Finding Serenity (Serenity Beach) (13 page)

“I can’t believe this is your last day in Serenity.” I sighed dramatically and pouted. “What am I going to do without my best friend?”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to survive. You’ve got that gorgeous boyfriend to keep you occupied.” Kennedy untied her apron and tossed it on the counter.

I had been giving her crap all day for leaving, but now I was legitimately starting to feel sad. Kennedy was the first person I had met in Serenity, and in the last few months I’d grown to think of her like family. Now she was moving back to New York and leaving me behind.

“Nolan is a boy,” I complained. “It’s not the same as having you around.”

Kennedy laughed. “Oh, stop. You’re living the dream.”

I gestured to my Seabag apron. “Really?”

“Yes, really. This job may not be glamorous, but look at that view!” She pointed to the beach and ocean. “Add to that your superstar boyfriend, the house he promised to build for you, and the fact that you’re going back to school in the fall… I’d say your life is just about as good as it gets.”

She was right. I didn’t deserve my abundance of wealth.

“I’m going to miss you.” I let her hug me.

“You will just have to call me all the time.” She held up her phone. “And you can visit. Nolan will need to come to New York every now and then for games and there’s no reason you can’t tag along.”

“I know.”

Kennedy was doing her best to sound upbeat, but I could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “I’m going to miss you, too,” she said.

Now it was my turn to hug her.

“No more mushy crap. You’ll be in New York! This is supposed to be exciting.” If Kennedy could fake happiness, so could I.

“That’s right. And when you visit we will go to the best clubs and have such a great time.”

“And don’t forget that we still have your going away party tonight. Brian has promised that it will be an epic bash.”

“Epic indeed.” Kennedy sighed. “Okay, I should go. I need to finish some packing.”

“Go.” I waved her away.

“Later, friend.” She blew me a dramatic kiss and sailed away.

I finished closing down the Seabag and walked home slowly. I never got tired of this walk. When I stopped in front of my house, I was surprised to see Nolan waiting for me. He was seated on the hood of his new ride, something slightly less ridiculous than the last one. It was still a convertible, but at least it could seat more than two people.

“I didn’t think I would see you until tonight,” I said.

“Plans are meant to be broken.” He greeted me with a kiss and a pat on the bottom. “Get in. I want to show you something.”

“Sounds enticing. I’m in.”

He drove along the coast and I closed my eyes, reveling in the feel of wind blowing through my hair. For the first time in a very long time, I felt calm. Nolan took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and threading our fingers together.

In a couple of days, Nolan would be leaving me, too. He was finally cleared to play ball again and the team was expecting him. As sad as I was to see him go, I loved how excited he was at the thought of pitching again.

“Where are we going?” I asked, confused when he took a turn that seemed to lead nowhere.

“Stop trying to ruin the surprise.”

We drove several yards up a gentle cliff. At the top, he killed the engine. I waited while he exited the car and walked around the front. He opened my door and held out his hand.

“Are you going to murder me and throw my body over the edge?” I guessed, letting him pull me from the car.

“Your house is on the ocean,” he reminded me. “If I wanted to get rid of your body, a quick toss into the water would’ve done the trick.”

“Fair enough.” I followed him closer to the edge and took in the amazing view. “If you aren’t planning to murder me, what are we doing here? We could get into trouble for trespassing.”

Nolan scoffed. “This is ours, Jordyn.”

“I’m sorry…what?”

“I bought this land. We’re going to build our house here.” Nolan laughed at the shocked look on my face.

“You bought all this land?” I looked around, amazed.

“We needed a foundation to build on. I figured this was as good of a place as any.” He ducked his head shyly. “Also, I’m still going to need an answer.”

“An answer? I thought I already agreed to move in with you.”

“That wasn’t the question.” He took my hand again, holding it up for both of us to see. I gasped, shocked to find a glittering diamond on my ring finger.

“When did you… how did you… what?” The words came out in a jumbled mess.

“I have my ways.” He smiled faintly. “Will you marry me, Jordyn?”

He must’ve slipped it on in the car when I thought he was just holding my hand. I looked from the ring, to the ocean in the distance, then back at Nolan. I couldn’t picture a scenario where my life would make sense without him in it so I replied confidently, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He pulled me in for a kiss and I knew once and for all that I had finally found my serenity.

~NOLAN~

My heart pounded in my chest. The roar of the crowd sent a shot of adrenaline through my body. This was the moment they were waiting for, the moment where they would decide if I was the same pitcher I used to be.

I stepped out of the bullpen and crossed over the plush grass. The crowd roared even louder and took up an echoing chant of my name. My manager handed me the ball and said, “This is it, Meyers. This is your moment.”

My warm up pitches were decent. Not exactly my best work, but enough that I felt confident as the batter stepped to the plate.

I dug a toe into the dirt and glanced at the scoreboard. We were in the ninth inning and my team was up by two runs. The bases were loaded. If I could get us three outs, we would win the championship game.

The next thing I did was look into the stands, two rows behind the dugout. My eyes immediately found Jordyn, her beauty impossible to miss. She smiled at me and nodded. I knew that she believed in me and I wasn’t going to let her down.

Eight pitches. Each one was faster and better than the last. Now I just had one more pitch, one more throw to prove to everyone that I was back.

I wound up and kicked my leg hard, releasing the ball at the perfect moment. It sailed smoothly over the lower outside corner of the plate. The batter swung, a perfect homerun swing, but he was a second too slow.

Strike three.

The crowd went insane and players swarmed me from every corner of the field. I got swept away in the celebration. After a dozen interviews, I finally broke away for the stands. Jordyn was waiting for me at the wall.

“What took you so long?” she teased, her eyes wild with excitement.

I threw my arms around her and lifted her over the wall until she stood in front of me. “I’m right on time,” I said, giving her a hungry kiss.

“You were amazing,” she said, her hand stroking my cheek. “That was the most important pitch of your life and it was perfect.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I said, remembering the pitch I had thrown for her back in Serenity. “The most important pitch of my life happened on our first date, remember?”

A firework exploded overhead and Jordyn stared up at me, eyes full of love. “I do.”

As her arms went around me, I realized that I had already had the most important night of my life long before tonight. I had won the moment that I had met Jordyn and I would win again the next time I heard her say those words- I do.