There was a kind of beauty that could be found in suffering. A strength only achieved through survival. A joy only known to those who had experienced true sorrow. Compassion and empathy born of overcoming injustice. Hard-won happiness came with a rare appreciation for even the littlest of things, like sunshine on a beautiful day.

 

Jade lay stretched out on a patch of grass, scribbling furiously in a notebook. Campus was littered with tiny grassy alcoves—mini oases in a sea of concrete and steel—and after my last class of the day, I could almost always find her there.

 

A year of sun and sand and food had done wonders for her. No longer skin and bones, it was hard not to notice how she’d filled out in all the right ways. Silky dark hair, streaked with natural golden highlights, slid over her deeply tanned shoulders as she shifted to fan the side of her slender neck. She was . . . gorgeous. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so. It felt like every other day, I was running off some jerk. Not that she ever noticed. Jade was still Jade. She liked the way she looked, but it was still too much for her to believe others did, as well.

 

Baby steps. We’d get there. Someday. Until then I continued to marvel at the breathtaking smile that lit up her face each and every time she noticed me watching her. To know that smile was mine and mine alone . . . it humbled me.

 

“Stalking is against the law, ya know.” She spoke without looking up. A joke. A tease. Something she would have been terrified of saying only six months ago. Around everyone else she was still guarded and chose her words carefully, but with me . . . she was healing and it made my heart light.

 

“Is it now?” I dropped down beside her and rewarded her courage with a peck on the cheek.

 

Grass tickled my palms as I leaned back on them, legs stretched out in front of me, content to just take her in. Damn, I was lucky.

 

Supple muscles lined her forearms and legs. She had more strength these days, more energy, more ambition. She’d taken up jogging every morning and swam with me in the ocean most evenings. The sallow pallor of her skin had been replaced with a healthy glow. Her cheeks were more rounded, her hair thicker and softer than before. Her nails—no longer bitten to the quick—were painted a faint pink color, nothing too flashy but feminine and sweet. With more rest and less worry, the grayish circles had disappeared, but shadows of ghosts still haunted her eyes, hinting at deeper wounds which sunshine and a proper diet alone couldn’t heal. I could only hope that time and love would mend that damage in both of us.

 

Pale pink lips pressed together as she fiddled with the corner of her page, rubbing the paper between her pointer and thumb. “What are you doing?”

 

“Looking at you.” A pretty flush crept into her cheeks and I caught her chin before she could duck behind her hair to hide. “You’re beautiful.”

 

“Stop it.” She squirmed and let her gaze drop. Compliments made her uneasy. She didn’t know what to do with them, but it was my personal goal in life to make her very well acquainted with the experience.

 

“Never, Angel.” Tipping her chin up higher, I leaned forward to kiss her properly. “Are you ready? We have to pick my mom up at the airport in about an hour.”

 

“Yeah.” Jade shut her writing journal and slid the pen into the spiral binding.

 

Tucking the book into her bag, she slung it over her shoulder before I could take it from her and refuse to let her carry it. I grinned. She knew me as well as I knew her.

 

“Why is your mom coming to visit for Valentine’s Day?” She paused, eyes widening unbearably huge, and then the words began to tumble out one on top of the next. “Not that I don’t want her to visit. I do. I love your mom and— It’s just that— Her boyfriend— And Valentines—”

 

Two fingers pressed to her lips worked to muffle her frantic outpouring into silence. Big blue eyes peered up at me. I waited, giving her a moment to realize that she hadn’t said anything wrong. “Her frequent flyer miles were about to expire, so she thought . . .” I shrugged. “. . . why not. She practically lives with Martin. I’m sure he won’t mind missing her for one night.”

 

“Oh,” she breathed against my fingertips.

 

Forcing myself to stop touching her was always a challenge, but I managed to pry my hand away. My mother traveling to California had nothing to do with frequent flyer miles, but the reasoning satisfied my Angel’s curiosity. The concept of having more money than we needed was still lost on her. She continued to shop in bargain stores at clearance racks and only when necessary. Gifts were as much a cause for dismay as delight whenever I gave them to her. And getting her to accept college tuition money . . . that battle had lasted months and was only won on the condition that she pay my mother back in full once she graduated and got a job.

 

Jade was like no one I’d ever met, and I loved her so damn much it hurt.

 

***

 

“Cal! Jade!” Mom darted through the crowd surrounding the baggage claim waving her arms like a wild woman. She visited as often as her job at the hospital would allow, but every time she acted as if she hadn’t seen us in ages.

 

Jade only hesitated a moment when Mom pulled her into a hug. She was making progress with the whole public-displays-of-affection thing. I’d been helping her with that, finding reasons to touch her wherever we went. I found a lot of them. My pride swelled when she didn’t think twice before burrowing into my side the moment my mother released her.

 

“Hi, Mrs. Parks. How was the flight?”

 

“Long,” Mom sighed. “Made longer by the fact that I couldn’t wait to see you two.”

 

She went up on her toes to hug my neck and Jade tried to extricate herself, but I wasn’t having it. One arm around my mom the other around my girl . . . the moment could only have been more perfect if one more person were there. But life had a bad habit of pointing out that perfection was an unrealistic expectation.

 

“Are you hungry?” I lifted the carry-on from Mom’s shoulder and slung it over mine. “I made reservations for seven o’clock.”

 

“That sounds perfect, honey.”

 

A loud buzz sounded and the crowd began to undulate around us as the baggage carousel sprang to life. A man in sunglass and sandals caught Jade in the ribs with his elbow and I reached out to shove him off her.

 

“Watch it man.” Moving my Angel in front of me, I wrapped both arms around her to create a shield. “You okay?”

 

Jade twisted her neck. She looked exasperated with my overprotectiveness, but given everything we’d been through, it was something she was just going to have to get used to. “I’m fine.”

 

Mom teetered on tip-toe in front of us, chin up, trying to spy the bags beginning to pour out over the mob scene. Being all of five-foot-nothing, it was no use.

 

 “Wait for me over by the door.” I bent to kiss the top of Jade’s head before pulling away. “Is it the purple bag, Mom?”

 

“You know it.” Mom beamed at me and hooked arms with Jade. “We’ll be over there.” She nodded in the general direction of the exit. “Away from this madhouse.”

 

Mom had always traveled with the same bright purple suitcase with black polka-dots for as long as I could remember. She said it made it easier to spot her luggage, and in the sea of black and red clogging up the belt, she wasn’t wrong. I nudged my way through the cramped space, doing my best not to hit anyone with the bag on my shoulder and reached the front just in time to haul Mom’s case off the carousel. The thing weighed a freaking ton. She was in town for one night. What the hell could one person need for one night that could possibly weigh that much?

 

It took another five minutes to navigate my way back out and find Mom and Jade, sipping coffee in a small airport café.

 

“This is nowhere near the door,” I informed Jade, dropping into the vacant seat beside her.

 

“I bought you coffee.” She held out a foam cup, but offered something much better than that with her smile. “Actually, your mom bought us both coffee. But I held it for you.”

 

“Well, then.” I reached for my drink with the purest of intentions, but when I caught the scent of jasmine and lilacs I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her. I didn’t know if it was her shampoo, or a lotion, or just pure Jade, but she always smelled like a garden. And I couldn’t get enough. My hand slipped around the back of her neck, holding her in place so I could savor the sweetness that was her. 

 

“Cal!” She batted my arm and I sat back, sipping my coffee and smiling to myself at the red glow flaming in her cheeks.

 

“All is forgiven.” I winked and I swear she turned crimson.

 

“If you’re done embarrassing your poor girlfriend . . .” Mom’s admonishment might have had a little more impact if she hadn’t been smiling so hard her cheeks looked ready to burst. “. . . perhaps we should get going? You said reservations were at seven, right?”

 

***

 

Jade’s black flats made tiny swishing noises over the polished wood floor of the restaurant. Her fingers curled tighter around mine and she stepped into me—trying to hide—as her gaze darted across the dining room. It was a fancy place and I’d considered getting her something nicer to wear for the occasion, but the plain white sundress already hanging in her closet was too perfect to pass up. The hostess led us to a table in the back where I sat beside Jade and Mom slid into the booth across from us. Menus were handed out and drink orders taken.

 

I perused the seafood selection, fighting back a grin when I heard Jade groan. Fancy meant expensive. She’d hate it, but she’d order and she’d eat. And secretly, she’d enjoy every last bite. Candlelight caught on the angel wing pendant around her neck and I smiled to myself as I tugged up my sleeve to proudly display the gold watch on my wrist.

 

“Oh, that’s lovely.” Mom set her menu aside and lifted my hand for a better look.

 

“It’s my Valentine’s gift from Jade.”

 

The watch was old—not antique, just old—and not very expensive. Jade had bought it with the money she earned at a part-time, work-study job I kept insisting she didn’t need. But it was my most prized possession because I knew without doubt that it had been selected with care and given with her whole heart, despite her fears of inadequacy and rejection. 

 

Mom knew the same.

 

“Well, you have wonderful taste. In both jewelry and men.” She winked at Jade and I rolled my eyes.

 

“Okay, Mom.” I swore the woman already had the wedding invites printed up and stashed in a drawer somewhere. “Enough.”

 

She didn’t ask what my gift was for Jade. She already knew. It was the reason she’d flown clear across the country to be there. Yet, I was hoarding it until later when Jade and I could be alone. Selfish? Maybe, but some things were too precious to share.

 

***

 

The porch light was on when we pulled into the drive as well as the solar lamps, illuminating the pathway to our private beach entrance. Jade and I had rented a condo downtown for a few months after moving to California, while we got our lives in order. It took some time to work out my credit transfers and by then Mom and I had convinced Jade to join me in the world of higher education. By day, she studied prose and character arcs and whatever the hell else writers studied, while I got intimately familiar with the human anatomy and the bazillions of things that could go wrong with it. By night, we sat together in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and watch the lights of the city. It was nice, but it didn’t feel . . . right.

 

I called a realtor and before the start of our fall semester, we’d officially become homeowners. A small, bungalow style house—we didn’t need a lot of space for just the two of us—but as per my one and only requirement, it was right on the beach. Something that Jade couldn’t get enough of. Listening to the sound of waves crashing against the shore each night as I fell asleep with Jade in my arms, I finally felt at home.

 

Wood smoke mingled in the briny air and laughter carried from the glow of a backyard camp fire a few houses down. Someone called out Jade’s name and she waved to a few neighbors. People we’d barbequed with, enjoyed days on the beach with, laughed with . . . People she considered friends.

 

Mom headed inside, but when Jade went to follow, I snagged her hand. “Go for a walk with me?”

 

“But your mom—”

 

“Just a few minutes?  She won’t mind.”

 

Jade got this look in her eye, like she knew I was up to something, but she was willing to indulge me. “Alright.”

 

Ditching my shoes, I rolled up my pant legs to mid-calf and followed her through the break in the thick bushes and out across the beach. Silver moonlight rippled over the water. The roar of the afternoon tide had lessened to a gentle sigh. Gulls hopped here and there, scavenging for the days leftovers. The sand had cooled to a bearable temperature and sandals dangled from Jade’s fingers as she strolled along the shoreline. A breeze came off the water, tossing her hair and carrying the hem of her dress out behind her. A more beautiful sight had never existed.

 

When she stopped and turned into the wind, her face bathed in moonlight, eyes closed and absolute peace in every last one of her features . . . I couldn’t wait a single second longer. My heart might have exploded if I’d tried. I had to do it. Right there. Right then.

 

“Jade?”

 

“Hmm?” She looked at me, starlight playing in her eyes. And she smiled.

 

I dug my toes into the chilled sand and reached out to touch her face. “How did I ever get so lucky?"

 

"Cal." She pressed her lips together and ducked her head, but I wasn't finished yet.

 

"You are . . . the most incredible person I’ve ever met. You’re everything to me. You know that, don't you? There’s nothing I want more than to make you happy.”

 

“You do make me happy, Cal.” Her hand came up to cover mine against her cheek. “You’ve always made me happy.”

 

That wasn’t true. I’d also been the source of some of her greatest pain, while she’d been the cure to mine.

 

“When you came into my life, I . . . I was in a bad place. I was struggling just to breathe. To make it from one day to the next. You saw that. You saw what no one else saw. And you gave me the courage to keep fighting. To keep going. Not to surrender to it. You held me up when all I wanted to do was fall. I don’t . . .” I swallowed hard past the building ache in the back of my throat and she turned her face to kiss my palm. “I don’t know how I would have survived without you. And I never want to find out.”

 

Drawing a deep breath of salty sea air, I released it slowly. My entire future rode on the next ten seconds. Trailing my knuckles down her cheek, I took her hand in mine and held on for dear life. 

 

“I love you, Jade. I told you once that I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. I asked you to marry me and I told you not to answer me, then.” The damp sand gave way beneath my knee and soaked through my pant leg as I lifted the small black box I’d been carrying around for the past two weeks. “I’d like that answer, now, though. Jade Carlson . . . you are the piece that makes me whole. You fill my heart and strengthen my soul. I never want to be without you. Say you’ll marry me, Angel?”

 

My heart stopped beating as I watched the tears pool in her eyes. Waiting was the sweetest form of torture. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Any other girl and I might have opened the box, hopping the carat count would sway her decision, but not Jade. The ring could be made of plastic for all she cared.

 

She loved me, I knew that much. What remained to be seen was if my love was enough to overcome her fears of abandonment and self-doubt. Could she trust that I loved her enough to want to be with her ‘til death do us part’ and never leave her?  Did she know that my life was tied to hers? That her pain was my pain? That I’d rather die than cause her any more suffering? That I would protect and cherish her for as long as we both shall live?

 

I looked up at her looking at me and I prayed. I prayed that for once—out of the seven billion people on this planet—for her I would be enough. Because if I wasn’t . . .

 

A gasping sob slipped past her lips and then she nodded. She nodded and nodded as the tears began to fall in earnest. Her legs gave out and I was right there to catch her, cradling her against my chest as she buried her face in my neck.

 

“Yes. Yes, yes, yes . . .” Her lips brushed over my skin as she spoke the word again and again, each repetition healing the ever-present ache deep in my heart.

 

When she finally pulled back, I didn’t let her get far. I wasn’t ready to let her go. Our hearts hammered against one another’s as she swiped at the tears on her cheeks and pressed her hands to the sides of my neck.

 

“I love you, Caulder Parks. You came into my crazy, messed-up life and you saved me, again and again. You never quit. You . . . you never gave up on me. You loved me through all of it. And you’ve made me stronger and happier than I ever thought possible. You believe in me like no one ever has. When I feel lost or afraid, you’re always there to remind me who I am and what I’m capable of. I want that. I need it. I need you.” Love so strong it physically hurt pulsed in my chest. Her entire body shook in my arms as she drew a staggering breath. “Yes, Cal, I’ll marry you.”

 

I popped open the lid and she choked on her next breath. A three carat halo diamond—seemed only right—set in platinum sat nestled in soft white velvet. The sparkle in the stone reminded me of Jade’s eyes when she laughed.

 

“I . . . It’s too much.” Jade struggled to retreat, but I clamped down on her left wrist as I wrestled the ring from the box. “Cal, I can’t—”

 

“Nope. You don’t get to say that anymore.”

 

As I uncurled her fingers and slid the jewelry into its rightful place, something inside of me clicked. Peace. No more fear, no more worry. I had all I needed right in front of me.

 

“From this day forward, what’s mine is yours. And, Angel . . . " I looked at her—really looked at her—past the beauty of the outter shell that had weathered so much abuse, straight through her steady eyes to the heart that lay beneath. Strong and soft all at once. She hadn't let this life and the things she'd experienced change her, harden her. She was still my sweet, kind, loving Angel. She deserved more than I could ever give her. More than this cold wrold had to offer. She deserved everything. ". . . it’s not nearly enough.”

 

 ***

 

Mom sat on the back deck beside a pair of surfboards leaning against the railing. I was teaching Jade how to surf and—for a girl who’d never even seen the ocean before and was terrified of the water before we got here—she wasn’t half bad.

 

She jumped to her feet when she spotted us coming up the path. “Took you long enough.”

 

Jade’s gaze bounced from her, to me, and back again. “You . . . you knew?”

 

Mom winked and Jade slapped a hand to her forehead.

 

“Of course you knew.”

 

I chuckled and gave my Angel a squeeze, but Mom pounced before I could distract her further from her embarrassment. Preferably inside.

 

“Is that it?” She snagged Jade’s hand and drew it into the light coming from the large bay window in the kitchen. “Oh . . . Oh, my . . .” Mom speechless, I guess there was a first time for everything.

 

Jade’s shoulders pulled up around her ears. “I told him it was—”

 

“Perfect,” Mom cut in, folding Jade’s hand between both of hers. “It’s absolutely perfect. And, Sweetheart, you deserve it.”

 

Jade took a shaky breath, but her shoulders eased and a smile tugged at her lips. “Cal has good taste in jewelry, too.”

 

“And women.” Mom smiled and stepped closer to wrap her arms around me. “I’m so proud of you.”

 

I hugged her back and when I probably should have let her go, I hung on just a little bit longer. “Thank you, Mom.”

 

She gave me a squeeze before letting go, but her words stayed with me. The ring and the beautiful girl wearing it weren’t the only bits of perfection in my life.

 

“And you . . .” Mom turned to Jade, drawing her in for a hug, as well. “You’ve always been a member of this family, but now it’s official. Future Mrs. Jade Parks, welcome.”

 

Jade sniffled, but her smile was bright enough to light up the night. “Thank you, Mrs. Parks."

 

“Oh, honey, please . . . call me Mom?”

 

A sharp inhale cut through the night and Jade’s lower lip began to quiver. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and held her close. This was it. After all the ups and downs, the heartbreaks and triumphs, the gains and the losses . . . this—right here—was the start of our ‘Happily Ever After’.

 

Finally.