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I swear my heart stops beating. For a split second, there’s nothing, just shock at his words, and then my heart catches back up, slamming wildly around in my chest.

I think this is the first time in my life that someone has chosen me, done something completely selfless and put me first. And I don’t even know how to respond.

I don’t think Flynn understands the full weight of what he’s just done as he stands there smiling, beaming, actually. His blue eyes wide and welcoming, the waves lapping at the shore, the smell of the ocean wrapping us in its beauty.

This moment is pure perfection, and I couldn’t have planned it better. But beyond that, this moment is something I’ve been waiting for all my life.

When you grow up with no father and a mother who never wanted to be a mother in the first place, you’re constantly seeking the approval of others, the love of others who just take and never give. I found myself in that cycle for years, begging for someone to just understand that I needed more.

Mitch and Nate were the first people in my life to take me in without conditions, but neither of them knew what the hell to do with a girl who basically grew up without a mother. Hell, neither of them knew what to do with a girl other than surf.

And so that’s what we did.

Surf.

I cooked dinners and washed laundry and cleaned the houses, but not because it was expected of me, and never because Nate or Mitch asked. It was because I was trying so hard not to lose them. They were all I had, and when everyone in your life leaves, you cling to the ones who feel like home.

I put so much care into keeping them that I neglected myself, and looking back, it was unnecessary. Mitch and Nate understood my situation and welcomed me with open arms in the best way they could. As surly and brooding as Nate was and still is, we’re family.

But that love is different.

“Alana?” Flynn says, a question in his word, my name a slight hesitation on his tongue.

I’ve been quiet too long, and if he’s learned anything about me over this last month or so, it’s that I’m rarely quiet.

“I don’t even know what to say,” I finally get out, and he laughs a little, but it’s nervous, and rightfully so. He just told me he loves me, and I’ve said nothing. “You’ve rendered me speechless, Flynn Roberts and that’s almost impossible to do.”

“Oh, trust me, I know,” he now says, his arms hanging loosely around my waist, and he must have the patience of a saint because he’s still waiting.

“ Trust me , I’m going to say it back, but before that, I have something I need to tell you, something that is important to me to get out. I want you to know how much this moment means to me,” I start, letting out a slow exhale. As much as I don’t want to cry, I know I’m going to. “I’ve been waiting all my life for someone to put me first, for someone to see everything I have to offer and fall in love with me unconditionally. You are that. I can’t even begin to express how much it means to me that you quit your job because of me. It sounds a little reckless and self-absorbed, and maybe even a little toxic.” I stop, laughing, my cheeks beginning to ache with all the smiling. “But to me, it shows the full extent of your feelings for me, and that is huge.”

“With Jade in my life, you would have never come first,” he says, his hands cupping my face, his thumbs brushing away the tears that have begun to fall. “I couldn’t live with that. I would and will pick you every fucking time, Alana.”

And there it is, my name on his lips, said with such love and conviction that my heart feels like it’s about to burst.

“I love you so much,” I say, the words coming out in a rush, but knowing they’ve been on my mind, it feels good to have them out. It feels amazing to know he feels the same way.

I pull him close, his lips practically touching mine, and with a warm whisper, he tells me, “I will spend the rest of my life showing you that you’re worth staying for, that you deserve to be loved beyond measure. You’re it for me, beautiful.”

Shit, he really knows how to make a girl sob like a baby. The only thing that could make this moment better is if we were on our surfboards out on the water, but even in my mind, that feels cliché, and I can’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, just my ridiculous thoughts and how this would be even better if we were surfing.”

“Then let’s do it.”

The week passes so quickly with Flynn training with me in the lead-up to Maui Pipe, and now that it’s here, I’m so fucking nervous.

It’s not like I haven’t competed before, but this is different. The scale is so much bigger, and there’s so much more riding on it, too. This could mean sponsorships and tour offers if I do well. And there are also all the locals who have supported me. I don’t want to let anyone down, especially Mitch.

Even though he isn’t here with me anymore, all his efforts to get me to this place don’t go unnoticed, and with Sage here now, it’s like having him with me. I’m doing this for him because when no one else believed in me, he did.

I’m not expecting to win or anything. That would be insane and probably a little too early-2000s rom-com if it played out so perfectly with me placing first in my first-ever professional comp. Not that I haven’t thought about it, though.

I pick up the letter from Mitch, smiling as I put it into my backpack. This letter changed my life. Mitch changed my life all those years ago, and he’s the reason I’m where I am today. Not just with surfing but with Flynn too.

Without his letter, I never would have gone back to Flynn after he told me who he was. We wouldn’t have been caught by Jade and reported to the ISA and then investigated. All of that led to Flynn quitting a job he hated.

And now, here we are, getting ready for Maui Pipe. Flynn’s been by my side, coaching me, and I know Mitch would have lost his mind meeting Flynn, and I love to think about that.

I never would have expected something so great to come out of our situation, but leaving Jade has been the best thing for his career.

He’s done multiple interviews since and has even had offers to return to surfing, but he’s been funny about it all. Telling me that this week is for me, and he refuses to take the spotlight away by accepting an offer to surf again until Pipe is over.

“You’re going to do it, right?” I ask him as he stops in my doorway, waiting for me to get my things together so we can leave.

“Do what? Cheer you on from the beach? Of course,” he replies, hitting me with a cheeky smile.

He’s such a shithead. He knows what I’m asking, but again, he can’t help but make this day all about me.

I tilt my head to the side, giving him a knowing look, and he chuckles. “I’m sorry, yes, I’m going to be there to coach you too. Can’t believe I have to tell you that.” He rolls his eyes, hooking his arm around my waist as I attempt to squeeze past him in the doorway.

“I was talking about you getting back into surfing,” I say, pushing up on my toes to kiss the tip of his nose before I slip from his hold.

“I know what you’re talking about, and I told you before. Nothing until Pipe is over. This is your week, Alana.”

He follows me out into the kitchen. Sloane and Daisy are already at the competition. They volunteered to help out at the event, along with Miles, Kai and Owen. Sage and Nate will be there in my assigned tent with Flynn, my own personal cheering squad.

It’s a big deal for our island, and most of the locals volunteer or come out to watch. Again, it’s why I feel like I need to perform at my best, not that I think I won’t, but still.

Setting my bag down on the counter, I check through it again, making sure I have everything I need. Mentally going through my checklist before I look over at Flynn and give him the okay.

The traffic on the way to Pipe is insane, but I expected it, and it doesn’t help calm my nerves at all. Flynn reaches over, taking my hand in his, threading his fingers through mine. He brings my hand to his lips, kissing each knuckle and then the inside of my wrist.

“Take a deep breath,” he says, his words quiet and calm. “Hold it, and now release slowly. Think about how each wave tells a story and what story you want it to tell when you ride it.”

I nod, trying to clear my mind, but there, in the front, is the biggest thing of all.

Jade.

I want to show her that I’m not the amateur she thinks I am, saying it like it’s an insult, like it’s the worst thing she could call me. I’ll admit that it did sting a little, the words sour and spit out at me like venom, but she doesn’t get to win this.

Her life handed her that world championship, all her parents’ money, and Flynn’s expertise, the best of everything. But me, I’ve had to work for it all my life. Not that I’m saying I deserve to win for that reason alone, nothing like that. I just want to show people that it doesn’t matter if you have all the money in the world or you have none, you can still achieve your dreams.

Flynn parks the car, and we head over to the tent to check in, getting everything we need. He requested that we not be placed in the same heat as Jade or the same holding tent, but who knows if the organizers give a shit.

We both check the standing board to see our location, and I swear I hear him audibly let out a sigh of relief when he notices Jade is on the far end from us.

We’re all placed in heats and paired up with other surfers when we’re out on the water. Most of the time, it’s the lower-ranked surfers paired with the higher-ranked. It was a complete possibility I could have been placed with Jade.

Fuck, that would have been awkward.

Setting my stuff down, I take a look around—the crowd, the water, all the tents and the scoreboards, the judges’ table—and as exciting as it is, it’s also overwhelming as hell.

Calling me over to an empty massage table, Flynn has me climb up and he begins to stretch me out. Trying to relax, taking in calming breaths as he moves my arm over my head.

“Heat one will begin in thirty minutes!” a voice shouts over the loudspeaker. “Surfers, please be ready and be wearing your assigned Lycra color.”

“That’s you,” Flynn says, and my breathing grows uneven. Slipping my tongue out, I wet my lips, trying to keep calm, but that’s not going to happen.

He pulls my rash guard from the bag I was given when we checked in. Slipping it on, my legs hanging off the side of the table, I knot it in the back to keep it tight against my skin. I don’t need anything getting in the way.

“I need to head over,” I tell Flynn. The heat starts in thirty minutes, but I need to be over in my designated area so I can get checked in, and really, to see if I can calm myself down.

He gives me a kiss, resting his forehead against mine. He rubs a soft circle on my back. Kissing me again, he whispers, “You’ve got this, babe.”

I walk over, my board under my arm, my heart slamming around as my palms grow sweaty. This is the biggest competition of my life. It’s probably almost everyone’s here too. Maui Pipe is international and could determine the next world champion.

Again, it won’t be me, but a bid to another comp is what I’m hoping for.

Before I know it, I’m out on the water, my eyes focused on the judges’ booth, looking for my priority. When I see it’s first, I don’t know whether to be excited or terrified. I have twenty minutes to catch a wave, but not just one, hopefully multiple to help boost my score.

And that’s exactly what I do.

Wave after wave, score after score, I watch my place go up. I need to remain in the top six to enter the championship tour, but before then, I need to score enough points to move into the next round.

When the horn sounds, letting me and my competitor know our round is over, we head back to the beach and wait.

It’s all a waiting game. The next several heats will determine my ranking and if I get to move on. I continue to scan the board, checking each time a new heat hits the water.

I continue to move on, round after round, and with each one, I grow more confident, more at ease out on the water.

It’s my home, my sanctuary and the love of my life. It keeps me sane, and even with all the added stress of it being a competition, I find myself drifting off, my mind focusing on what Mitch taught me.

Looking over my shoulder, and it feels like a dream, but in comes the biggest set of the day. I look over at the girl who’s in my heat with me, and she looks scared as hell.

I want to tell her to go for it. That’s the part of me that I sometimes hate, the part that puts other people first. But this is my wave. It’s the start of the heat, and priority hasn’t been set yet, so I take it. Finally putting myself first, something Mitch would have loved, and I swear I can almost hear his loud whistle, his fingers in his mouth, the sound echoing above everything else.

And here, on the beautiful waters of my home, I catch the most amazing barrel wave of my life.