Page 92 of Rogue Wave

“You two have fun,” Dougie said.

Jay and I walked the short distance to Hazel’s place, and I was greeted with her warm, very happy, and slightly drunk smile when I walked up to the door.

“Take me to bed or lose me forever,” she said before coming to me and wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Okay, Top Gun,” I replied, teasing her about the line she’d just stolen from the movie.

She kissed me hard and squeezed me closer to her.

Yeah, there was nothing I wanted more for the rest of my life than this right here.

EPILOGUE

Hazel

Shadow and I were walking back from the beach. It had become our morning ritual while Hank went for a run or got some work done from the house. Shadow would run along the beach, splashing in the water or chasing birds with unmatched enthusiasm, while I scoped the shore for anything interesting I could find.

Thankfully, in the few months that had passed, I had not found any other drugs or illegal substances on Crescent Coral Beach. Luckily, though, I had found some more goodies this morning. I couldn’t wait to show Hank what I had collected.

As I rounded the shore, I saw Hank sitting on the wooden bench in the sand with Dougie and reached into my bag of goodies.

I had found another geoduck, but I was smart enough not to text my sisters again.

I did what any sane person would do and got another opinion.

“Do you think this looks like a dick?” I yelled out, waving the geoduck in the air as I approached them.

Dougie threw his head back and laughed. Hank looked at me as though I’d lost my mind—something he did quite often—but then shook his head and smiled at me, as though he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Whatever.

“Hazel, if you think that looks like a dick, I’m concerned as to what Hank’s actually looks like,” Dougie joked, causing Hank to slap him in the chest.

“It’s a geoduck, but my sisters think it looks like a dick,” I explained, which only made Dougie’s smile get bigger.

I rolled my eyes and went back to my search. There were so many good things out here today it was like a gold mine.

A few moments later, I was standing, using my right hand to sift through the tiny shells in my left hand, when I felt Hank come up behind me. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, nuzzling into my neck.

I loved the feel of his scratchy beard on my skin. It felt best between my legs or my breasts, but my neck was another favorite spot.

I let out a dreamy sigh as his scruff moved along my neck to my shoulder.

“I love coming to this beach with you,” he whispered in my ear. “It’s a stunning place, made even more beautiful by having you on it.”

Swoon!

“I want to make even more fun memories here with you every year,” he said and then released his arms from around me.

I felt a chill slide over me at the loss of his body heat. I turned to see where he’d gone and noticed he was on the ground.

On one knee.

And was holding a small box in his hands that he was slowly opening in front of me.

“Hazel, I want to replace the bad memory you have of this beach with a good one. Every year I want to keep adding more and more good ones so that you forget about anything else. I know I’m already halfway to being a grumpy old man, but if you’ll have me, I want nothing more than to have you by my side for the rest of my life so I can show you how much I love you every single day. Will you marry me?”

I sniffled while nodding emphatically. “Of course I will, you silly man.”