“I saw the plane leave. I thought you were gone.”
“I couldn’t bring myself to go.”
He put his laptop on the chair next to his and held out a hand to her.
She took his hand and let him draw her down onto the lounge with him. “I’m sorry, Coop.”
“Don’t apologize. You had to come around to this in your own way and your own time.” He put his arms around her, and when she snuggled into his embrace, he was able to breathe for the first time in days. “Have you come around to it? To me and us?”
“I think I have.”
“I need you to be sure, sweetheart, because the last couple of days were hell.”
“I’m sorry I put you through that.”
“You’re not apologizing, remember?” He tipped her chin up so he could kiss her. “There’s something I never got the chance to tell you before you dumped me.”
She cringed at his choice of words. “What’s that?”
“I love you, Gabrielle Gigi Gibson.”
“I love you, too, Coop. I really do, and that’s why I freaked out. I don’t know how to do this.”
“This is a first for me, too. How about we figure it out together?”
“I’d love that.” She rested her head on his chest and let out a deep sigh. “You were right here, and I was right there, and I missed you so much.”
He stroked her hair and rubbed her back. Now that he was allowed to touch her again, he would never stop. “I missed you, too.”
“Cooper, will you come home to LA with me this winter and possibly on location to shoot the show from somewhere cool, and then bring me back to this magical place next summer to start your business on Gansett while I hang with my girls?”
“I’d love nothing more than to live that life with you, sweetheart.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
He hugged her tightly. “That’s what we’ll do.”
Epilogue
“Have you heard from Jordan since she and Mason got officially engaged?” Cooper asked Gigi much later that night when they were in her bed in the apartment she’d taken ownership of again for a few more days. Jared and Lizzie were so glad she’d come back for Cooper, they told her to stay as long as she’d like.
“I haven’t talked to her since their big day. They’ve gone deep undercover. I heard he even took some emergency leave from work.”
“Good for them,” Cooper said, chuckling. “And good for us.” He turned so he was on top of her, gazing down at her as he slid into her for round two. “I haven’t forgotten that I owe you dinner at the Beachcomber to make up for our disastrous first date.”
“Our first date was the best first date I’ve ever had.”
“Was it?”
She nodded as she wrapped her arms around him. “And as for dinner, I find myself on something called a vacation. People tell me they’re fun and that you can do anything you want, such as go to dinner at the Beachcomber with your boyfriend.”
“I love being your boyfriend,” he said, kissing her before resting his forehead against hers. “Tell me again.”
“I love you, Cooper.”
“I love you, too, Gigi. We’re going to have it all. Every single freaking thing in this world, we’re going to have it.”
“You make me believe anything is possible.”
“It is as long as we have each other. Thanks for coming back for me.”
“I have a feeling that’s going to turn out to be the smartest thing I ever did.”
* * *
Jared went looking for Lizzie and found her gazing down at their daughter. They had a daughter. Jessie had signed the temporary custody agreement, and Dan had begun the official adoption proceedings. Pending court approval, they’d be adopting Violet and raising her as their own.
Dan had warned them that Jessie could change her mind until the adoption was final, but Jessie had assured them she wouldn’t be changing her mind. She’d apologized profusely for leaving the baby with them the way she had in the first place, but Lizzie had told her things happen for a reason. She’d been so calm and reasonable when Jared was losing his shit over the way this had happened.
He was a dad to a sweet little girl.
They were a family.
“You need some rest, love,” he whispered, placing his hands on Lizzie’s shoulders.
“I just want to stare at her and never blink.”
“She’ll still be here in the morning.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
She ran her fingers gently over the baby’s cheek and then let him lead her to bed. “How long do you think it’ll be before I believe this actually happened?”
“It might take a while, but we’ll get there.”
“We have a daughter, Jared.”
“Yes, we do,” he said, amused by the wonder in her voice as he held her close. “And Gigi came back for Cooper.”
“Thank goodness for that. I’ve never seen him so low as he was after she ended things with him.”
“I know. I was worried about what would become of him.”
“I think they’re going to be very happy together.”
“I think so, too, but let’s talk about how happy we are.”
“I’ve never been happier. Thank you for putting up with me and my craziness and the stray babies and all of it.”
“I love you and your craziness more than anything.”
“It’s amazing, isn’t it, that you and I came back together right here, and now Cooper and Gigi have, too.”
“It’s this place. It’s magic. I’ve thought so from the first time I ever came here, and the proof keeps piling up.” He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. “How about you and me and Vi keep making magic for the rest of our lives?”
“I’m down with that.”
* * *
Turn the page to read McCarthy, Party of Seven, A Gansett Island short story.
McCarthy, Party of Seven
A Gansett Island Short Story
Big Mac McCarthy drove Mac and Maddie’s SUV off the ferry in Point Judith and headed for Women & Infants Hospital in Providence to pick up his son, daughter-in-law and newborn baby granddaughters.
“I can’t wait to see those babies again,” Big Mac’s wife, Linda, said. They’d taken clothes and other supplies to the kids a few days after the babies’ dramatic birth, but hadn’t been back again since, as they were helping to care for the couple’s other three kids at home.
“I can’t either. I’m so thankful they’re strong enough to go home.”
The babies had been released from the hospital two days ago and had stayed at Frank’s house in Providence until the doctors declared them ready to return to Gansett.
Mac had called the night before and told them Maddie was nervous about bringing the twins to a remote island. Big Mac had tried to assure his son that with Dr. David Lawrence and nurse practitioners Victoria Stevens and Katie McCarthy close by, the girls would be perfectly safe on the island. They also had Life Flight helicopters in cases of emergency, but he prayed to God they’d never again need one of them for his family.