Her entire body stilled, waiting for his next words.
He cupped the back of his neck, the gesture rough with emotion he didn’t quite know how to handle. “I thought if I scored this promotion it would solve everything. Prove I’d made it. But I came to see you this afternoon. You were with Kels at the North Shore and Tino handed me a board and told me to find the answer in the ocean.”
Rowan shook her head. “That’s so Tino.”
“I know. He pissed me off, but somehow he was right. I got back to the office and spoke with Wolfe and realized this promotion didn’t feel like a win. It felt like a trap. One with a lot of shine and money. And when I turned down the job, all I could think was how much I wanted to leave early to get to the picnic. To see my daughter. To see you.”
She swallowed hard. “Everett . . .”
He stepped closer, so close the warmth of him brushed her skin. “You changed everything for me,” he murmured. “You and this place. And Kelsey’s herself here. She’s freer. Happier. I can’t drag her back to a life that was suffocating her just because I was too scared to admit I was suffocating, too.”
Her lips parted. The shock of his speech blew through her, making her hot and cold, forcing her body into trembling. Everett reached out and tenderly tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “B-but what are you going to do about work?”
“Wolfe offered me a different job.”
“Doing what?” she asked faintly.
“Running Purity Waikiki as the new general manager. Matthew is going back to Chicago, which left an opening. No constant travel, no New York grind, no pressure to be a machine. Just this. This hotel. This island. My daughter.” His voice softened. “And you.”
Emotion slammed into her with quiet force. “You want to give up everything? For ... me?”
“No, sweetheart.” He cupped her cheeks and lowered his head. His warm breath rushed against her mouth. “I want to do this forme. That’s what the damn ocean told me. I’m not giving up anything. I’m gaining everything. If you’ll have me.”
She stared at him—at this man who had learned how to be soft without breaking, who had learned how to fight for joy instead of survival, who had learned how to choose love without losing himself. “I don’t know what to say,” she whispered.
“Say you’ll stay with me,” he said. “Here. In whatever way makes you feel whole. I don’t care about the shape of it. I just want you in it.”
He blurred as Rowan blinked back tears. His fingertips traced the line of her cheekbones with gentle, reverent strokes. She exhaled shakily. “Everett.” Her voice cracked. “I love you. Yes.”
His breath caught—like he’d been waiting for that one line to anchor all the rest—then he laughed, low and disbelieving, pulling her fully against him. “Thank God,” he murmured against her hair. “Because I’m wrecked for you.”
Then they were kissing, falling back into each other, as the ocean roared its approval.
She smiled against his chest. “You’re still wearing that shirt,” she said, voice muffled.
He groaned. “Do not ruin the moment. It’s our movie-worthy ending.”
She leaned back enough to look at it. “It’s even worse up close.”
“Rowan.”
“Suit.”
He barked out a laugh and her soul soared. “I can’t wait to surf at the North Shore with you.”
“I can’t wait for us to tell Kelsey the news,” she said, wrapping her arms tight around him, leaning into his quiet strength.
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Let’s tell her now, together.”
They held hands and walked up the beach toward their future.
Toward home.
Epilogue
Rowan cupped her hands around her mouth. “Lean into it!Go,Brie,Go!”
Her voice disappeared into the roar of the crowd dotting the beach, a long stripe of folding chairs, towels, and umbrellas stretching down the shoreline. The junior circuit always drew a mix of families, tourists, and the aunties who treated every competition like the Super Bowl. Today was no different. The beach buzzed with energy, the air thick with sunscreen, excitement, and someone’s plate lunch.
