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  “I guess so. Or feelings we find hard to express out loud but that we want to share with each other.”

  “As long as you don’t think it’s cheating, I’m all for it.”

  “We can make our own rules,” she said. “Our love story is ours to write.”

  “We’ve certainly started out unconventionally.”

  He kissed her as a wave came, harder and closer than before. She shivered from the damp and the nearness of the man she loved.

  “They’re going to want your statement. But first, you need a hot shower.” Trey rose to his feet, then lifted her into his arms. He walked with her across the sand to the chaos of her patio. She was oblivious to all the noise and the ugliness. Later, she would have to relive it for the police, but for now she was content. Trey was her world. He was all she needed now and forever. She nestled her head into his neck and let him lead the way.

  19

  Trey

  * * *

  A month later, Trey finished hanging a new decorative mirror over Autumn’s couch. The glass of the first one had been shattered and the brushed nickel frame dented. She’d chosen to replace it with a replica of the one she’d had. He’d picked the right one, she’d said, the first time. And she wasn’t about to let a madman ruin his lovely design.

  Never one to argue with his client or his girlfriend, he’d ordered the mirror from one of his favorite shops and asked for a rush delivery, then did the same for the destroyed area rug. The sooner he had her place back together the better. She didn’t need a bloodstained rug and broken mirror to remind her of the horrific events of that night. Despite the rushed order, the pieces had taken weeks to arrive, finally showing up just in time for their beach party.

  He stood back to make sure the mirror was straight. Satisfied, he adjusted the coffee table a few inches to the right. Autumn came in just as he placed the vase and bowl back on the table.

  “They look great,” she said, shifting a bag of groceries onto her other hip. “Like nothing ever happened.”

  They’d had a long discussion the night after it all went down about whether her love of the house had been tainted by the incident. She assured him that once everything was back to normal, she would be fine.

  He took the bag from her and gave her a quick kiss. “I think most everything is ready for the party.”

  They were hosting a beach party that afternoon and had invited the whole gang, including both their mothers. Before everyone arrived, however, Trey had a plan. A plan that involved a ring and some champagne.

  The last month together had been the best of his life. He’d basically moved in with her, spending every night here doing to her all the things he’d wanted to do since the day he met her.

  He arranged the cheeses and crackers she’d brought home from the store while she filled a couple of bowls with chips. Everyone was bringing a side dish to go with burgers and dogs from the grill. Soon, the house and patio would be filled with adults and kids. Happy chaos.

  After everything was ready, he took her hand and drew her outside to the patio, then asked her to walk with him down to the beach. He wanted to ask her to marry him on the spot where they’d sat that night and where they’d spent many more moments in the days following. Whether it was the near-death experience or the security that his love provided her, Autumn, like a butterfly, had decided she would no longer deny herself the pleasure of the beach. The very next day, she came downstairs dressed only in her bathing suit and asked him to join her for a swim in the ocean. After that, she’d asked Lisa if she could swim in her pool for exercise once in a while. Being Lisa, she’d given Autumn a key to their gate and said to come over anytime. Almost every morning, Autumn had woken early to swim laps in the Sotos’ pool.

  When she came home one afternoon with a pile of shorts and short skirts, he knew the transformation was complete.

  Today, she wore a short cover-up over her bathing suit. Her skin had tanned and the muscles in her thighs and arms had tightened from her daily swims. She looked hotter than ever. Yes, her scars were still visible, as well as her misshapen calf. However, she now moved with self-confidence and ease.

  She’d suggested the party as a way to show everyone her legs at once. “Get it over with, so it no longer has power over me,” she’d said. They’d since started calling it the “big reveal.”

  Holding hands, they walked together to their favorite spot on the beach. Swimming had given her more strength and stamina as well, which meant she no longer used her cane. The biggest difference, however, was how she could maneuver on even dry sand now. He still slowed his pace some, but not much.

  She smiled at him as they walked. “I used to be jealous of people doing this. Look at me now.” She tapped her temple. “So much of it was mental. I missed out on so much.”

  “You’re making the most of it now.”

  When they reached the edge of wet sand, he stopped. “Sit with me?”

  “Sure.”

  They sat side by side, looking out to the ocean. The weather was somewhere in the midseventies and the air still. Around them, people sunbathed and children dug in the sand. A couple of teenage boys tossed a football back and forth. A mother, pushed by the small hands of her children, shrieked as a wave broke over her.

  He turned slightly to look at his beautiful Autumn. She wore a straw hat, with a long braid down her back. Sparkly green stones the same color as her eyes hung from her ears. He kissed her neck just under her ear. “You’re beautiful today.”

  She cupped his cheek with her hand. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  He reached into his cargo pants and pulled out the box where a princess-cut solitaire waited.

  Her eyes flew open and stayed that way, as if invisible toothpicks held them open. “Trey. What is this?”

  He smiled and lifted the box. The diamond sparkled under the sun. “This is a ring. One I’m hoping you’ll accept.”

  She stared at the ring for a second before her gaze swung back to his face. “Oh my gosh. This is really happening?”

  He shifted onto his knees, then to only one. “From the first lamp we chose together, I’ve been in love with you. Will you marry me?”

  She tilted her hat up to look him in the eyes. “Yes, I’ll be your wife.”

  He took her hand and slipped the diamond over her ring finger. They kissed and the tears that dampened their cheeks ran together like the rivers did with the sea.

  That night, after he’d loved her thoroughly, she fell asleep. A three-quarter moon shone in through the window, lighting his way as Trey slid from the bed and into the living room, where his laptop waited on the coffee table. He opened it and leaned into the corner of the couch. Then, he typed his first love note to the woman who’d agreed to be his wife.

  Dear Autumn,

  You’re sleeping in the bedroom. I’ve slipped away to write you a note on the night of our engagement. This is the first of many love letters I’ll write to you. There’ll be many other occasions as special as tonight. The births of our children; family gatherings; weddings; graduations. But perhaps none of them will be as meaningful as tonight, because this is the start of everything. The beginning of our life as partners. You’ve been my best friend and confidante, my playmate, and now my lover. All those together are the meaning of the word wife.

  When you said yes to my proposal earlier today, my heart was so full and yet, as you know, I can’t seem to express my emotions in the moment. I wish I could. Maybe someday I’ll be able to. For now, I’ll say them here, in this first love letter. What started out as friendship, based on mutual respect and shared interests, grew into an epic love. You’ve given my life joy and hope. You inspire me with your goodness and intelligence. You came to me when I’d closed off all ideas of finding love. Yet there you were. My perfect match. My soul mate.

  The moon hovers over the sea as I write this, illuminating the waves we both love so much. Each ebb and flow of the surf reminds me that time moves forward. Each preciou
s moment with you is over the second it arrives. I wish I could catch each one to enjoy again and again. Instead, we’ll store them in our memories and in our love letters. Someday, we’ll tell our children and their children of our love story. The one we wrote together.

  The best love story of all. You and me.

  Love,

  Trey

  * * *

  He closed the computer and went back upstairs to his girl. Autumn murmured his name as he curled up next to her. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair and listened to her easy breathing that seemed in harmony with the waves that crashed outside the cottage. Ebbs and flows, high tides and low, he would be wherever she was.

  * * *

  The End

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling author Tess Thompson writes small-town romances and historical fiction. She started her writing career in fourth grade when she wrote a story about an orphan who opened a pizza restaurant. Oddly enough, her first novel, "Riversong" is about an adult orphan who opens a restaurant. Clearly, she's been obsessed with food and words for a long time now.

  With a degree from the University of Southern California in theatre, she’s spent her adult life studying story, word craft, and character. Since 2011, she’s published 20 novels and 3 novellas. Most days she spends at her desk chasing her daily word count or rewriting a terrible first draft.

  She currently lives in a suburb of Seattle, Washington with her husband, the hero of her own love story, and their Brady Bunch clan of two sons, two daughters and five cats. Yes, that's four kids and five cats.

  Tess loves to hear from you. Drop her a line at [email protected] or visit her website at https://tesswrites.com/

  Also by Tess Thompson

  Cliffside Bay Series

  * * *

  Traded: Brody and Kara

  Deleted: Jackson and Maggie

  Jaded: Zane and Honor

  Marred: Kyle and Violet

  Tainted: Lance and Mary

  The Christmas of Cats and Babies, A Cliffside Bay Novella

  Missed: Rafael and Lisa

  A Christmas Wedding, A Cliffside Bay Novella

  Healed: Stone and Pepper

  Scarred: Trey and Autumn

  Jilted: Nico and Sophie (coming November 2019)

  Departed: David and Sara (coming early 2020)

  Blue Mountain Series

  Blue Midnight

  Blue Moon

  Blue Ink

  Blue Thread (coming early 2020)

  River Valley Series

  Riversong

  Riverbend

  Riverstar

  Riversnow

  Riverstorm

  Historical Fiction

  Duet for Three Hands

  Miller’s Secret

  Legley Bay Series

  Caramel and Magnolias

  Tea and Primroses

  Novellas

  The Santa Trial