them out. You have really good friends, Carly. I couldn’t have done this without them.”
“I can’t believe you did all of this for me.”
“For you and for us.” He touched his forehead to hers, wrapping his arms tighter around her like the sweetest, most perfect ribbon, and said, “I love you so damn much, Carls. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” He gazed into her teary eyes, and a world of emotion stared back at her as he said, “I know you don’t need private planes or extravagant trips, but we have three nights until I leave, and I want to give you a chance to experience everything you’ve dreamed of and everything I do. I don’t want any Carly-free zones in my life.”
She had a fleeting thought about how they would make things work and protecting her heart, but there was no protecting it from itself. Their love had survived all these years like artifacts in the sea, cocooned away in heartache and unresolved questions. Time, touch, and truth had scraped away those hurtful layers, giving them a second chance. She didn’t know exactly what their second chance would look like beyond that moment, and it might take a while to figure out the logistics. But she didn’t care if it took years, because when she gazed into his loving eyes, she wanted to hang on to their love with both hands and never let it go.
“I love you, too, Zevy. I was afraid to say it, but I’ve never stopped loving you.”
And I know I never will.
Chapter Eighteen
THE GENTLE ROCKING of the boat and Zev’s warm body were almost enough to keep Carly in bed, but the thought of what he had planned for them and the urge to look at the pictures of them plastering the wall by his desk one more time were too strong. She slipped silently out from his arms and padded naked across the cabin to the window. She peered out at the dusky predawn sky and the inky water, unable to believe she was really on Zev’s boat, docked at a marina on Silver Island. She glanced at him, sleeping soundly on his back, one arm arced above his head, the other on his abs, a small smile on his lips. The sheet was bunched around his waist, one leg straight, the other knee bent. Love billowed inside her. He must have said he loved her a hundred times on the long plane ride to the island, and she was right there with him, setting free the words that she’d held captive for what she knew would seem like not much time at all to anyone else. They’d only see the few days she and Zev had spent together. But love like theirs didn’t fade away. It grew roots, spreading deeper, farther, and faster than anyone could imagine.
She went to his desk, admiring their remember-when pictures hanging beside it. There were a few of Luis and Zev, and he was right. Luis looked like an aging pirate with wild hair and the same shimmer of life Zev had. There were so many photos of her and Zev, they overlapped, their edges frayed, creases streaking a few. She couldn’t believe he’d had them hanging there for all this time. When she’d asked him about them last night, he’d said, I told you that you were always with me. There were pictures of them as kids decked out in hiking gear with backpacks on their shoulders. One had been taken in sixth grade, another in tenth, and another in college. There were silly pictures of Carly making faces and blowing kisses and one of her standing on his parents’ lawn in a black bikini, water from a sprinkler raining down on her. Her wet hair hung in her face, her cheeks pink with sunburn. She had one hand perched on her jutted-out hip, a scowl masking her unstoppable smile. There were pictures of them in dive gear sitting on the side of his uncle Ace’s boat in Peaceful Harbor, Maryland. She had fond memories of those visits.
Her gaze moved to a picture of a school trip to a museum they’d taken in seventh grade, the day after he’d asked her to be his girlfriend. They stood side by side, fingertips touching, goofy smiles on their faces. She remembered wanting to tell everyone she was Zev’s girlfriend, and at the same time, feeling embarrassed because none of her friends were boy crazy like she