Epilogue

Four years later...

"Isabella Price."

At the sound of my name being announced through the microphone, I stepped across the stage to collect my diploma. My family stood up on their feet to let out ear-ringing screams and Kayden even brought a sign that read That's my girlfriend!. The day I had been waiting for eight years had finally arrived when I graduated from nursing school.

All the studying, exams and the sleepless nights preparing for the next test came to this moment and I was a step closer to achieving my dream I had since middle school. I was about to follow in my parents' footsteps and become one of the best nurses the hospital had ever seen. I was sure of it.

What felt like hours later, the ceremony ended with deafening cheers surrounding me.

Some students sprung off their seats in search of their friends and the others scanned the crowd for their family members. My feet hurriedly carried me to the parking lot where it was emptier and free of any background noises.

The back of my car was, thanks to who I knew was Olive and Zach, was decorated with pink lettering spelling out that I just graduated, pictures of a stethoscope and a first aid kit surrounding the words. What a pain in the butt it was going to be to clean up once the excitement of me graduating dwindled away. But it was going to be worth it.

The first thing that Kayden did as soon as he saw me was force me into a warm embrace, peppering my face with kisses.

"I'm so proud of you! My girlfriend's a nurse! You're gonna be a superhero!"

My mom's condition was no surprise to anyone in the group. Zach reluctantly passed Olive the five-dollar bill that he owed her in a bet that she would lose it, despite mom's arguments that she'd be fine. Mascara left streaks down her cheeks and her nose was bright red as if she'd been sniffling and constantly wiping it.

Being an emotional woman, you would think she'd be smart enough to apply waterproof makeup to this event. "Look at you. My daughter. A nurse. Just like us."

"Mama."

"Natalie, you promised you wouldn't cry. Now you're gonna look like a raccoon in pictures."

Disregarding dad's words, she engulfed me in her arms and began to squeeze the life out of me. It didn't matter that I could barely breathe. I simply held her and tried my hardest to tame her sobs and trembling shoulders.

She broke the hug and began playing with my hair, tucking strands behind my ears. "I'm happy for you, my love. You're gonna be one of the best nurses in the state. I just know it."

"My turn." Dad pulled her away and was next to wrap me in an embrace that was tight enough to cut off air circulation. He was usually able to control his emotions, but I heard sniffling and felt one of his arms move, possibly to wipe his nose.

He forced himself to step away from me and next was Olive who, even after high school, managed to keep in contact with me. It was common that the best of friends lose touch after high school graduation, but I didn't know what I would've done without her.

She wore the brightest smile and squealed, bouncing up and down on her heels before wrapping her arms around my waist. I laughed when her grip tightened and she spun us around. Her support remained unwavered and I predicted she would be bouncing and squealing at my dreams getting closer to coming true.

"I knew you could do it!" Olive broke the hug apart, but our fingers were now interlocked. "You worked so hard for this and you deserve any achievement you receive along the way, Belles."

Someone nearby cleared their throat. Zach feigned a hurt look that was etched into his features with his hands dramatically flying to his chest. "Did you forget about me? What, the best friend since birth doesn't get a hug?"

That earned him a punch to his arm before throwing my arms around his neck. A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest as he cheered and picked me up a foot above the ground.

My cheeks were sore from the smiling and laughing, but that was the least of my worries. "You've been working your ass off the past four years and you finally made it! You deserve this, Belles!"

By now, mom was able to pull herself together, using her finger to swipe the tears away. "The barbecue starts at six, love. Your dad and I are gonna pick up your aunties, uncles and cousins from the airport. In the meantime, you can do whatever you'd like with your friends."

"Actually, I have a lesson this afternoon that I should really be going to right now, but I'll meet you there." Zach patted my back and left with a kiss on my cheek. After high school graduation, he was in a funk. He had no idea what he wanted to do with his future, but he knew he wanted to keep surfing.

Zach always had a love for surfing the waves and feeling the breezes touch his hair, so he started teaching. Zach's cousin was a huge influencer on social media with fashion, food and home decor.

She was able to reach out to her millions of followers and put his name out there for potential students to find him. That was how he met his new girlfriend, Macy Collins, who he only started dating two weeks ago. She was a stunning woman and her and Zach looked like the perfect couple.

"And I wanna go home and get ready for tonight, but I'll see you there, love. I promise." Kayden forced me into one last hug and refused to leave without planting a lingering kiss on my lips.

"You know what that means..." Olive rocked back and forth with her hands behind her back and a beaming smile spreading across her face.

"Girl's day!" Olive and I yelled out in unison.

-

5:06pm

This was not what I had in mind when I agreed to a girl's day. Hanging out in Olive's room with bottles of vodka – that I wouldn't drink too much of before the barbeque – sprawled out on her bed. Binging on junk food that people in my profession would suggest throwing away and never eat it again was more ideal.

The exact opposite transpired. Olive dragged me from store to store searching for a dress to wear to the barbeque, albeit I told her that I didn't need to spend any money. We left the shops empty handed anyway. That should've been the end of our little adventure before we met everyone at my house, yet here we were. At the nail salon getting our nails done.

"Would you please stop checking your phone? For heaven's sake, it's not gonna kill anyone if you're a little late to your party."

"We told my parents we'd—"

"I know what we told them, but you know what? So what if we're, like, an hour late? We'll still have plenty of time to have some drinks, dance the night away and cut the cake. Now, relax, will you?"

I forced myself to release deep breaths and watched the nail artist carefully design the light blue waves and ocean on my fingernails.

"Time for girl talk, when did you fall in love with Kayden?"

My lips slithered into a small smile and a giggle betrayed me as I thought back on the memory.

We were helping Mrs. Evans bake double fudge brownies. The smell of chocolate flooded the room and the flavor danced on my tongue when she let me lick the spoon.

While the brownies were in the oven, Naomi released us to play in the backyard. Earlier that week, Mr. Evans assembled a playground set for an early birthday present that consisted of a pair of swings and a short slide. Zach raced there first while Kayden held onto my hand.

It was a simple gesture. Yet, if it was so simple, why was my heart performing somersaults? Why did it feel like it was palpitating at the feeling of his cold hand holding mine? How could a five-year-old experience such a powerful emotion?

I was only five. I didn't know what I was falling into. Years later, I figured it out. I was falling in love. When I was done sharing the story with Olive, my face lit up in realization and I immediately sat up. "I'm so sorry! We don't have to talk about boys since you and Sean..."

"Don't worry about it, Belles. It'd been two years since we broke up."

Two years after high school, she caught Sean on a date with another woman. They fought when he got home and he argued that he'd been wanting to end things for a while, but didn't know how else to do it.

That wasn't a good excuse though and I hated seeing her heartbroken over that sad excuse of a human. She was stuck in her bed with tears staining her cheeks and tubs of ice cream for months on end until I finally had enough of seeing her like that.

Olive was able to gain her confidence and feisty attitude back and she had been seeing a guy she met in college on campus for about three months now. Having been together since middle school, she and Sean were bound to not last forever, but it was a shame to see what kind of a man Sean turned out to be.

"Things may not have worked out for me and Sean, but I have faith that Kayden is the one for you. Every time I see the two of you together holding hands or him holding onto you when we're watching a movie..."

Olive was staring off into space, probably thinking back on all those times as a smile crept up on her face. "I think to myself that you were born to be with each other. Your souls were designed to... intertwine together."

The corners of my lips curled upward and I tried hiding the deep blush that spread across my cheeks and neck. To no avail. I was consumed by her words. The last part that she said echoed in my head, feeling touched that she saw us together and thought that about us.

However, I didn't want to jinx it. I loved how things were going between us. There was no way I wanted that to be destroyed all because I had thoughts about us spending the rest of our lives together. "Thank you, Olly, for saying that, but I don't want to jinx it. Sure, we love each other, but that doesn't mean anything."

"Girl, shut the hell up. I'm not jinxing shit. The two of you are destined to end up together."

-

"Olly, you promised me we'd be at the barbecue by now! It's now..." For the gazillionth time today, I checked the time on my phone and rolled my head back with a groan. "Six thirty-nine. My family spent the money and time to fly out here to celebrate my graduation—"

"Fashionably late." Olive spun around with her hands on her hips. "You know what that means? Showing up a little late looking like a boss!"

After the nail salon, she drove me to her house where she was rummaging through her closet to find me a cute dress to wear. Apparently, a white blouse and black jeans weren't good enough for a casual family barbecue. I rolled my head back and groaned once again, sending a quick text to my mom.

Bella:

We're gonna be late to the barbecue. Tell everyone I'm sorry and I'll be there soon.

Mama:

That's alright, my love. We'll see you when you get here.

"This is it. It's perfect." Olive withdrew a teal blue floral dress from the closet. It had a belt that wrapped around the waist, buttons lined the middle and the color would go well with my tanned skin.

Maybe it was more formal than I would like, but I was still excited to get in that dress. She threw it on the bed next to me and grabbed a black pair of flats to go with it. It was safe to say that I was going to be miserable walking around all night with those on. Beauty really is pain.

Once I was dressed and my heels were already bleeding in the shoes, I gave my reflection in her full length mirror a nod of approval. "Now, you can stop whining. We can go now." Olive stopped right behind me and I watched through the mirror as she was bouncing up and down again.

"Olly, I get you're happy for me, but would it be possible to tone it down a little bit? You've been wearing that smile all damn day and this is, like, the fifth time you started bouncing."

She abruptly stopped moving and cleared her throat, nodding her head once. "You're right. Ready to go, girly?"

I laid my head against the car window with my hands on my lap as I watched the palm trees and neighborhoods pass by. My brows furrowed and I sat up when I noticed that we were driving by shopping centers and restaurants.

This looked unfamiliar to the surroundings I'd pass by when driving home from Olive's. Unless she was taking a different route, but we lived ten minutes away. It felt like we were driving for fifteen minutes. I had no idea where she was taking me, but it certainly wasn't my house.

Olive Jennings. Where the hell are we going?

The beach came into view. The sun had mostly gone down with a slither of an orange glow touching the horizon, you can just barely see the edges of the foamy waves from where we parked and it looked like people were setting up a picnic.

There was no place better to have a picnic at than the beach with the calming sounds surrounding you and the glow of the sun beaming down against your skin. "This is where I leave you. I'll be here to pick you up."

"Olive Rose Jennings. What's happening right now?"

She shrugged. "I guess you'll have to walk down there and see."

Hesitantly, I opened the car door and stepped down the hill with each step digging the material of my shoes into my heels even more. I slipped them off, feeling the warm sand at the bottom of my feet and in between my toes.

My eyes were trained on the sand until I lifted my head and abruptly stopped my path. There Kayden was, bent down on one knee. My heart was palpitating. I swallowed a lump in my throat. It was impossible to keep all my emotions in check.

This was the picnic that I saw from up the hill. There was a blue and white-striped blanket tossed on top of the sand and LED candles were set along the edges. Bowls of fruit and a cooler where there were possibly cold drinks inside were positioned on top.

I figured out it was Zach helping him set everything up so I searched the area for his dark hair. It was such a romantic setting. It was perfect. And it was made for me.

As I got closer, I noticed that the ring was inside a seashell, matching my dreams of being proposed to on the beach. Kayden was dressed in a black blazer and a dark gray undershirt, jeans and a brand-new pair of sneakers. Tears were building up in his eyes while he looked up at me.

"Isabella Anne Price. We have been together for four years and that was..." He stopped talking to gulp and hold his tears back.

"That was long enough for me to realize that I wanted to spend even more years with you. I can't eat, sleep or... breathe without you. You're my only thought in the morning. In the afternoon. And night. Every time... every time something exciting happens to me, you're the first person I wanna tell. You're the last thought that enters my mind before I fall asleep and I wake up smiling at the thought that you're mine."

He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. I couldn't blame him. By simply watching him and listening to his wavering voice speaking those romantic words, tears of my own were sliding down my cheeks. "With your father's blessing, I have one question to ask." He inhaled a deep breath and forced his emotions down his throat. "Will you marry me?"

I knew the answer. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. My body was still. He needed an answer right away before he broke out sobbing. "Yes." My voice came out as a whisper, but I forced myself to say it louder. "Yes."

Kayden wasted no time in springing up and throwing his arms around my waist. His shoulders were shaking and his grip tightened around me, like I would be taken away from him in seconds. I pulled away, but I remained in his arms and our foreheads were touching. Our breaths were intermingling as he slid the ring on my finger.

The sparkle was bright in every angle I turned it and the ring fit my finger perfectly. My hands gripped the material of Kayden's shirt and I closed my eyes, focusing my senses on the feeling of our close proximity. "It's you. It's always been you." I lifted my hand to cradle his cheek and he leaned his head into the warmth of my hand. "There's only you."

-

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AUTHOR'S NOTE-

I love ending books with title references!

This turned out better than I thought and I hope you love it just as much as I do! I also LOVE the quote above when Olive says "Your souls were designed to intertwine together"! Hands down, my fave line I've written in this book and the one I'm most proud of.

Bonus chapters coming out soon! Let me know in the comments what you wanna read about.