this would have happened. They wouldn’t be walking together on this beach, hands intertwined, talking about a life together.
“Exactly,” she said, stopping mid-step. She turned to Skye and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She melted into the warmth of Skye’s body and added, “I wouldn’t change a single thing.”Sometimes you have to do something bold or out of character to change your life or to invite love in.
Skye leaned in and rested her forehead against Lucy’s. “Neither would I.” She then kissed her lightly on the lips and grinned against her mouth as if the entire ocean was theirs alone.
Epilogue
One year later
Skye had zero business sweating this much on a seventy-degree evening in Queens. Forest Hills was a calm, tree-lined neighborhood with storybook Tudor facades, cafés tucked into corners, and home to The Ramones. It was not a place where anyone’s pulse should be pounding a million miles an hour. And yet, Skye was walking through Forest Park, not far from home, her hand severely clammy in Lucy’s grip because their extremely cute corgi, Steve, had the fate of her entire future dangling from his stubby little neck.
Steve waddled in front of them, his butt bouncing in rhythm with his short legs. To any normal passerby, he was just a happy dog on his usual sunset walk along Stack Pond, but to Skye, he was the fluffiest, cutest accomplice. Every time Steve shook his head, Skye swore she could hear the tiny black engagement box tapping against his leg.
“You’ve been very quiet,” Lucy said, shooting Skye a grin. “Should I be worried you’re plotting our neighbor’s demise again? You know, the guy with the annoyingly loud leaf blower you refuse to introduce yourself to?”
Skye huffed because she was all too aware that her voice would crack if she said anything. But if she didn’t say anything, Lucy would become suspicious, and her entire plan for a proposal would be ruined. She had no choice. “It’s not only me; most people in New York don’t know their neighbors,” she muttered.
“We aren’t the typical people of New York,” Lucy said, not noticing the stress oozing off Skye. “It’s about time we go introduce ourselves, don’t you think?”
“Or we can give it a few more months,” Skye replied just as she caught Steve, who was on a long leash, trotting off the path to a lavish-looking patch of grass. If he decided this was the perfect spot to roll onto his back, the ring would surely be seen.
“Steve,” Skye said, her voice coming out strangled. “Keep moving, buddy. Nothing to see there.”
Lucy laughed and shook her head. “He just wants to explore.”
“I know that,” Skye replied, tightening her grip on Lucy’s hand. “But he can explore later when we get back home.”
“When we get home?” Lucy asked, her brows squeezing tight. “What do you mean, when we get home? We always let Steve off the leash when we get to the clearing.”
“You’re right,” Skye said stiffly. She didn’t know what she was thinking. Her chest felt like it was about to burst, and her mind was too preoccupied to think clearly.
One year ago, she’d been forced to stand in as the bachelorette onThe Sapphic Match. She still couldn’t believe the show had made it to air, let alone pulled in such shockingly high ratings. Skye never would have imagined that sharing her true emotions for one of the contestants on camera would have created the highest ratings in the show’s history. Apparently, viewers wanted to see genuine love. Even Stanley had begged Skye to come back to work. She had refused, of course. Never again. Not after all that drama.
Shows likeThe Sapphic Matchdidn’t just end when the cameras stopped rolling; they bled into your life and followed you around. She even pitied Alexis. The edit had absolutely roasted her, turning her into the villain people loved to hate. And while Lucy insisted Alexis had brought most of it on herself,Skye couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her. Not that it kept her up at night. She’d had more important things to worry about back then, like those first few weeks when she and Lucy had to duck into coffee shops with baseball caps pulled low as strangers pointed and whispered. But eventually the whispers had dulled, the pointing had stopped, and the chaos had slowly turned into a love that was real.
And now, here she was about to propose in Forest Park to the woman who had stolen her breath on that beach so many months ago. She loved Lucy, and she wanted to marry her.
The path curved gently, and Skye slowed as they approached a little clearing. The water shimmered gold-orange in the late afternoon sun, and ducks paddled lazily along the edges. Everywhere she looked were trees and, by some miracle, there was no one else there.
Skye came to a stop and took a deep breath through her nose. She was beyond nervous, terrified even. Every rational part of her brain was screamingThis is insane. You’re about to ask the love of your life to marry you in a park, for goodness’ sake. But every hopelessly in love part of her was shoutingThis is your favorite place… the little clearing by Stack Pond where you and Lucy sat for hours talking about everything and nothing, where you laughed so hard at her jokes, kissed even harder when the moment allowed it. This is the place.
“Why are we stopping?” Lucy asked, tilting her head and glancing at Skye in that way that made Skye’s knees quake and her stomach flip.
Damn. She loved this woman.
