After a moment, he whispers, “I’m sorry about Ian.”
“No, you’re not.” I puff out a watery laugh, calling his bluff.
Jordan smiles softly. “No, I’m not.”
“We’re not dating. I just ran into him here. He was doing beach yoga.”
“Ah, that explains the technicolor pants.”
I chuckle and rub my nose against my sleeve. “They were very colorful.”
He smiles, and any anger still within me burns out, leaving only ashes that blow away with the sea breeze.
Jordan loves me.My heart is in so much danger. All I want to do is give it to him, but I’m afraid. I can’t do the back-and-forth again. It’s too painful.
“We can’t keep doing this, Jordan. I’ve moved forward. This is my home now.” I motion to the beautiful beach around me, to the life I’ve started to make here, and duck my head, pulling away from his touch. If I go back to Colorado with Jordan, I’ll be giving it all up. But even though I would do that for him, what will happen to me if things don’t work out?
Jordan puts a finger beneath my chin and raises my face until I meet his eyes. “I know, Paige. And as long as you’re here, this is my home too.”
“What do you mean?”
He gives me a soft smile, and suddenly my brain fills in the missing pieces.
“You’re 5D, aren’t you?” More tears spring to my eyes.
“Yes,” he says.
“You moved here?” I stuff down the pathetic sob that wants to break free.
“Yes.” His smile reaches his eyes, and I can’t help but notice the stark absence of guilt or fear.
“What about your mom?” I ask.
“You were right, Paige. I needed to talk to her. I let the unsaid things between us grow until they overtook my life when I should have talked to her years ago.” He shakes his head. “I’m sure I’ll still worry about her, but she’ll be okay without me.”
His eyes hold no hesitation or doubt—just Jordan, and that burning light that has been absent for far too long. Jordan catches a strand of my hair blowing in front of my face and tucks it behind my ear.
“Paige, you’re it for me. I want to get you honey blaze nectarines every June. I want to be late to every party we attend because we drive down the left street when we’re supposed to go right. I want hour-long recaps of every reality show you watch. I want to be there when you catch your first wave on a surfboard. And I want kids who have your green eyes and your love for life. I want you forever.”
I laugh-cry.
“So, Paige Devons.” He cups both his hands around my face. “I know I’ve messed up more times than I care to admit, and I know trusting me again must be scary. But will you give me a second chance to prove that you are everything to me? That I’m not letting go this time?”
I put one of my hands over one of his as he cradles my cheek. “I love you, Jordan.”
“And I love you, Devons.” Jordan’s lips brush against mine in the softest caress before coming back to kiss me thoroughly.
I shift in the sand and rise up onto my knees, sliding my hands around his neck. His strong arms pull tight across my back, bringing me closer to him. Our first kiss at the gala was full of past regrets and time lost between us, but this embrace is the promise of a future filled with love and so much happiness.
All too soon, Jordan stops kissing me and smiles against my lips.
I pull back just enough to watch his grin widen. “What?”
“What do you think of your song?”
My eyebrows rise as I finally notice the song playing from the nearby couple’s speaker. The soft beat is one I know well, and the gentle swells of the tune are as mesmerizing to me as the waves that roll onto this beach.
“‘Colour My World,’” I whisper, joy filling every crevice of my heart. I think back to Trello Park when Jordan and I sat on the park bench and I picked out this exact song for the sweet couple in matching clothes. I remember Jordan’s surprised look at the song choice and the feeling of his arm around me as we watched the couple dance to Chicago’s gentle ballad.
