Page 25 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach (Rosewood Beach #9)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Hazel stepped back, her paintbrush still dripping, and surveyed the room with a satisfied smile.

The soft lavender walls, now freshly painted, transformed Samantha’s space into something magical and serene.

Jacob, crouched in the corner peeling painter’s tape from the baseboards, glanced over at her.

“You think she’ll like it?” he asked, his brow creased in that adorable way he got when he was unsure of something. “I still feel like we should have checked with her before painting the walls this color.”

“She’s going to love it,” Hazel assured him, her heart light. “Light purple has been her favorite color forever. And she’s especially going to love the ceiling.”

Jacob chuckled as he leaned his head back and looked up at the beautiful ceiling. “The glow-in-the-dark stars were a brilliant idea.”

Hazel grinned. “I thought she’d like falling asleep under the stars, even on cloudy nights.”

She looked around the room, feeling a glow of satisfaction in her chest. She couldn’t believe they were finally at the end of their renovation work.

They had fixed up the old house room by room, wall by wall, and corner by corner, transforming it into their dream home.

Each wall painted, each shelf hung, and each floorboard repaired had brought them closer together—not just as partners in the renovation, but in life.

Samantha’s room was their last project, and the final touch on the house. Hazel had wanted it to be a surprise for her daughter. She couldn’t wait to show Samantha the beautiful walls, the ceiling, and the bookshelves and comfy window seat that they’d installed in her reading nook.

I want her to see this place and think, this is mine too, Hazel thought, feeling an ache of

happiness in her chest. I want her to feel like this is her home.

After they’d finished cleaning up, Hazel flicked the light switch off with a playful smile on her face.

“You want to sit under the stars with me?” she asked Jacob.

“There’s no one I’d rather sit under the stars with,” he said, pulling her in for a hug.

Together they sank to the floor, lying side by side on the old floorboards. The room glowed softly as the little star-shaped patches illuminated the ceiling, their quiet magic twinkling in the darkness.

Jacob’s hand found hers in the dark, and their fingers intertwined. They lay in silence, watching the stars, and Hazel felt a sense of deep peace wash over her.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Jacob’s voice was low and steady.

Hazel nodded, her heart swelling. “It does. It feels… complete.”

For a long time, she had believed life would always feel a little incomplete.

Raising Samantha on her own had taught her strength and resilience, but somewhere along the way, she had quietly put away the idea that she might find someone who truly understood her.

Someone who would not just love her, but love her and Samantha as a package deal.

But then Jacob had arrived in their lives, with his steady patience, his affectionate humor, and his willingness to pick up a hammer and help build something real.

“I never thought I’d find this,” Hazel admitted softly, turning toward him, though she couldn’t quite see his face in the dim room.

“I always hoped for it, but I don’t think I really believed it would happen.

That I could find a love like this. Especially with you, after having a crush on you for so long in high school. ”

Jacob gently squeezed her hand. “I didn’t either. I can’t believe that after all these years, I ended up with the beautiful Hazel Owens, who has the biggest heart in Rosewood Beach.”

Hazel’s throat tightened as happy tears filled her eyes. “Renovating this house, making it ours—it’s been so special. I love this house. But more than that, I love you. I want to build more than walls and painted rooms with you. I want to build a forever future with you.”

Jacob’s hand moved to her face, and his thumb brushed lightly across her cheek. “Hazel,” he whispered, his voice filled with warmth and certainty, “I want forever with you too. Why wait? Let’s get married.”

The words hung in the air, sweet and unexpected, wrapping around her like the softest blanket. Her breath caught. “You mean—now? Like, really soon?”

Jacob chuckled, and he laid his forehead against hers. “Why not? We love each other. What are we waiting for?”

Hazel’s heart leapt, happiness fizzing inside her like champagne bubbles.

“Yes. Yes, I want to marry you.” A moment later, she bit her lip as her perfect happiness hiccupped for a moment.

“But weddings take forever to plan. Venues, guest lists, dresses—it could be months before we get everything organized.”

Jacob grinned at her. “Who says we need all of that?”

Her eyebrows rose. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s go to the courthouse,” he said, and she could see his eyes shining even in the semi-darkness. “Just you and me. Maybe Samantha could be our teenage flower girl. It doesn’t need to be big. It just needs to be us.”

She felt a glow of excitement in her chest at the prospect. “You’d be okay with that? Skipping the big wedding?”

“I’d marry you in a parking lot if that’s what it took,” Jacob said with a laugh. “All I care about is being married to you.”

Hazel’s heart raced with emotion. She had spent so much of her life thinking that a wedding had to look a certain way—a perfect ceremony that made a carefully crafted milestone in life.

But she knew that what she had with Jacob was something deeper than all that.

She didn’t need a big wedding with Jacob.

Their love wasn’t about the pomp and circumstance.

It was about the life they were building, the love they already shared, and the family they had become.

“I love that idea,” Hazel whispered, leaning in to kiss him. “I love you.”

He pulled her toward him for a kiss, and it was as if it was a silent agreement between them that this was the right step for their lives. After they pulled back from each other, Hazel rested her head on Jacob’s shoulder as they gazed up at the twinkling ceiling again.

“I think Samantha’s going to be over the moon when she sees this room,” Jacob murmured.

Hazel smiled, picturing her daughter’s wide-eyed excitement. “It’ll be one of those memories she never forgets.”

“Just like this moment,” he said softly, kissing the top of Hazel’s head.

In the quiet of the glowing room, Hazel felt a deep, peaceful certainty settle into her bones.

She had found the kind of love that didn’t just promise a future, it built it, painted it, and carefully added little glow-in-the-dark stars to it.

She knew that Jacob was going to love her for the rest of her life.

She had thought once that love was something you fell into. But with Jacob, she realized it was something that you chose to build with someone else, every day, hand in hand. And she couldn’t wait to keep building.