Page 149 of When the Stars Rise

“Mmhmm.” I rub my thumb over the ring on my finger, a vintage 1920s diamond that I’m never taking off for as long as I live. “Turns out it was the same ring I saw in a window overtwo years ago. The shop was closed but I stopped to look in the window. I loved the ring so much. It was vintage, you know, and it looked like it had stories to tell. I loved the idea that it had a long and beautiful history filled with love and tears and heartache and joy and all the extraordinary things that make us human. Kind of like the history I had with the boy I grew up with. And what do you know? He went back the next morning and bought it.” I laugh. “I just thought he went out to buy croissants.”

“That’s one of your best dreams yet.”

“True love stories are even better than our wildest dreams.”

“That’s saying a lot. Because you have some very wild dreams,” he teases.

“You’ve always been my wildest dream.” I bite my lip. “I lied about something. I didn’t have a dream that you were drowning. I just had this strong urge to go to the beach. It wasn’t even a conscious thought. I just knew I needed to go there.”

He considers that for a moment. “Maybe you got Shiloh’s gift.”

Maybe. Or maybe we’re so attuned to each other that I just knew he was in trouble. He made the decision himself though. He was already swimming back to shore.

“I didn’t really rescue you. By the time I got to you, you weren’t that far out. The waves carried us back to shore, not me.” I think he was too tired and drained to realize it at the time but that really is the way it happened.

“You carried me home, not the waves.You.”

And maybe that’s what love is.

Lifting each other up in good times and bad. Carrying each other when the going gets tough and our burdens become too heavy.

And no matter what, always finding our way back home.

EPILOGUE

Noah

Two YearsLater

I step onto the porch and smile. It’s a good day to be alive.

Hayley is sitting in an Adirondack chair on the back porch of the guesthouse. She’s wearing one of my old hoodies, leggings, and a smile that’s just for me.

The mellow fall sunshine is filtering through the trees surrounding the lake and the air is scented with woodsmoke and pine. It’s the perfect day for a wedding.

We decided to get married on my dad’s ranch. It holds a lot of good memories for us, and we’ve been following my mom’s advice and holding onto the good ones.

Five hours from now, we’ll be exchanging our vows, but right now it’s just the two of us. I take the mug of coffee out of her hands and set it on the arm of the chair then lift her out of her seat and onto my lap.

I nuzzle the side of her neck and breathe her in. Just like heaven. It’s a rare moment of peace and quiet and I want to savor it.

The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity preparing for the wedding. To be honest, the past couple of years have been a whirlwind. Hayley released another album and went on tour. The tour was only for a few months, and I joined her as often as I could. I started my new job in disaster relief and ended up loving it. It’s more fulfilling than what I was doing before, and it feels good to be helping people.

“Nervous?” I ask, brushing the hair off Hayley’s cheek.

She smiles and I love her so fucking much that I can barely contain it. “Nope. Not even a little bit.” She takes a sip of her coffee and looks down at Simba curled up next to our chair. “I can’t wait to grow old with you,” she says with a happy sigh.

It’s taken Hayley and I a long time to get to this place, but I can feel it in my bones that we’re exactly where we’re meant to be. I’m so fucking ready to start the next chapter of our life. “I can’t wait until we have a houseful of kids.”

“I can’t wait to have sex with myhusband.”

“Why wait?” My hand coasts up her thigh. “We’ve still got some time.”

Hales shoves my hand away and I follow her gaze.

My mom gives us a cheery wave and I groan. What now? She and Jude are rounding the side of the house and close on their heels is my uncle Ridge with his wife, Evie.

As if on cue, the back door opens and my dad and Shiloh step onto the porch.