“Don’t even think about it, Fisher. I don’t care if the Marines turned you into a muscled, fighting machine, I will still kick your ass,” she threatens. She takes a breath, gearing up to give me more hell and I quickly bend down and cut off her words with my mouth. Her lips are soft and cold against mine, but with a swipe of my tongue, they immediately warm and she opens for me. She moans into my mouth, moving her arms up and around my shoulders, pulling me closer. I breathe her in, committing her smell to memory so I can pull it forward every single moment I’m away from her for the next eighteen months.

Moving back, I reach behind my neck and grab her hands, pulling them between us. Without taking my eyes off of her, I remove her left mitten and toss it to the rocks at our feet, kissing the tips of each of her fingers as I speak.

“I love your laugh,” I tell her, kissing the tip of her thumb.

“I love that you make me want to be a better man,” I admit, kissing the tip of her pointer finger.

“I love that you support me even though what I do is hard on you,” I tell her softly, kissing the tip of her middle finger.

“I love how strong and independent you are,” I state, kissing the tip of her pinkie.

Reaching into my coat pocket, I have a moment of panic when I don’t feel what’s supposed to be in there. I finally find it shoved down into the corner and breathe a sigh of relief as I pull it out and slowly slide it onto her ring finger.

“I love the way you look at me. I love the way you love me. No matter what, I will always find my way back to you,” I whisper, kissing the tip of her finger that now sports a diamond ring.

The lighthouse beacon circles back around at that moment and I see a tear roll down her cheek. The day we had it out and she convinced me that I was being an ass and that there was nothing she could do but wait for me to come home because I was taking her heart with me when I left, I told her to come out to this lighthouse whenever she was feeling sad. I told her that no matter where I was in the world, no matter what time of day, I would know she was here and I would see the beacon from the lighthouse in my mind, guiding me back home to her.

“I know we’re young. Shit, I know you’re young and I’m an old fucking man already at twenty-two, but I don’t care,” I tell her with a nervous laugh. “I’m already going to spend the rest of my life loving you. It would be a hell of a lot easier if you were there with me. Please, marry me. Marry me, Lucy Butler. We can travel the world, we can grow old together on this damn island, we can do anything you want. I don’t care what we do or where we do it, as long as I’m with you.”

I finally stop talking and rub my fingers over my bottom lip as I stare down at her, watching her examine the ring on her finger each time the light strobes across us. I don’t want to picture the lighthouse in my mind whenever I close my eyes for the next year and a half. I want to picture this ring on her finger and know that she’s mine, know that I have something worth fighting for, worth protecting my own ass for, worth coming home for.

“Yes,” she finally whispers as a smile lights up her face. “Yes, I will marry you, Jefferson Fisher.”

I let out the breath I was holding as Lucy presses her palms to my cheeks and stares into my eyes. “Keep your head up, stay safe, come home to me, and I will absolutely marry you. Just please, come home to me.”

Her voice cracks as she tries not to cry. I pull her against my chest and hold onto her as tightly as I can, wishing I never had to let go, wishing I didn’t have to get on the first ferry off the island in the morning and walk away from this woman who is my everything. I take these moments to enjoy the feel of her body against mine, the brush of her hair against my cheek and think for the thousandth time just how perfectly we fit together. I experience it all and I let it consume me, I let it warm my heart and fill my thoughts because after tomorrow, I will have to shut it all off. At oh-six-hundred hours when the ferry pushes away from the island and heads over to the mainland, I will have to close my mind to the smell of her skin and the sound of her voice. I will stop being a lover and become a Marine. I will get the job done and I won’t let anything distract me. Distractions can get you killed and I will do everything I can to keep my promise to Lucy.

I will always find my way back to her.

Chapter 26

Lucy

Present Day

Climbing down the ladder, I take a step back and stare at the front of the inn. I just finished hanging American flag bunting under all of the windows that face the street and it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. We’re only a few days away from the Fourth of July and it’s always a big celebration on the island. Last night, while I was turning down the beds when the guests were at dinner, I left miniature flags for each person to hold during the parade, as well as a flyer listing the day’s activities. All the businesses go above and beyond decorating their storefronts, and Main Street is lined on both sides with American flags hanging from every light post. We have a parade and a softball tournament, the businesses on Main Street set up tables giving away free samples of food and other items and the day ends with a huge beach party and fireworks show.

I spent the last week changing out the yellow and orange marigolds in the flowerbeds for red, white and blue petunias, I borrowed a t-shirt press from the souvenir shop in town and made a couple hundred Butler House Inn shirts to sell at my table on Main Street before the parade and I organized a picnic lunch order form for the guests to fill out. I planned a bunch of great menu items for them to choose from so they can grab their already-packed basket from the kitchen on the Fourth and take it wherever they’d like on the island to enjoy. Every guest put in an order.