Chapter Twenty-Two
On the last Sunday in June, down on the beach at SkySong, Miranda emailed a couple of photos to Mrs. Sharma and then put down her phone, raised her arms to the afternoon sun, and luxuriated in it. Luxuriated in everything.
Best of all was the sight of Luke trying to teach the three kids to skip stones. Ariana—her big girl who would turn three in a month, and who almost never threw a tantrum now—and the boisterous Brandon, seemed totally content to hurl stones and not have them skip. Only Caleb was devoting effort to learning the technique. As for Honey and Pigpen, they didn’t seem to tire of chasing stones that sunk rather than floated like sticks.
Miranda was content to laze in the sun while Luke supervised the kids, and Eden’s family prepared a feast up the hill in Di and Seal’s big house. No longer did she feel compelled to always be contributing, to earn her way. Being confident in a relationship, being an equal, meant not keeping score of who owed whom. It meant being partners who shared and helped each other, and sometimes just let the other person goof off and relax.
There was a lot of relaxing going on this afternoon, as several resort guests strolled along the beach, perched on logs, or waded in the chilly water. Di and Seal, two runaway hippies, had built an incredible place over the decades they’d lived on the island.
Luke sent a flat stone skimming the surface, skipping one, two, three, four, five times, and she cheered, “My hero!”
He turned to smile at her, brushed his hands together, and said, “Time to rest on my laurels.”
Coming up the beach to where she sat on a towel with her back against a log, he said, “I’m so glad you let me buy that bikini.”
They’d been strolling through Blue Moon Harbor village the previous week, on their way to dinner at C-Shell, when they spied the gorgeous bathing suit in the window of Island Treasures. Patterned in shades of blue, it was admittedly perfect for her coloring, but also outrageously expensive. She might be inheriting a small fortune—thanks to the grandparents she’d chosen to believe actually intended their estate to go to her and Aaron—but she would always be thrifty. She didn’t protest too much, though, when Luke had insisted on buying it, saying he wasn’t doing it for her but for himself, and she was doing him a favor by wearing it.
That night, after one of Celia’s incredible feasts, he’d asked Miranda to model the bikini before bed. Thinking back on the inspired lovemaking that had ensued, she grinned with satisfaction. She was entirely happy to benefit from all the lessons Luke had learned from those sex manuals.
“Looking forward to the party?” he asked as he lowered his muscular body to sprawl beside her.
She claimed a kiss. “I can’t believe Eden’s family is throwing a party to celebrate the anniversary of me moving to Destiny,” she marveled. “When I arrived here a year ago, I was a total bitch. Pathetic, needy. Jealous of Eden.”
“You had your reasons, and you’ve changed. Everyone sees that. When I watch you with them, it’s clear you’re part of that family. Just the same as when you’re with my parents and in-laws.”
Over the past weeks, since they’d confessed their love for each other in early May, it had become a regular thing to hang out with either his relatives or hers. There’d been a few awkward moments—and blunt Annie had confessed that sometimes it hurt to see Miranda in Candace’s place—but everyone was getting to be comfortable together.
So comfortable that Annie, Randall, Sonia, and Forbes were invited to the party that would get underway in another hour or so. Di and Seal had asked Forbes to bring his guitar, and Miranda knew that a lot of old folk songs would get sung tonight. Hopefully, there’d be no mention of Merlin. Annie’s intense focus was now on fine-tuning her commune video game, and she apparently gave no thought to the real-life stories that had inspired it.
Down by the water’s edge, Caleb was showing Ariana how to pick flat stones for skipping. “He’s so patient with her,” Miranda commented. “It reminds me of how Aaron was with me.” In fact, all three kids got along quite well now, with Brandon fueling Ariana’s boisterous side and Caleb trying to teach her new skills.
A couple of white-haired men, their aging bodies clad in shorts, strolled along the beach holding hands. Miranda exchanged smiles with them and the two men paused, glancing from her and Luke to the three kids. “You have a beautiful family,” one of the men said, and the two of them meandered on.
That was nice, being taken for a family. As if they all truly did belong together, which was how it felt to Miranda. Hopefully, to Luke as well.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “Here’s a thought.”
She turned to him.
“What that guy said, about us having a lovely family . . .” He reached for the short-sleeved shirt he’d brought down to the beach but hadn’t put on. “What would you say . . .” From the pocket he took a small wooden box.
Her heart skipped, much more effectively than those stones her daughter was tossing.
“To making it official?” Luke finished. “I love you, Miranda Gabriel. Will you and Ariana join your little family with my little family? Will you come home with me and never leave?” He opened the box and there on a pad of creamy velvet was a stunning ring, an abstract pattern of diamonds and blue gemstones.
“You’re asking me to marry you?” she said. Was this really happening, or was it the best dream she’d ever had?
“I sure am. Do you like the ring?” he asked, sounding nervous. “I got it made. I chose blue topaz because it’s the color of your eyes, though nowhere near as pretty.”
“It’s fabulous.” She brushed her fingers across the top of the ring—yes, it was real; all of this was real—and then eased it from the velvet pad. “I came here a year ago, having hit rock bottom,” she said wonderingly. “And now I can’t imagine life getting any better.” She started to slip the ring on her finger.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Luke caught her hand. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Confused, she gazed at him and then it dawned on her. Didn’t he know her answer, or did he just want to hear her say it? “Yes, Luke. Yes! I’ll marry you and we’ll become one wonderful blended family.” She would have a real home for the first time in her life. “Yes, please.”
He eased the ring onto her finger, lifted her hand, and kissed her finger beside the ring. “Thank you for making me the happiest man alive.”
Then he kissed her lips, and as she threw her arms around him and sunk into the kiss, her heart felt full. For the first time ever, there was no hole, no ache inside it.
She wasn’t perfect, and Luke knew that. But she had grown up a lot in the past year. Her heart, which had always craved love and acceptance, had finally made the right choice. It had led her to a remarkable man, a man who loved and respected her, a man who wanted to share his life with her.
She was lucky and she was blessed—and yes, she did deserve this.