I Love How You Love Me(The Sullivans)(70)

“Do you need me to take Mason back out so that you can have more quiet?”

“No.” It was the last thing she wanted. “I want you to stay.”

They smiled at each other, both of them knowing just how much the word stay really meant. His request for her to stay for Mia and Ford’s wedding at his parents’ house and then her request for him to stay that night with her for the first time a week later had been their first important steps toward forever.

All along, as she’d worked on this cover story, she’d thought she needed to hide her feelings for Dylan. She hadn’t been ready for anyone to see how much she loved him, because she hadn’t been ready to admit it to herself yet, either.

But the truth was that everything she knew about the heart of a sailor had come from being loved by—and loving—him. So this cover story wasn’t only about Dylan. It was about her, too.

Which meant that to create the most honest, most powerful piece of writing possible, she had to strip away all of the layers and lay her own heart bare.

She’d been utterly vulnerable on the sailboat during the storm and had come away feeling stronger and more hopeful than ever. And when she’d been vulnerable with Dylan, she’d come away with more love than she’d ever dreamed of. Now, she was just as vulnerable on the page while she wrote her love story for the man, the ocean, and the sailboats that had done so much to shape him—and she was finally loving every single word she wrote.

And every single moment with her beautiful sailor, too.





EPILOGUE



Two weeks later...



Adam Sullivan raised his glass of champagne for a toast to celebrate the marriage vows Dylan and Grace had just shared. They were in Dylan’s boathouse—empty now as he got ready to begin his new commission for a custom thirty-eight-foot sailboat—and the sun was shining down on them all through the open panels on the roof. When Adam had designed the boathouse for his brother, he’d never envisioned a wedding taking place in the space, but it had worked out great, with more than enough room for family and close friends to witness their vows and have a little party afterward.

Dylan and Grace held Mason together as the three of them smiled for Mia, who was taking pictures as their unofficial wedding photographer. A short while later, when it was time for everyone to wave the three of them off on their sailing honeymoon to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, Adam—and everyone else—was surprised to see the brand-new sailboat tied up to the dock just outside the boathouse.

Adam knew something was up even before his brother said, “It was a perfect day to marry the love of my life in front of the people who mean the most to us.” Dylan paused to kiss both Grace and Mason, both of whom he was holding close. “And it’s also the perfect day for us to give you all this boat.”

Mia shot Adam an incredulous look before turning back to Dylan. “Are you saying that you made this amazing sailboat for us?”

Dylan wasn’t able to do more than grin and nod before Mia was launching herself into his arms. Within seconds, Brooke and Tatiana and his mom were there—with all the men in the family soon joining in on the big Sullivan group hug, too. Little Mason was in his element, whooping it up with the big family that had so happily adopted him from that first Friday night dinner.

Everyone was on cloud nine, and Adam was extremely happy for them all. Only Dylan would make a killer sailboat like this to give away to his family. They were a lucky bunch. Adam had always appreciated that.

The only thing he didn’t love just then was being the last single Sullivan in Seattle. Because if he knew anything about his family—and he could usually read each of them like an open book—they wouldn’t rest until they’d seen him happily paired off, too.

After everyone had taken some time to admire their brand-new sailboat, Rafe intercepted Adam as he headed back into the boathouse to flirt with a pretty woman in a short black skirt who was serving champagne and hors d’oeuvres.

“You’re a dog,” Rafe said. “You know that, right?”

Adam barked once, making Rafe laugh.

“What’s your schedule like Wednesday afternoon?” Rafe asked.

“I can open it up if you need me to.” That was an easy one for Adam. Family always came first. “What’s up?”

“Brooke needs to be at the lake to make extra truffle deliveries this week to some new accounts, and I’ve got a big case I need to head to Portland to wrap up, but we’ve got an appointment we really can’t put off any longer.”

“Who are you meeting with?”

“The wedding planner. And don’t blame Brooke for this request,” Rafe said as he lifted a hand to head Adam off at the pass. “When it turned out everyone else had a conflict on that day, she told me not to ask you and said she’d figure something out. But I know how heartbroken she’d be if we screwed things up with the wedding planner by canceling on her again because we haven’t been able to coordinate our schedules lately.”

Rafe knew just how to play it—Adam couldn’t say no because he didn’t want to do anything to hurt Brooke, either. “Sure, I can meet with the wedding planner.”

“Thanks,” Rafe said with a grin. “You’re a life saver.”

But something about Rafe’s grin seemed a little too pleased. Clearly, thought Adam, the matchmaking by his family had already begun.