Still, Raquelle would much rather see him in WITSEC than on a slab in the morgue. So she was fully on board with it.
Eddie seemed to reconcile himself with it as well. “Okay, let’s do it,” he declared. “I want to see Ivan held accountable for stealing and forging Native American art—and giving the order to blow up my pontoon…expecting me to be on it…”
Landon nodded and told him, “We’ll set things in motion.”
When they had a moment afterward, Raquelle said to her ex-husband, “I know you want what’s best for Eddie.”
“I do,” he promised. Gazing into her eyes, Landon added in a sincere voice, “More than that, I want what’s best for us, Raquelle.”
“So do I,” she told him, just as passionate about it, while wondering what that looked like.
* * *
“WHERE EXACTLY AREwe headed?” Raquelle asked curiously the next day.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Landon answered mysteriously with a laugh as he glanced at her in the passenger seat of his Subaru Outback while he drove down Interstate 95 South. “It’s a surprise, so bear with me…”
In fact, he wanted her to do a lot more than just put up with him. He wanted her to make him the happiest man in the world—again. While giving it his best shotto make her the happiest woman on the planet, if enough time was on his side.
Raquelle laughed. “If you insist.”
“I do,” he said lightheartedly.
When they reached the Harbour Town Lighthouse on Lighthouse Road on Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County, Landon wondered if she had a clue about what he had in mind. If history was any indication, he suspected it might have triggered something. But he had to let this play itself out anyway—for both their sakes.
“It’s been a while since I’ve—we’ve been here,” Raquelle uttered with clear shock as they stood outside, gazing up at the lighthouse.
“I know.”Much too long, really, Landon told himself, his heart already beating faster than normal. “Shall we head up the stairs?” He’d advised her to wear a pair of hiking shoes. As did he.
“Yes.” She smiled at him thoughtfully.
They scaled 114 steps to reach the observation deck—both demonstrating what great shape they were in—where Landon and Raquelle had it all to themselves and enjoyed a magnificent 360-degree panoramic view of the water and harbor with its trendy shops, luxury yachts, Harbour Town Golf Links, and more.
But none of that came even close to what Landon saw as the most important attraction to him. He calmed his nerves and looked Raquelle in the eye, then said coolly, “I said that I love you. What I didn’t say is that I’ve truly fallenin love with youall over again in all the ways that never really went away.”
“Not even a little?” she asked cheerily but was attentive to what came next.
He gave a chuckle. “Let’s just say that I was sidetracked for a minute, which I regret, while still intent on someday finding my way back to you. That day is now—and, hopefully, forevermore.”
Raquelle’s eyes widened. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that this was where I first proposed to you and you agreed to marry me.” Landon removed from the pocket of his wool blazer a small box. “Now I’m asking you to marry me again, Raquelle—only this time for keeps!” He opened the box, revealing a 10K rose-gold diamond engagement ring. Removing it, he slipped the ring onto her finger, which fit perfectly, and said, “Please say yes…”
Raquelle admired her ring finger for a long moment, then regarded him with teary eyes and cooed, “Yes, I will agree to marry you for the second time, Landon—and in this magical setting! I, too, have fallen in love with you again. Or maybe the first love was merely suspended in time, waiting to be revived when we found our way back to one another.” She drew a breath. “So yes, I would be truly honored to become Mrs. Landon Briscoe once more.”
“Wonderful!” Landon’s voice lifted an octave highlighting his happiness. He held her cheeks and gave Raquelle his very best kiss. She reciprocated in kind with her precious lips against his, setting his soul on fire with desire.
Raquelle stopped the kiss and asked jovially, “Uh, you do realize that I still have the original engagement ring—I could never let it go—and the wedding ring?”
“I figured as much,” Landon told her, having kept his own ring too, for the same reason. “Same here. Thoserings will always have a special place in our history, where they belong. But the new engagement ring—and subsequent wedding bands—signify a new beginning and new memories to build our love on.”
Raquelle beamed. “I couldn’t have said it any better myself.”
For Landon, that was more than enough for him to seal the deal with another sizzling romantic lighthouse kiss.
Epilogue
A year later, Raquelle sat beside her husband, Landon, and Katie, Zach, and Penelope at the Matthew J. Perry, Jr. United States Courthouse on Richland Street in Columbia. Eddie was on the stand, testifying against a smug-faced Ivan Pimentel—who was sitting beside his lawyer, Ashley Vasquez—before US District Judge Noni H. Trujillo.
