Chapter Twenty

Owen

IT WAS THEIR LAST Saturday in Santa Barbara. The yard was full. Their friends and family had come up to visit and BBQ. Later, they were all going to the beach for a bonfire and to make s’mores with the kids.

Owen couldn’t believe how far the house had come in the short four weeks they had been there. As David and his crew finished the kitchen, Owen and Nadia had worked together staining the exposed beam. The thought of staring at her ass while she insisted to stand on the ladder still brought a grin to his face. Once the kitchen had been done, they’d opted to paint the walls a soft dove gray, while the girls had finished the last couple of days at camp. The house looked great, and there was a deep-seated sense of accomplishment when he looked at it.

“I need a burger. And try not to burn it this time,” Simone’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He chuckled.

“I burned your burger one time, over ten years ago.” He had been in medical school and they had all got together during one of his rare days off.

“And I can still taste how crispy it was,” she retorted. He shook his head, flipping the patties in front of him, the grill radiating its own heat.

“Thank you, by the way,” he uttered after clearing his throat, his eyes meeting his wife’s best friend’s.

“For what?”

“The e-mail you sent me about the contractor.”

“E-mail….” She tapped her finger against her lips and shrugged. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Her mischief-filled eyes gave her away. “You guys better?” she asked, looking away. He followed her gaze to where Nadia stood with her mom and niece, each talking and smiling.

“I like to think we are.” After Nadia and his conversation and the last week of his vacation, he knew they could handle whatever storm life might bring. As long as they stood in it together.

“She told me about the thirty-day challenge you guys did,” Simone said, surprising him slightly.

“Did she?” He braced for Simone to bust his balls, but it never happened. Instead, she patted his back before giving him a hug.

“Thank you for making her smile again,” she whispered, her tone the most emotional he had ever heard from her.

“Simone…” he started to say, but she pulled away and shook her head.

“It’s been years since I have seen her like this,” she confessed, and he tried not to flinch.

She wasn’t saying it to tear him down; she was only being honest. Watching his wife from afar, he got it now. He saw the difference, and it still shocked him to hell that he hadn’t noticed before. The way her smiles reached her eyes. How her gaze twinkled and glittered like she was bursting with happiness from the inside out.

“Like what?” he risked asking, but he knew what she meant. He tore his eyes from his wife and looked back to Simone only to catch her staring back at him

“Like she used to.” Simone’s wistful smile grew. “Like she knows what she wants from life. Like she used to when I first met her.” Her words made him swallow hard and silence fell between them. “You did good this summer, Dr. Daniels.” Simone winked, pointing toward the house, but he knew she meant more than that. She meant stepping up and working on fixing the mistakes he had made. Before he could respond, she walked away with a burger on her plate.

Turning around to pay attention to the grill, he couldn’t help but feel proud of what he had done, and just like that, an idea popped into his head.

They had already done the last challenge on the list, but he had the perfect idea for one more task.

The prefect way to make sure they headed home on just the right note. A little something to remind them they had something worth saving.

Nadia

The bonfire was burning bright and the summer night on the beach was perfect. I couldn’t imagine a better day, even if it was bittersweet being our last, with us having to return to real life soon. Owen had tried to talk me into staying another week, but I honestly didn’t want to be away from him. I was ready to start our lives back up again, and I knew the girls were itching to get back to ballet and gymnastics and their friends.

It was time.

My mom laughed, which snapped my attention over to them. My sister laughed at something my mom must have said as her grinning husband wrapped an arm around my sister’s shoulder. Before this trip and doing the challenge, the scene in front of me would have hit me with a pang of envy. Now I saw the beauty that was in it. Leaning to my right, I rested my head on my best friend’s bony shoulder.

“Are you having fun?” I asked her, my eyes on the girls and Simone’s kids making s’mores with Owen and my dad.

“The best.”

“Thank you for the chocolate and the soaps.”

“Anything for my best friend.” She hugged me, and I hugged her back.

Owen’s eye caught mine and he called me over. Excusing myself, I went to him. Together, we sat and ate a s’more before he asked Simone to watch the girls while he took me to show me something.

Walking hand in hand, we didn’t say a word.

We didn’t have to. We were finally somehow back in sync. Things weren’t perfect, and I doubted they ever would be, but then again, who would want that? There was always beauty in the messes in life. But we were finally seeing one another, and that’s what mattered.

The soft, warm sand underneath our bare feet, we reached the shore, where he looked at me. “What is it?” I asked, not recognizing the look he was giving me.

“Do you remember when we got married?” he randomly asked. My eyebrows went up toward my hairline.

“You mean…”

“When we eloped,” he asked. I smiled warmly. Our parents had thought we were too young. Just graduating college, Owen was about to start medical school in the fall. My parents didn’t want us to rush into anything; they were filled with worry Owen wouldn’t be there for me as I pursued my own career goals while he was busy with his own, while his parents were afraid I would be a distraction.

“Vegas.” I giggled, remembering how we got married in a small chapel at Excalibur and too broke to book a hotel on the Las Vegas strip.

“Vegas,” he repeated, his hand coming up to stroke my face. “Do you remember the words we said to one another?” he asked, and I nodded. We had gone with traditional vows because after the arguments and stubbornness we had met with both sets of parents, we had rushed off on a road trip and never had time to write our own.

“Of course, I do.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s at the end of it.” He smirked and took a deep breath. Slowly exhaling, he dropped his hand from my face. Standing in front of one another, we held each other’s hands, while the water tickled our feet before the small waves pulled away.

“Owen, what are you doing?” I whispered, but he ignored my question. Instead, he once again surprised me and took my breath away.

“I, Owen, take you, Nadia—” Emotion choked me up.

“Owen,” I gasped, realizing what he was doing. Renewing our vows.

“As my wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part.” Each word was said exactly as it was meant.

As a vow.

A promise.

All spoken with the same amount of love, if not more, than the first time. All under the stars and bright moonlight and the waves crashing at our feet.

“Owen—”

“I promise not to take you for granted.” My eyes prickled and our hands tightened in our hold. “Not to let you get lost. To have you and our family as my top priority from here on out. I love you, Nadia. I love you, and I promise to stand beside you. No matter what hurdle life throws at us, you are my always. My constant. My only. The best part of me. I will do everything I can not to let you down.” I sniffled. My tears couldn’t be contained and were freely rolling down my face.

“I, Nadia, take you, Owen, as my husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part,” I promised. I smiled so brightly my face started to hurt. “I promise to talk to you. To let you in. To call you out on things. To ask for help. No matter what hurdle life throws at us, you are my always. The best part of me. I will do everything I can not to let you down.”

“I fucking love you, Nadia.”

“I love you, too, Owen,” was all I could say before his lips crashed onto mine and we kissed until catcalls sounded from afar.