I could have watched her for hours.

We wound around the coast, past the bay and the small neighborhoods, until we came to the driveway and pulled through the gate. The Hampton house was just as we’d left it — quiet and beautiful. The waves still crashed against the shore, the seagrass still waved in the breeze. Maggie still looked like she belonged there. But I was a different man.

We changed into swimsuits and walked the long, wooden path to the ocean. I chased her through the surf. I kissed her salty lips. I lay with her on the shore for hours in the sun, watching the clouds, watching her. Breathing and being.

We had every intention of driving into town to eat. But the moment we walked into the house, I turned around to find her standing still in the doorway, skin a shade darker against her white bikini and golden hair. The way she looked at me made me feel like a fool and a god. I could never be enough for her, but I could be her everything. And all I could do when she looked at me that way was to kiss her. Because words weren’t enough. They’d never be enough.

I took her in my arms and to my bed. I lay in her arms for hours and listened to her voice, to the sound of the ocean past the windows. We ate sandwiches in bed at eleven, and then I turned out the lights and took her in the moonlight. I gave myself to her completely. And when I fell asleep with her against my chest, I knew I’d never want another girl. I’d never love another girl. Not as long as I lived.

Maggie

I woke up that morning before the sun rose, watching Cooper sleep in the near dark. His lips were parted, chest rising and falling slowly, dark lashes against his cheeks. My eyes traced the line of his profile, resisting the urge to touch him, not wanting to ruin the perfection. He looked like a boy, a happy, peaceful boy.

He was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen, and he made me feel like Cinderella, it was true. He’d been to the ball. Met all the girls. And in the end, he chose me. He chose me even when I hurt him, even when I didn’t believe he was sincere. He chose me even when I said I didn’t want him, when I changed my mind and pushed him away. He waited, because he loved me. And I loved him.

I climbed out of bed gently and found our bag. It was too dark and quiet to dig too much, so I grabbed the first thing I found, pulling on his tailored shirt as I walked through the kitchen. The coffee pot and supplies were easy to find, and once I’d started it, I walked out onto the back patio to watch the sun rise.

It was a little chilly, but I didn’t mind, just leaned on a post on the patio with my eyes on the horizon, watching the water lap the sand and recede, listening to the steady rush of the waves, waiting for the sun.

I’d always been waiting on the sun, even when I thought I’d caught it with Jimmy. I knew now. I knew that Cooper was my sun, but I was his sun too. I didn’t need to orbit him, and he didn’t need to orbit me. We were a constellation, two stars connected as we moved through the heavens together, holding each other close with our own gravity.

I turned to find him behind me, tall and dark in the doorway, leaning against the frame, watching me. His hands were in the pockets of his jersey pants, his chest bare, eyes dark, his face full of love and longing. He pushed off the wall and grabbed a blanket on his way to me, opening it up. He wrapped it around his shoulders and opened his arms, and I settled into his chest, slipping my arms around his waist, pulling our bodies flush, our faces turned to the ocean.

He rocked me gently. “I imagined this moment. You. Here. The sunrise. But I never imagined I would feel this way.”

My heart was so full, so heavy with emotion, and I recognized the feeling — the way he made me feel — for the first time. Compared it to every other feeling, but it was singular. Distinctive. Extraordinary. “My whole life, I thought I knew what love was. I thought I understood it, but I didn’t know. Not until you.”

He squeezed me tighter, took a shallow breath.

“But you knew all along, didn’t you? You knew, and you tried to show me, but I fought you every step of the way.”

“Lucky for us, I won.”

I laughed softly, my chest aching as I pulled him even closer.

“Stay with me, Maggie.”

I looked up at him.

“I don’t want to be without you. Not for a minute I don’t have to be. Come home with me tonight. Come home with me tomorrow night and every night.”

I took a breath, lips parted to speak, but he headed me off.

“If it’s ever too much, if you need time or space, it’s yours. But if you want to stay, stay.”

“They’ll think we’re crazy.”

The honesty, the earnestness in his eyes overwhelmed me. “I don’t care what they think. What do you think?”

My mind spun around, thinking it was crazy and irresponsible. Irrational. That I would doom us from the start if I agreed.

There was only one answer to give.

“Of course I will. I love you.”

He smiled at me, the relief plain to see, his eyes sparkling as he kissed me. And I knew then that I’d be staying forever.

EPILOGUE - COOPER

Cooper

WE SAT IN HABITS THAT night with our friends, sun kissed and windblown. Maggie’s arm was wrapped around mine, her smile bright as we drank and laughed after the best weekend of my life.

Lily sat on a barstool between West’s legs, grinning at us. West didn’t look like he wanted to hit me, so I was calling that a win. Patrick leaned back against the bar smirking, and Rose leaned from behind the bar next to him. Astrid sipped her drink, watching us sentimentally.

Lily shook her head. “I am so glad you’re back, Maggie. We missed you.”

“Me too. Jackson is hot, y’all. I’ve been here a month and I’d already deacclimated.”

West laughed. “Yeah, I don’t miss the mosquito hordes either.”

“Not even a little.”

“Mom’s pie, however …”

“Never get enough,” she said.

“Thank God you’re back. I’ve had no one to watch 90s teen movies with.” Rose smiled. “I’m so glad I’ll have a roommate again.”

Patrick had a weird look on his face, and I eyed him.

“Hey.” Lily made a face.

“What?” Rose asked. “I think we can all agree you’re my roommate in name only these days.”

She settled back into West and blushed. “Oh, fine.”

Maggie looked up at me nervously. “Well, about that …”

Oh, God. Here it goes. I squeezed her hand between my arm and ribs.

West narrowed his eyes.

Maggie took a breath. “I’m going to be staying with Cooper.”

A surprised laugh shot out of Lily, and West looked like he was imagining ways to decapitate me. Everyone else just gaped.

I cleared my throat. “I know it seems fast—”

“Seems fast?” West asked, ears red.

I gave him a look. “I live around the corner from her job. It’s not like she can’t come back if she wants to, right?” I asked Lily and Rose.

Lily shook her head, seemingly to clear it. “Of course. You’re always welcome, Maggie. And we are so happy for you guys.” She slipped off her stool, and everyone stood. Patrick clapped me on the shoulder and smiled, and the girls took turns hugging.

I stepped over to West, flashing The Smile. “Come on, Williams. You’re not really mad, are you?”

His eyes narrowed, but when he looked over at Maggie, saw her smiling and laughing with the girls, something in his face changed, softened.