The Lofoten Islands, Norway
A month later

My phone rings as I'm stirring the sauce for the meatballs. The gravy smells delicious. I accept the video call, holding the cell in my left hand while moving the wooden spoon in circular motions with my right.

"Cara?" I squint at the screen.

It takes me a solid minute to realize what I see is Cara's chin. She's gotten much better at video chats, but her camera never seems to know what to point at.

"Tarita, I have a problem," she says.

The image trembles, but then her entire face appears.

"Hi," I say. "What's wrong?"

Cara groans. "Look at this."

A brown stain covers half of her cheek. I bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing. "Did you try to contour?"

"That tutorial made it seem easy. But look at this. It's like I rolled in the mud, and I have a date soon."

I grab a glass of wine and pour half of it into the sauce. "A date? Who's he?"

"We met at the grocery store," Cara says. "He helped me reach the box of cereal Mason likes from the top shelf. We started talking, and he's smart, Tarita. Smart and with good assets."

A snort flies out of my mouth. I gulp the rest of the wine from the glass and get back to stirring.

"See? Being short isn't that bad. Okay," I go on, ignoring Cara's pout, "wipe it off with makeup remover and use just a tiny bit of product. Instead of dragging it all over your cheek, tap. With a brush or a wet sponge. Send me a picture when you're done."

"You have to teach me in person," Cara says. "And where's Basti?"

I glance across the open space living room-slash-kitchen over my shoulder. "Basti ran out of blue paints and went to pick up the ones he ordered from Oslo."

"And you're cooking like a wifey, Tarita," Cara says with a dreamy sigh.

"Basti can't cook to save his life. We can't live on his pancakes, delicious as they are. But he's trying, you know? He's just better at mixing paint than ingredients."

"Bless him. Poor thing," Cara says. "Okay, help me choose the lipstick, and then I'll leave you alone."

I turn off the stove and cover the pan with the lid. "The nude one. And use a lip liner."

Cara blows me a kiss, or more like gives the front camera of her phone a smooch since her lips take over the screen, and we hang up.

Ignoring the twinge of worry that settles in my gut when I see it's almost eight p.m., and he's been out for over three hours, I stroll to the dining table I'd set and rearrange the wine glasses and linen napkins.

The front door clicks. I dart to the foyer, and as soon as Bast crosses the threshold, he opens his arms, grinning.

I step right into his hug, exhaling when he kisses my forehead.

"I was starting to worry," I say. "What took you so long?"

He chuckles. "Fish."

"Fish?"

"Salmon. A giant one. In the bag on the floor."

I look at the two white bags by the front door. "Let me guess, someone else wanted your drawing and paid you with food?"

He gives me a triumphant smile. "Yep. Honestly, that thing in there costs more than my sketch. Look."

I lift the bag and peek inside. "Basti..."

"I know. It's a lot. And we have to clean it. But my dad eats a ton, and this way, we don't even have to buy stuff."

Bast's parents are coming tomorrow to spend two weeks with us and see the islands. Bast said it'd be the first time his dad took a vacation in at least ten years, and Nora is so excited she's already made a list of things to see.

And beaches to go to, despite knowing the average temperature in July is around fifty-eight degrees. Although the scenery is breathtaking, anyone hoping to chill under the warm sun is in for a rude awakening.

I shove the giant fish into the fridge, and Bast inspects the dishes I made. Apart from the meatballs with gravy and baked potatoes, there's cured salmon with mustard and dill sauce.

I curl my hands around his bicep. "Hungry?"

"Very." He pecks my lips. "But can we take a walk first?"

He doesn't need to tell me twice. I grab a warm cardigan and put on my sneakers, and we exit the house like we do almost every evening. Or day, since the sun loves the Lofoten Islands enough to never hide behind the horizon in July.

Our white-walled, modern home is different from the rest of the buildings in the village. We leave it behind and stroll down the trail leading to the beach.

Bast holds my hand the entire way.

"By the way, Kenny called," he says when we're approaching our destination. "I need to send him more designs tomorrow before we go to the airport."

"See?" I grip his fingers tighter. "People love what you create. You'll be able to start fixing your grandpa's house soon."

"As soon as we're back."

"And the paints? Did you pick them up?"

Bast answers with a nod. Like so many other times, we halt at the end of the narrow path.

The gigantic sharp-edged rocks rise on either side of the stretch of sand, and fluffy, orange-hued clouds hang above the endless sea.

"I'll never get tired of this," Sebastian says, descending the path to the beach.

We stand with our arms around each other, marveling at the seascape. The sea whispers in front of us, talking to us with the gentle fizz of waves reaching the shore.

I kiss Bast's jaw. "So, who did you network with today to earn the fish?"

A cocky smirk takes over Bast's mouth. He pushes my hair back, grazing my cheek with his fingertips. "The woman who runs that small family restaurant we found the other day. She wanted one of my sketches of this beach, so I gave it to her today."

"Look at you being a people's person, Basti."

The pad of his thumb travels from my jaw to my lips. "I'm your person. And you're mine. Give me your hand."

I extend it, ready for another seashell. Whenever Bast goes to the beach to draw, he returns with a different one I put in the glass bowl in our foyer. Candles, Sebastian's seascapes, and seashells are our only decorations for now. They go well with the minimalistic vibe of the place.

Something cold pressed against the tip of my ring finger.

My eyes dart to Bast's.

He stares at me, unblinking as he slides the ring all the way down.

"Bast..."

He cups my cheeks and leans his forehead against mine. "This one is a promise. Promise that I'll always answer that call. And you'll never doubt that I love you. Because I do, Tara. I love you so much it makes me happy and terrified both. And if I have to take another bullet—"

"Stop." I sob. "Don't even say it."

His mouth seizes mine. My lips welcome him with all the love I have. With lots of love. And passion. And trust.

I'd do anything for him too. And he knows it.

But both of us hope we'll never have to fear losing each other again.

"No more tears," Bast whispers, although his voice shakes, too.

As he holds me, I finally look at the ring. It's a tiny lighthouse with a stone on its tip — the only thing we were missing in this idyllic place.

The lighthouse where we kissed.

"You designed it."

Bast hums. "Perceptive."

I nudge his ribs. He wraps me in his arms, laughing in a genuine, carefree way as we sway from side to side on the deserted piece of heaven guarded by rocks.

It's always the little things that turn into magical memories.

As long as the one who knows and loves the real you is by your side.

THE END

Thank you for reading the story of Bast and Tara! It's been an emotional roller-coaster for me, and definitely not an easy book to write. I'd be super grateful if you left me your thoughts with things you liked or didn't.

I hope I did them justice, and I hope their book touched you and made you feel something.

Yesterday, some of you asked me what's next.

I'll focus on the final chapters of Perfectly. Once it's done, I'm going to write Law Maker and Riveted offline to post them once the books are complete.

Real life is busy, and I struggled a lot trying to write and update consistently, so I'd rather offer you a schedule and post stress-free without losing readers who don't like waiting. If you don't follow me, please do so you see the announcements and don't miss anything. Now, for those of you who don't know my other works, here's a quick guide.

Law Maker

A forbidden stepbrother romance. New adult. Motorcycle racing. Angst. Partly set in Spain.

Riveted

Fist book in a Rebellious Hearts series. New adult. A cocky, tattooed guitarist falls for a sassy, ambitious girl.

Beautifully and Perfectly

A new adult rockstar romance. A girl who loves books falls for a superstar in disguise. Drama, twists, a swoon-worthy hero.

Kitten and Tiger

You met Brian and Leah in this book. Bikes, a small town, found family, a bad boy and a good girl, twists,and lots of character growth.

My True First

My most read book. Set in Paris. Roommates who deny their feelings. An angsty, steamy slow-burn.

The rest of my books are on my profile. If you have questions, leave them here.

Once again, thank you for loving what I write.

Love, Alwyn.