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.
“If you hurt her, I’ll fucking murder you.”
I slipped my hands in my pockets. “I know.”
“I’m not even kidding, Cooper.”
“I know.”
He let out a sigh. “Just make her happy.”
I looked over at her, my eyes roaming her rosy cheeks, her bright eyes, the smile that changed my life, and I made him a promise.
“I will.”
EPILOGUE - MAGGIE
Maggie
I PULLED THE BOAT INTO the wind, and when the sails luffed, I locked the wheel and turned on the engine. Cooper was already lowering the jib, the wind blowing his hair, his smile a thousand watts brighter against his deep tan. I moved past him to the mainsail and grabbed the halyard rope, pulling hand over hand until it was lowered completely.
Santorini sat just in the distance — the blue roofs and white walls lining the sheer cliff in the dusk — and I took a moment to appreciate the sight as Cooper headed back to the cockpit and pulled us into the harbor.
It was the end of May, and we’d both taken an extended Memorial Day holiday to go to Greece. We flew into Athens where we spent a few glorious days before renting a sailboat yacht much like Midnight Caller. First, we sailed to Mykonos, a beautiful party island, then Rhodes, full of history. Our last stop before heading back to Athens was Santorini, and I already knew it would be my favorite.
We pulled into the slip and showered, changed for dinner — him in a suit cut to perfection, me in a royal blue dress cut to keep Cooper’s eyes on my neckline. His arms were around me, his lips to my ear as we rode in a taxi up the switchback into town. His hand never left mine as we walked the streets and found the restaurant he wanted to take me to.
It was almost like a patio in that there were no window panes, just open arches that overlooked the ocean and the curve of the cliff. The white walls of the buildings glowed, illuminated by lights along the ground so they shone against the night, the domed blue roofs of each building the same shade as my dress. It was magical. The trip had been magical. My life was magical. And all because of him.
Oh, how things had changed over the course of a few weeks. I’d moved my belongings, which were mostly shoes, into Cooper’s apartment. I’d gotten my own keys and had access to Bobby whenever I needed. We worked most days, and Cooper cooked dinner most nights. We watched a lot of Netflix — most recently a binge session of Star Trek: The Next Generation, since I’d never seen it and Cooper wanted to show me.
He wanted to show me everything.
It was overwhelming, at first. Obviously, the rules were gone, so the first thing he did was take me out to a string of gourmet restaurants, though I made him order for me because I was afraid to see the prices. He’d also made sport of buying me things, to make up for the time the rules were still in place, he’d said.