So anyway, just give it some thought. He quit BASE jumping. Kinda sucks, but we all totally understand. Give him a call or somethning, something (I think I’m dyslexic!). And really, I kinda miss you too. I’ve never really got along with bitches before, but you’re all right.
Yeah, so umm, if anyone other than Sienna (dark reddish-brown hair, short bangs, and with like a million freckles) is reading this letter, do me a favor and get the hell out of my business. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Kendra Morganton
Luke laughs out loud and his hand goes up toward his face, where he rubs his fingers against his jaw—it needs another shave, which I’d be happy to give him.
“Wow,” he says with disbelief. “I, uh, well, I had no idea she did that. And I’m really kind of shocked that she’d do it at all. That’s not like her.”
I look back down at that letter sitting atop my desk in uneven pieces under the lamplight, and I think about how stupid it was that I never opened it before. I could’ve put my mind at ease weeks ago.
“To tell you the truth, she’s talked about you almost as much as I have.” He laughs. “She’ll never admit it, but she has. She really likes you. So do Seth and Alicia—everybody does, honestly. Even Melinda; she asks me about you all the time.”
Luke steps up to me and his fingertips touch the sides of my face as he peers into my eyes.
“Move to Hawaii, Sienna,” he says. My heart skips several beats. “I mean it. I want you to come live with me. I mean, if you want me to move to California, then I’ll do it because I can’t spend another day without you. But if you come to Hawaii, we don’t have to worry about buying a new house or anything like that. Mine’s not much, but it’s paid for. I-I mean, I can have some repairs done, get the ceiling fixed so you don’t have to look up at the water stains every time we go to bed; I can put some new cabinets and counters in the kitchen—you probably like that granite stuff. I don’t care. I’ll do it—”
I kiss his lips to shut him up.
“Yes,” I tell him. “I’ll move to Hawaii with you.”
His close-lipped smile brightens slowly, the look in his eyes overwhelmed with happiness.
“And I don’t care about the ceiling or the cabinets,” I say. “I don’t care if we have to sleep outside in the rain—everything will work out. I just know it. Luke, I want to be with you. Because I’m madly in love with you too.” I kiss him again—I can’t believe I’m saying these things, so willing to move forward without any real plan, but it feels so right. “Yes, I’ll move to Hawaii with you. Because I love you.”
He wraps me in his arms, lifting my feet from the floor.
“Just so you know,” he says, “I would’ve given it up for you too.”
“Don’t say that,” I whisper onto his lips.
He kisses me.
“It’s true,” he says, carrying me over to the bed and laying me down. “I didn’t, but if things had been different and BASE jumping were my thing and not Landon’s, I would’ve given it up for you.”
My fingers touch his prickly, gorgeous face as he lies on top of me, looking down into my eyes. “I missed you,” I say, tracing my thumbs on the bone underneath his eyes. “I was sick without you. Promise me I’ll never be without you.”
His lips fall on my eyelids slowly, one and then the other, and then my forehead, and then my chin.
“I promise you’ll never be without me,” he says. “I’m yours for as long as you want me.”
I smile timidly. “That could be a really long time.”
He smiles in return, gazing into my eyes, and then his lips cover mine.
EPILOGUE
Sienna
Oahu, Hawaii
The community center has been revamped from top to bottom, it seems. It’s stunning! And without my help, Luke, Alicia, Braedon, and Melinda made the charity art event even more beautiful than I could have. Yards and yards of white tulle stream from the ceiling in soft waves, pulled apart in a triangular fashion, with strings of white lights flowing downward amid the fabric. Dozens of white paper globe lanterns are affixed at the top of each fabric display just like I suggested, hanging in clusters above each artist’s area as a highlight of the room.
The ceiling is filled with gold, clear, and silver helium-filled balloons, some in clusters, too, their ties strung together with fishing line. The glossy concrete flooring sparkles with the reflections of all the lights above it, and scattered against it around each display are faux white rose petals and glittery silver confetti—Alicia’s idea that turned out quite nice.
There are so many people here; I never imagined there would be this many, and it excites me as much as it makes me nervous—because I did donate several of my photographs, after all.
But it’s not just the community center—just to be here, in my new life with Luke in Hawaii … it’s like a dream. I wake up every morning feeling a whirlwind of emotions all vying for my attention: excitement, happiness, eagerness, even nervousness, as I’m still adjusting to the shock of such a large move, not just in my address, but my whole life. A tiny part of me sometimes panics a little, being so far away from everything I’ve ever known, but the moment I look around me at the beauty of the scenery—mostly at the beauty of Luke Everett—that panic vanishes in a breath.
I’m definitely living a dream.
With Luke’s arm hooked through mine, we walk farther into the room, both of us dressed formally—me in a cute white dress that stops just below my knees and a pair of white heels with silver glitter around the toes; Luke is clean-shaven and dressed in a suit, and oh my God … I think I died when he first stepped out of our bedroom in the dress pants and white button-up shirt, asking me to help him with his tie.