he felt about me. His lips brushed over mine again and again, and when we finally broke apart, both of us were breathless and starry-eyed.
“I considered throwing a big party and asking you in front of all the guests,” he said. “Or taking you up in a helicopter and giving you a tour of L.A. But in the end, I thought you would enjoy a quiet moment like this more.”
“You’re right, and I’m glad you did it this way.” I wasn’t one to draw attention to myself, so I was grateful it was only the two of us without a bunch of spectators. “Should we go down and tell the others the good news?”
“Yes, but let’s wait a few minutes. I just want to enjoy the moment.”
And so we did. He put his arm around me, and we stared out at the ocean and thought about our future together. A future that only the Lord in His grace could have given to us.
Epilogue
Maya
1 year later…
“This is the best,” Charlotte said. “I get to see my brother finish his race and then next week, I get to see him marry my best friend. Life couldn’t get any better than this.”
Charlotte, myself, and both of our mothers were waiting at the last location for the runners to cross the line. A crowd of family and friends of the contestants had gathered, and there was a charged energy as everyone waited to see their loved-ones complete the race. We’d watched earlier as the runners made their way through the obstacle course—and those activities were crazy if you asked me—and then they disappeared through a tunnel that led up a mountain for the running portion. We lost sight of them, but there were cameras along the way so we were able to watch them on overhead screens. Easton was doing really well. He was sweating more than I’d ever seen him sweat, but he’d trained hard and all that work was finally paying off.
“The only thing that would make it even better,” Charlotte’s mom said, “would be to see you with a boyfriend.”
Charlotte laughed. “We’ll see about that.”
I snickered because that was a running joke between Charlotte and her mom. Charlotte wasn’t in any hurry to find a man, and her mom wasn’t actually serious about pushing the issue. Charlotte would move forward when she found someone that sparked her interest, and not a day sooner, but they liked to banter about it.
“Maybe you’ll let Maya set you up on a date,” my mom said, winking. She was standing next to Mrs. Radcliffe, and they had become quite close after our vacation to Newport Beach.
“I don’t know about that,” Charlotte said. “Maya might try to get me back after what I pulled.”
I laughed and pushed against her shoulder, playfully. “A setup is a great idea. I’ll have to give that some thought. You deserve someone really good.” I waggled my eyebrows, and she blushed.
“There you are!” My coworker, Deanna said. She walked over with her new boyfriend, Cody, trailing behind. They had dated for six months, and I’d already met him on several occasions. She hugged me, and I waved at Cody.
“Glad you could make it.”
“Me too.” She winked. “You ready for next week?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Deanna had agreed to be one of my bridesmaids, and if things continued the way they were going with Cody, it wouldn’t be long until she was walking down the aisle in a wedding dress as well.
Bruce wove his way through the crowd with his friend, Tammy. Tammy had shown up with him to several work-related events in the past year, and I sensed she was interested in him, but I wasn’t sure where Bruce stood. He seemed interested as well, but maybe he was shy because they hadn’t formalized anything yet. I had a feeling it was coming, though. “Hey, guys,” he said. “Tammy and I are late, but at least we’ll be able to see Mr. Radcliffe cross the finish line.”
Deanna made a zipping motion across her lips. “Don’t worry, Brucey. Our lips are sealed. Easton will never know you didn’t see the entire thing.”
“I thought I saw George, Laurie, and Paige,” he said.
“Yep, they’re here,” I said. “They’re on the other side getting refreshments.”
He nodded. “Cool.”
Not long after Easton and I got engaged, I’d returned to work part-time, and a couple of weeks after that, Easton had gathered everyone from our office together, and he made the announcement that we were engaged. I’d