I nod, gratitude, grief, and wonder tangling in my chest. “It’s both of ours,” I murmur, the words catching in my throat. “MineandLyla’s.”
Tears brim in Hunter’s beautiful hazel eyes, the green flecks glowing like shards of emerald. He brushes a final, tender kiss to my lips before kneeling before me. With quiet reverence, he wraps his arms around my body and presses his ear to my chest.
I can feel it beating, strong and sure and full of love for him as he holds me, shaking with silent sobs.
Lyla’s heart loved him before it came to me.
And now it willalwayslove him.
1 year later
The boat slices through the frigid water; icy sea spray blasts us in the face.
“This is really fun! I’m so glad we could do this for our honeymoon!” Hunter shouts to be heard over the engine and wind.
I grip the wet railing and laugh. “Just wait! It’ll be worth it!”
I still can’t believe we’re actually married—that he’s mine, legally.Forever. The wedding was beautiful, with bursts of peonies everywhere and the most perfect weather we could have hoped for as we celebrated surrounded by our loved ones. Hunter’s parents even came. Another miracle in a long line of miracles in both of our lives.
An announcement comes over the PA system of the large fishing vessel we’re standing on. “The pod has been sighted off the starboard bow! Keep your eyes and cameras ready!”
Excitement burns through me,almosthot enough to counteract the frigid chill of the Alaskan wind.
And then it happens—a black dorsal fin breaks the surface, sluicing through the water, swiftly followed by two more.
“I see them!” I shout, grabbing Hunter’s arm and pointing.
Within moments, the entire pod surfaces, blowing spouts of water into the air. A baby breaches, and my eyes fill with tears.
It’s orcas. An entire family of orcas in the wild.
Bucket-list moment achieved.
“That was incredible,” I breathe as we gather our belongings and walk down the gangplank back to the dock hours later. “They’re even more majestic in real life than I ever could have dreamed.”
“That’s me, making my wife’s wildest dreams come true, one frigid, extremity-numbing day at a time.”
I grab his arm, pull him into me, and kiss him swiftly, our lips half frozen from the sea spray. “Thank you, Hunter. Thank you for making this happen.”
His eyes glow when he looks down at me, the green flecks brilliant in the Alaskan sunlight. “I’d freeze myrumpaoff over and over again if it makes you this happy.”
I groan. “Rumpa? Really?”
“Hey, Farmor is very proud of my Swedish, I’ll have you know.”
“I’m sure she’s thrilled you can saybumin her native tongue.” I laugh as he takes my hand and we step onto dry land again.
Once we reach the sidewalk, he pulls me into him, lifting his hand to brush my wind-blown hair back. “Did I see ‘Have my husband take me back to the hotel to thaw our frost-bittenrumpasby making out in a sauna’ on that bucket list of yours?”
“In asauna? That sounds really hot ... and not the good kind.”
Hunter laughs—one of my favorite sounds in the world. “I think you underestimate how cold I am.”
“Ah, I see. Well, in that case, I better add it to my list.”
Hunter is grinning when his mouth meets mine, hinting at what’s to come, until my heart is racing, and the heat he promised skims over my skin.
We finally break apart, breathless and partially thawed but a little unsteady on our legs after a day at sea.
