The humidity was strong. Instead of fighting it, I’d let my hair air-dry after the shower; my natural curls that I always straightened were lying in waves across my back. The maxi dress showed the tan lines I’d earned from our afternoon of parasailing, my cheeks so sun-kissed that I hadn’t added more than a little mascara and gloss to my face.

“I do love it,” I answered, “and living somewhere warm all the time would be wonderful, but I have to admit something …” I wiped the corners of my mouth before I continued, “Growing up, I never wanted to stay in Vermont, and whenever I go home to visit, I can’t fall asleep unless there’s noise blaring in the background, like the honking and ambulances I hear from our apartment.”

“Downtown Tampa has similar sounds.”

I shook my head. “I want to see the world more than anything. I want to taste my way through each country. That’s my passion, my dream. But my heart belongs to Boston; it’s the only place I’ve ever wanted to live.” I thought of the hallways I ran down each shift, patients still recuperating from that horrific day. “It has a lot of healing to do, and it needs my help.” My voice lowered. “It needs all of us.”

He reached across the table, the weight of his fingers landing on me. “I’m one lucky son of a bitch to be able to call you mine.”

We’d never had that conversation, but we didn’t need to. This moment belonged to Caleb, and so did I.

“I’m the lucky one.”

His thumb rubbed across the back of my palm. “When our eyes connected at that bar, I knew.” His stare was reaching through me, the same way it had that day. “We don’t have years of history between us, and there’s still so much we need to learn about each other, but forever is a word that has been haunting me since we met.”

My chest pounded with emotion. “That day was fate.” I took a breath. “I believe that, Caleb, and I believe in forever too.”

I didn’t know what the future would look like. Most of my days were spent running that grueling hamster wheel to nowhere, wishing I could fall off and find true happiness in my career, the hospital sucking everything out of me. But I trusted my gut more than anything; therefore, I knew there was a reason this man was sitting across from me, and I knew it was time to give my heart to someone other than Boston.

He rose from the table and came over to my side, helping me stand. He hauled me against his muscular frame, an intense power holding us together, nothing capable of invading. Tingles erupted through me as his tongue slowly slid over mine, his mouth owning each of my movements.