Page 129 of Sunset Catchers

I jerk up on my feet.

I need to get to him, to tell him all of that.

I turn around, my breath whooshes out of me—he’s here.

I frown while he stares.

But my frown isn’t hard anymore; it’s so, so soft. And his stare is not the same stare as that first encounter at the gas station. It transformed—it is all-seeing and all-knowing. It stares through skin and sinew, through hard shells and reluctance, effortlessly.

“I couldn’t stay away,” Levi yells to be heard over the raucous of the crashing waves, shrugging sheepishly. “I thought I could sit in on that hippocampus meeting?”

The wind carries my disbelieving laugh over to him.

“Meeting’s already over!” I yell back.

“Yeah?” he asks. I nod. “Can I say something first?”

“Yes!”

“I just…I truly thought I’d be settling when it came to choosing a life partner. I thought true love just wasn’t in the cards for me. And then I met you. And, fuck, Winnie. You exceed my wildest expectations. There’s not a single bar you haven’t raised, Win.”

I’m fully crying now.

“I feel the same way,” I tell him.

“Hey, find your own corny love declaration. My brain worked overtime to come up with this one.”

Gosh, how did I ever think falling in love with Levi was even a choice? It was inevitable, wasn’t it?

“So, what’s the conclusion?” he asks.

“If you’ll have me, knowing there’s potential for future improvements, then I’m in. I want you. I want us. To merge our lives. I want it all. With you!”

“No improvements needed. I’ll take you as you are,” he shouts, eyes glossy. He wipes a few stray tears with his knuckles.

The look on his face! A flood of pure joy. Levi smiles.

I’m talking cheek splitting grin that can barely be contained by only one face—I smile big too, so we can share the extent of this feeling together.

We’re both showing all of our teeth.

I could swear we illuminate the morning with how bright our happiness is.

I hope we do the same thing with the rest of our lives.

33

The cottages are done.

They turned out great; both masterpieces of eclectic decor in their own color palettes. While Levi’s, the bigger one, mingles shades of blues and greens, the smaller one is a happy fest of pinks and purples and yellows.

Colorful frames on the walls. Mismatched glassware in the kitchen. A mix of florals and gingham and stripes all over the pillows and curtains and the shades resting over funky ceramic lamps. Cuffed wooden furniture that gives a lived-in look to these new builds. I particularly love the vintage deep purple loveseat with a curved back we’ve scored for my cottage and the cow-printed mugs that we put in Levi’s cottage.

I’m so proud of myself. Of our little team. Of what we’ve accomplished.

Equally, I’m sad that our uninterrupted time together is coming to an end. If I could’ve kept working on these cottages with Levi for the rest of my life, I would’ve.

That’s how much I dread my departure in two days.