Page 108 of The Paradise Plan

“Yes,” she said.

Harrison’s eyes widened, and his grin multiplied.“Yes?”

Cass laughed and backed up so she could hold out her hand.“Yes.I love you, and I want to marry you too.”

He slid the plain band on her her finger.“It’s plain purposefully.I’ll take you to pick out your setting, and Gavin will keep the ring for a week or two to get it how you want it.”

“How I want it,” Cass echoed, once again realizing how well Harrison knew her.How perfectly he took care of her.She did want to pick her wedding ring, and he knew that and had given her the chance to do so.

“So I can’t tell anyone yet,” she said, admiring the look and feel of the ring on her finger.

“Why not?”he asked.

She raised her eyes to his.“Because I want to show everyone the perfect ring you picked for me, and it’s not ready.”

“Or maybe it is,” he said.“Because the perfect ring for you is one you get to design yourself.”He gathered her close again and bent his head to kiss her.“I love you.”He touched his mouth to hers, and Cass was the one to accelerate the kiss this time.

“I love you too,” she said after he broke their kiss.

“All right,” he said.“The food is getting cold, and we can talk about a date while we eat.”

The following day,Cass held out her left hand and took a hand selfie.She attached it to a text to her three kids.Then one to her Supper Club.Then one to her parents and Liz.

They each got the same message with the picture.

Harrison and I are engaged!We’ve set a date for July sixth, as a lot of you expressed interest in coming to the island for the Fourth.No formal invitations will be sent.This is me inviting you to the wedding and the island for fireworks and a barbecue, hosted at Harrison’s house.Between the two of us, we have plenty of beds for everyone.Let me know if I should plan on you or not!Love you all.

Once the last message had gone out, Cass put her phone facedown on the table and left it there.“Come on, Beryl,” she said to her dog.“Harrison should be walking by any minute.”

They went out onto the back patio and then down the steps to the beach.Sure enough, they’d barely cleared the taller beach grasses before Harrison whistled.

Beryl perked right up and then took off as a golden streak down the beach toward Cass’s fiancé.

Herfiancé.

She tilted her head back and let the sunshine flow through her.“I love you, West,” she said.“And I love how the human heart has an unlimited capacity to love.”

To her, that was one of the best parts of being human, and when she reached Harrison and kissed him, she said, “I love you, Harrison,” and meant it completely.

“Love you too, baby,” he said.“How’d the news go over?”

“I left my phone inside,” she said, grinning at him.“But I’m sure they’ll all be happy for me.”At the very least, she wouldn’t hear about it if someone wasn’t happy about the forthcoming nuptials.“What did you have planned for dinner, because I saw that the Crusted Crab is open now…”

“The Crusted Crab,” Harrison said, chuckling.“I just need to kiss you one more time.”

And he did just that.