“How have you two been? How’s school?”

William told them about his new summer job and I filled them in on the latest projects at the museum. It was finals week at school and I was going to take the summer off to focus on curating and honing in on my own skills. I was looking forward to the months off, especially since it meant more time with William.

“Is Willow still coming to visit you this summer?”

I grinned. “Yeah, she flies in next week. She’s supposedly bringing her flavor of the semester with her, so this should be interesting.” Willow was the only friend I still kept in contact with from Poxton Beach. Mason had checked on me after everything happened, but once he left for college and I left for Savannah, we lost contact completely. In a way, I preferred it like that. Poxton Beach was in my past — just where I wanted it.

Mom and William laughed as the waiter refilled our glasses. Lifting hers high in the air, Mom cleared her throat. “A toast,” she said. We all lifted our glasses to join hers in unison. “To survival. And healing. And family.”

“Cheers,” we all sang together. I clinked my glass with Lana’s and Mom’s first before ending with William’s. He held my gaze for a moment, and his eyes spoke more words than any toast could. The love I felt from those two jade irises astounded me sometimes.

As we sipped from our glasses, I couldn’t help but think about all the amazing things that had come from such a horrific experience. Dale was finally paying for the pain he’d caused so many women to suffer, William had his sister back in his life, my mom had finally found something she was passionate about, and I was following a dream I’d had no confidence in before.

Maybe everything really does happen for a reason.

I thought about that more as we drove home, the radio playing softly as William ran his thumb along the bare skin on my knee. We were both quiet, reflective, and I realized that in a way, I kind of had Mason to thank for bringing me to him. If he hadn't been my first boyfriend, my first heartbreak, I may have never found the courage or the motivation to take that first step into the Poxton Beach Country Club. And I surely never would have known what waited for me behind its doors.

Or rather, who.

Zipper jumped on me as soon as William unlocked the door to our apartment. His large paws connected with my shoulders and I braced myself against the wall in the foyer, kicking off my heels as he licked at my face. This was our routine, and it always made me smile.

“Hey, Zip. Missed you too, bud.”

He dropped back down to the floor and sat, patiently waiting as William shrugged off his suit jacket and slung it over one of our dining room chairs before grabbing Zipper’s leash.

“I’m going to walk him real quick and I’ll be back,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. He lingered there for just a moment, kissing up to my ear before whispering, “Don’t get too undressed before I get back.”

I shivered, biting my lip as he pulled back with a wink and led Zipper out the door.

Tossing my clutch on the kitchen table, I grabbed my heels off the floor and slowly walked back to our bedroom, stomach full and eyes heavy from the night. I trailed my fingers along the wall of photos that lined the hallway, each frame filled with a memory of William and I. The first photo we’d ever taken together was there, the one we’d snapped that evening after he took me for the first time. It sat in the middle, surrounded by new memories, everything from our lazy Sunday picnics in the park and sweaty after-gym selfies to dressed-up nights at the gallery and adventures with Zipper.

A smile tugged at my lips as I dropped my heels into the bottom of our closet and unfastened my earrings. I didn’t even get the second one out before I heard the front door open and close, followed by a stampede of paws as Zipper ran wild once again. I tossed his bone onto his bed near the foot of ours and he flopped down happily, gnawing away with his tail still wagging.

“Let me help with that,” William murmured, sliding up behind me before moving the hair off my neck. His hand found the zipper at the back of my dress and he slowly guided it down, planting small kisses on my neck as he trailed it lower. I slipped out of the fabric, letting it hit the floor before turning and hooking my arms around his neck.

William’s eyes raked over me slowly and he shook his head. “You’re so beautiful.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

I didn’t have to fight hard to believe him anymore.

I half-expected him to take me right then and there, but he let me go long enough for each of us to dress in our pajamas before we crawled between our sheets. Only William’s bedside lamp illuminated the room as he propped himself on one elbow, eyes pensive.

“What are you thinking about over there?” I asked, quirking a brow. He ran his free hand through my hair with a lazy grin before swallowing hard.

“I got you something.”

He rolled, opening the small drawer on his bedside table before shutting it again softly. When he turned back to me, he held a box I recognized — the one my watch had come in when he gave it to me two years ago at the club.

“You know my watch still works, right?” I asked with a smile, propping myself up against the pillows. “I just ran the battery down. Again.”

William held the box out anyway and I took it, eying him curiously as I opened it. When I looked down again, it wasn’t a watch at all.

“Oh my God,” I breathed, eyes snapping to William. “What is this?”

It was a stupid question because I knew what it was. It was a ring — a beautiful ring, slender and gold with an eternity symbol that linked two tiny hearts together. My eyes flicked between it and William over and over.

“It’s a promise,” he finally said, reaching out to grab the box from my shaking hands. He removed the ring, setting the box to the side before his eyes found mine again. “That I’m here. That I’ll always be here, through your dark times and your light, shouldering whatever weight you can’t carry on your own. It’s a promise that I’ll always help you feel beautiful when you don’t on your own, that I’ll hold you when you need to cry and spin you in my arms when you need to celebrate.” We both laughed a little, tears brimming my eyes at the memory of him doing just that in the middle of the gym the day I hit my goal weight. “And one day, when we’re ready, I’ll replace it with a ring that promises forever, even though you don’t need it — not really. Because the truth is that you’ve had me since the day we met, and you already have my forever… if you want it.”