Ten days. Ten of the worst goddamn days of his life he’d spent away from her. It was an eternity as far as he was concerned. His hands itched to touch. His arms needed to hold. But he stayed where he was—he had to follow the plan.

“Alec?”

Her mermaid voice whispering his name was nearly his undoing. He took a step forward.

“What are you doing here?” She fisted her pendant. “Wait? You bought the house? This house?”

Distracted by the way the light softened her pale skin and haloed around her body, he almost didn’t answer her question. He’d missed her freckles, too. Every last one of them.

He cleared his throat. “Yes. I bought this house. Would you like to know why?”

She nodded and ran her hand across her forehead as if not believing her own eyes.

“I pictured you opening your eyes every morning here in this room, with the view of the ocean you love so much, and you’d smile as you woke up. You would drink your tea out there on the deck, shaking your head at me for eating a donut and guzzling coffee. You do have much healthier eating habits than me. I may try to break you of some of those in the next thirty years.”

Her eyes went from wide to bulging. “Alec—”

“Not done.” He nudged his chin toward the hall. “The three other bedrooms are to fill with kids. Loud, energetic little monsters with my sense of adventure and your big heart.”

Her gaze darted to the doorway and then back to him. “Kids?”

He shrugged. “I prefer three, but we can negotiate.”

“Three kids,” she mumbled, her tone indicating she wasn’t fully caught up to him yet. His Faith, ever surprised.

Though he grinned—because damn, she was adorable all flustered—his heart was pounding a mile a minute. There was no guarantee she’d want the same things. The option of a future together hadn’t been a possibility before, and now that it was and he was doing his spiel, he was in full freak-out mode. He had to make her see, make her understand, there was no future for him without her.

“Can you follow me downstairs? I can tell you the other reasons.”

“Oh. Yes. Sure.”

With her following silently at his heels, they descended the stairs and stopped in the living room. “I’d like to tear down the wall between those two rooms and make it one so I can use it as an office. On your days off, you could snuggle on an oversized armchair here and read a book while listening to me type. I know you like the sound because you get this little smile on your face when you hear me working.”

The confusion in her eyes began to clear, and was replaced with hesitant optimism.

He waved his hand toward the kitchen, indicating she should precede him. After only a moment, she walked around the corner and then came to an abrupt halt.

Her gaze swept the room, taking in Cole, Mia, Lacey, Jake, Ginny, and both his parents. Slowly, she craned her head around to look at him.

Alec came up behind her and dropped his hands on her shoulders, touching her for the first time since being home. He brushed his thumbs over her soft skin and inhaled her sugary scent. The pull was still there between them, stronger than ever, even with her in shock at finding the others waiting in the kitchen.

He kissed her temple and spoke into her hair. “The house can hold our whole family. For get-togethers or holidays. Whatever. Not only the family in front of you, because make no mistake, they are your family now, but also the family we can build together. The one I want to make with you.”

She emitted a choking sound—of disbelief or joy, he wasn’t sure. Her hand flew over her mouth, then both hands covered her face. Her shoulders shook with a sob.

Alec darted a quick glance at Jake.

Jake shrugged, looking just as lost.

Alec blew out a breath and dug in his pocket. “Turn around, Faith. Please, look at me.”

She dropped her hands and moved to face him, her teeth working her lower lip and doing everything in her power to hold off the tears. Her eyes shimmered, pleading with him.

“I said good-bye to Laura while I was in New York. I should’ve done it a long time ago, but I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t met you yet.” He dropped his forehead to hers and swallowed past the lump. “I put my apartment on the market. The bank accepted the offer I put on this house. The house I want for us, because I don’t ever want to be away from you again.”

He edged back far enough to hold out a little black box between them. It held an antique ring with a tear-drop diamond. The beauty was in the intricate gold band, as the carvings and design were similar to her pendant’s. It wasn’t big, nor was it flashy. It was perfect for Faith. Delicate and unique. An old ring because she was an old soul.

Her chest stopped rising and falling. Her eyes grew huge.

“I love you, in case you hadn’t figured it out. Marry me?”

Her gaze lifted from the ring to his face, exploring every inch as if searching for a lie. One day, if it was the last thing he did, she’d look at him and accept that she was worth the moon and more. In the meantime, he’d work at it for as long as it took. Forever if he had to.

I love you, he mouthed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You’re my one person.” She smiled and took his face in her hands. “Mia said it only takes one person to make you believe in yourself. You’re my one person. I love you, too. So, so much. Of course I’ll marry you.”

The air whooshed from his lungs. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her to her toes, smacking a kiss on her lips. They had an audience behind her—an audience who was cheering like fools—so he’d do a proper kiss later. In private. All damn night long.

“I love you, Faith.” He cupped the back of her head and kissed her again, wishing like hell the others would just go away for a while. Two weeks. A year, tops.

Jake laughed. “You had us worried there for a minute, Faith.”

“Yay.” Lacey clapped. “A baby shower and a wedding to plan. I can’t wait to get started.”

Faith laughed, but her gaze never left Alec’s. “I can’t wait to get started, either.”

Congratulations went around many times over as he slid the ring on Faith’s finger. Cole warned them to be careful of how much leeway they gave Lacey in planning, and Mia waved her hand, dismissing his concerns. His parents chimed in, chatting about venues and ideas for the house.

But in Alec’s opinion, Ginny said it best.

“Welcome to the family.”

Keep reading for a preview of Kelly Moran’s Covington Cove Novel

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Available now from Berkley Sensation!

Midsummer: Thirteen Years Before

Cole stood by his bedroom window, looking down at Mia while she sat reading in the grove. He’d been doing a lot of that lately. Watching Mia. These feelings for her had been stirring in his gut since the first time he saw her. He’d already received the warning glare and talk from his mother. Covingtons were set to higher standards than where Mia came from. Meaning, the trash should be kept out, where it belonged.

According to Mother.

He hadn’t touched Mia. Not since the night of the bonfire last year when he’d almost kissed her. But damn, he wanted to. She was only sixteen. He was eighteen. Bound for Harvard and great things. In so many ways, she was just a kid. A kid he had no business dreaming about.

The winters in Charlotte were long, this last winter the longest. He’d thought about her often and wondered what she was doing. Who she was with.

Their long summer talks remained in his head. Her voice, so soft and innocent. It didn’t matter what crap his mother threw at him, Mia could calm him down. Make him forget. He’d spent less and less time with his friends and more time with her. She didn’t care what car he drove or what school he went to. There was no competition with her. He could be himself.