Page 60 of As a Last Resort

“But here’s what I know so far.” I took a deep breath as every eye zeroed in on me.

“I want to wake up next to you every morning and quiz each other on completely irrelevant, useless facts about ourselves. I want to stand over a stove and watch you make spaghetti sauce from scratch and tease you that you could just buy it in a jar instead and it would be faster. I want to take sunset rides on your boat, throw the anchor overboard and just sit watching the water, talking about the worlds that exist underneath us that so many people would see if they just opened their eyes.”

Moisture gathered in his eyes, but he stayed perfectly still with his hands buried in his pockets.

“And I’m terrified.” My voice faltered for a moment, but I forced myself to continue.

“I’m scared to death that at some point you’ll look at me and realize that maybe I’m not all that you need.

That I won’t check every box. My lucky streak with fishing will run out and maybe I’ll end up hating it, and you’ll want to trade me in.

Or, worse, maybe you’ll leave—and it won’t even be your choice. ”

I exhaled, my heart thudding against my ribs. “I’m just saying, don’t have too high of expectations for me. I can barely live up to my own expectations, let along anyone else’s.”

“Okay,” he said softly.

“But the only thing that really matters at this point, is that I love you, Austin Marcs. And I’d really like to try and see if this could work. That is, if you’d have me… again.”

“This is where they kiss!” Lexi whispered, swiping tear after tear off her cheek.

“Wait, you knew she thought it was Austin’s?” whispered Patrick.

“I’m so confused.” Mary Kay grabbed another glass of champagne off a waiter’s tray.

“I’ll explain later,” Lexi whispered back.

He looked down at the ground, and the silence stretched between us until time seemed to stand still. “Samantha Leigh, are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life.”

My heart swelled at the smile that lit up his entire face.

“Take your hands out of your pockets.”

His brow lifted over those gorgeous green eyes that danced under the moonlight. “We both know what happens if I do that.”

“That’s exactly what I’m counting on.”

He slid his hands free and took a step toward me, his fingers threading through my hair in one smooth, quick motion so fast he threw me off balance.

His mouth crashed into mine and suddenly I was off my feet and into his arms. He tasted like salty tears and the ocean—and home.

I clung to him, tightening my grip, unable to imagine a world where I’d ever want my feet back on solid ground.

Hoots and whistles around us grew as everyone started talking about Vanessa and Tom, and how wonderful it was that Austin wasn’t tied to her for the rest of his life.

“Looks like I missed the big moment.” Ivy sauntered up to the group looking like a million bucks.

“I’m Ivy, Samantha’s assistant. Apologies for my tardiness.

Apparently two alligators saw fit to procreate on the runway today and caused a bit of a delay in my arrival.

” She turned toward Mary Kay. “Your house is absolutely extraordinary, Mrs. Marcs. Exquisite taste.”

“Oh, why thank you.” Mary Kay beamed.

She turned to Lexi. “And congratulations to the bride-to-be. You look striking.”

“Ivy’s my former assistant,” I corrected.

A proud smile bloomed across her face. “I head up marketing for Sam’s new division now.”

“New division?” Austin turned to me. “Is it really true? You’re coming back here?”

Ivy answered for me. “Short story is, yes. Samantha presented an alternate plan called the Lighthouse Project to the board at Goodrich.”

Lexi’s eyes lit up. “The special project you’ve been working on?” Lexi asked.

“It finally came together for me while I was in New York.” I leaned into Austin as his hand wrapped around my waist, his mouth so close I could smell the champagne on his breath.

“Samantha’s pitch centered around keeping the integrity of the island,” Ivy continued. “The charm and traditions of the island were center stage. After hearing the pitch about the island and her vision, the board was totally in.”

Ivy continued, “Rock Island is the first location of the boutique resort collection and Sam will be here every step of the way, making sure it gets done right.”

“I’ll be here most of the time, but I’ll be searching for locations for future developments too, so I’ll still travel a ton.”

Austin squeezed my side. “Glenn doesn’t seem like the type to let go of control that easily.”

“He doesn’t have a choice. Board already voted. Samantha’s in. Complete autonomy. She doesn’t report to him anymore.”

Austin’s jaw dropped. The corners of Ivy’s mouth curved up.

Finally, I had the freedom to run the project from the ground up without Glenn looking over my shoulder, dictating what’s best and making decisions based solely on financial gain. I turned to face Austin. “I’d like to take another shot at calling this place home.”

He looked at me with that steady expression, his eyes sparkling. But then a small shadow of worry flickered across. “What about your mom?”

My heart swooned at his concern. “I’ll tell you the long version later, but let’s just say I’m hopeful for new beginnings.”

He cupped my face and pulled me near, the warmth of his palms spreading down my neck to the tips of my toes. “So, it’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be really hard, and we’re gonna have to work at this every day.”

I laughed at his Notebook reference as tiny puddles of water pooled in my eyes. “You really are a closet romance addict, aren’t you?”

“Shhh, I’m not done,” he whispered into my lips, “But I wanna do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever. You and me. Every day.” His smile stretched so wide it felt like the whole world brightened.

And as I kissed him again in response with my heart pounding, I realized I wasn’t just choosing him.

I was choosing home.