Scrappy barked, drawing her attention to Jagger coming down the sidewalk in his Baha hoodie and shorts, with his guitar strapped to his back and Dolly trotting happily beside him. He waved.
“Is it five already?” Cait asked. His shift started at five thirty.
“Just about.” He let Dolly off her leash, and she and Scrappy went nose to nose, tails wagging. Their friends shouted hello to him, and Cait introduced her friends from the Cape. “Wow, you really turned this place around. It looks great.”
“Thanks,” Cait said as Dolly ran past, making a beeline for Deirdra.
“Hey!” Deirdra snapped. She liked dogs, but for as laid-back as Dolly usually was, she got overly excited every time she saw Deirdra, and the first thing she did was put her snout in Deirdra’s crotch. “Do you mind?” Deirdra turned away, but Dolly followed, going paws-up on her chest. “Dolly!” She tried to push the dog off, but Dolly tried to lick her face, causing everyone else to laugh and Scrappy to bark. “Come on, sweetie, stop.”
Abby held up her phone to take a picture.
Deirdra glowered, trying to dodge Dolly again. “Jagger!”
Jagger whistled and patted his leg, and Dolly trotted to his side, tongue hanging out, tail wagging excitedly. He put on her leash. “Sorry, Didi. She’s just glad to see you. We all are.”
“It’s okay.” Deirdra was smiling and brushing dirt from her clothes, but she narrowed her eyes and said, “But what did I tell you about calling me Didi? It sounds like a stripper.”
Jagger cocked a grin. “Now, there’s a visual.”
Everyone cracked up, except Deirdra, who rolled her eyes.
“See y’all around.” Jagger petted Dolly. “Come on, girl, time to go to work.”
As he left, Brant climbed down the ladder and Cait reached for his hand. “Dolly is funny with Deirdra, isn’t she?”
“Yeah. It’s good to see Dee laugh. Look what I got for later.” He held up a black Sharpie.
“We need to buy stock in Sharpie.” She loved that he never let his tattoo disappear completely.
He put his arm around her, glancing at the ANCHOR AND TAIL sign. “What do you think, angel?”
She knew he was asking about all of the work they’d done, and the new sign, but as she looked at him with paint on his cheek, sawdust on his shirt, and her heart in his hands, all she could think about was that none of her new life would mean much without him by her side. “It’s more wonderful than I ever imagined it could be.”
“Then maybe it’s time for you to start thinking about your next big dream.”
That was so him, always thinking of her. “Look around us.” Their friends chatted, checking their phones and grabbing drinks from the cooler Gail and Roddy had left. “I’ve been blessed many times over. It’s your turn to dream. I know you always say you have everything you want, but there must be something that you dream about.”
“There is one thing I can’t stop thinking about, but I’m biding my time.”
“Why? You of all people deserve to have all of your dreams come true. I think you should go for it.”
“Are you sure?” He cocked a grin. “It’s kind of a big one.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me. I trust you with everything, and you can’t tell me your dream?”
He drew in a deep breath and pulled the Sharpie from his pocket. “I trust you with my life. I just didn’t want to rush you.”
“To draw your tattoo?” She laughed. “I’m pretty sure I can do tha—”
Brant took her left hand in his and dropped to one knee, gazing up at her with a deep-dimpled smile.
“Caity, from the moment I saw you across the room at Rock Bottom, I was drawn to you as if we’d known each other in another life, and I knew then, just as I do now, that we’re meant to brave this world together.”
“Brant . . . ?” she said breathlessly.
“Baby, I love our life together, and I love you. I love the way you pour your heart into everything you do, especially me and Scrappy, and the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice, and the way you’re looking at me right now.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
“I love your strength, Caity, and the way you get weak-kneed when we kiss. I love you, and I don’t want to go a single day without seeing your sometimes-bashful, sometimes-sassy, always-beautiful smile and hearing your laughter, feeling your touch. I want it all with you, angel—little creative kids with your gorgeous eyes and—”
“Your dimples,” she choked out through her tears.
He laughed. “Yeah. They’ll mess up our cottage and probably climb into our bed at night and then pee in it.”
She laughed, vaguely aware of everyone watching them.
“We’ll teach them to swim in Mermaid Cove and announce dune-side movies from their great-grandpa’s truck.”
That sounded perfect to her.
“I have a gorgeous ring that I designed and had made for you. It’s hidden in my sock drawer, so I’ll tell you about it.” He gazed up at her, his voice thick with love. “The band has a row of white diamonds between two rows of rose gold that are twisted to look like rope, you know, because we like going out on the boat.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“There’s a white-diamond infinity sign across the top intertwined with a rose-gold, heart-shaped rope and anchor, because our love is infinitely strong and will last forever. But for now, hopefully this will do.” He drew a ring on her ring finger with the Sharpie, causing more tears to tumble down her cheeks and bringing murmurs from their friends.
“Caity, I want a lifetime of loving you so completely, our grandkids will make jokes about how we’re always kissing and can’t keep our hands off each other.” He pushed to his feet, gazing deeply into her eyes. “Cait Weatherby, will you marry me and make my biggest dream come true?”
She looked at the beautiful man who had taught her to love and be loved, who had become her best friend and her lover and now wanted to become her husband. With a river of tears flowing down her cheeks, she said, “I have never wanted anything more than how much I want forever with you. Yes, Brant! Yes, I’ll marry y—”
Her last word was silenced by the hard press of his lips as he lifted her off her feet and spun her around. Whoops, cheers, and Scrappy’s high-pitched barks rang out, and Cait felt like the luckiest woman in the world. Who knew that by almost drowning, she’d find not only happiness but the truest, deepest love of all, right there on Silver Island, where she knew in her heart she was always meant to be.
A NOTE FROM MELISSA
Thank you for reading Cait and Brant’s story. I hope you enjoyed their journey to their happily ever after, and meeting all of their friends. If this is your first Silver Harbor book, you might enjoy reading Abby and Aiden’s love story, Maybe We Will. You can find a downloadable map of Silver Island, family trees, and series checklists for all of my books on the Reader Goodies page on my website (www.MelissaFoster.com/RG).
Each of Cait’s and Brant’s friends will have their own love stories, some of which are already written and can be found in my Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. Within the Love in Bloom world, you’ll find several family series. If you’d like to read more about the wonderful cast of the Silver Island Steeles, Silvers, and Remingtons, you can find them in The Steeles at Silver Island series. If you’re curious about Tank and his family and friends, please check out The Wickeds: Dark Knights at Bayside. And if you’d like to know more about Randi and Ford’s expedition, pick up Searching for Love, a Braden & Montgomery novel featuring treasure hunter Zev Braden and chocolatier Carly Dylan. In Searching for Love you can get to know the beloved Bradens and spend time with Randi and Ford.