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Amanda hustled alongside Sam, watching as he dipped his hand into his pocket and drew out his phone. Behind them, Lola and Tommy’s reception blared on without them, with big band music ringing out across the hills and forests, all the way to the coasts. It was difficult to imagine that anyone on the mainland could hear anything at all, which only added to the beauty of their party. The rest of the United States did their own thing while Martha’s Vineyard partied in the east.
Just before Sam called them, he pressed his lips over Amanda’s. Amanda stumbled back the slightest bit because of the passion of their kiss. When it broke, he blinked several times, coughed, then said, “Okay. Okay. Time to get this taken care of.”
Amanda crossed her arms over her chest and listened as Sam spoke with the front-desk manager of the police station, who, for once, wasn’t the idiotic Connie. Sam described what they’d learned about the potential location of the license plate at one “Harry Billson’s” place, located on the outskirts of Oak Bluffs.
“It’s quite important to me that this is taken care of,” Sam continued into the phone, his eyes dancing with the light from the reception. “My girlfriend and I were involved in the accident, as was an older woman. We could have been seriously injured. The fact that this hasn’t been taken care of since the incident has kept me up at night.”
Sam nodded as he listened to whatever it was the other person said. The words seemed to calm him. He finally brought his eyes toward Amanda’s, and they were illuminated with love and promise.
Did Chris ever look at me like that?
When Sam finally hung up the phone, he hugged Amanda warmly and said, “I think it’ll be over soon.”
“Thank goodness.” Amanda shivered against him, overwhelmed with gratefulness and too many glasses of wine.
But before she knew what had happened, Sam’s enormous form dropped down. He placed one knee forward and one leg back, and he lifted his hands to grip hers. All the air shot out from Amanda’s lungs.
Was this really happening?
“Amanda Harris.”
When Sam said Amanda’s name, it was such an aphrodisiac. Amanda shivered, trying to memorize the sight of this handsome man down on one knee. This is the last time this will ever happen. Don’t miss it. Remember every moment.
“When I met you a year and a half ago, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen,” Sam began.
“That’s—” Amanda began to protest, but Sam interrupted.
“Don’t. Don’t back away from this. I know you’re scared. Heck, who wouldn’t be? But Amanda, I love you. I love you with my whole heart and mind. You’ve taught me so much about myself and the way I want my life to go. Out there on the dance floor, I gazed down at you and realized that this was literally ‘it’ for me. I’ve never had that realization before.”
Amanda’s throat tightened. She longed to tell Sam, now, that her engagement to Chris had been “just because it was time to get engaged.” But she didn’t want to taint this moment. She wanted to live in it, just the two of them, as long as it was capable of lasting.
“Will you, Amanda? Will you make me the happiest man on this island?” Sam continued. “We’ve already proven that we can handle everything, side-by-side. Why not this, too?”
Amanda pressed her lips together, overwhelmed with emotion. She then lifted her chin as her heart soared with happiness.
“I’ll marry you, Sam Fuller. I can’t imagine a better life.”
Sam leaped up, wrapping his hands around the cinch of her waist and twirling her around and around. Amanda laughed until she pressed her lips against his, her heart pounding. When he finally, finally planted her back on the earth again, she kissed him again and then begged him, “You can’t tell anyone about this!”
Sam’s lips opened wide. “What are you talking about?”
Amanda laughed. “We can’t ruin Lola’s wedding with our own engagement. It’s just rude!”
“Is this something only women know about?” Sam asked.
“Maybe,” Amanda said. “I don’t know. I just know that if we storm in there and tell everyone that we got engaged, we’ll get some strange looks. Let’s just keep it our little secret for now. Okay?”
Sam shrugged, his smile still cartoonishly large. “Whatever you want, baby.” He laced his fingers around her back and slow-danced with her for a long moment, there beneath the pregnant moon. It was terribly romantic, a moment that Amanda would return to throughout her life to remind herself of the density of real love.
When Sam and Amanda finally stepped back into the reception area, Audrey took one look at Amanda, dropped her jaw, and hissed, “You didn’t.”
Amanda tried to pretend she had no idea what Audrey spoke of. “What?”
“It’s written all over your face,” Audrey shot back. She grabbed Amanda’s elbow knowingly and guided her toward their round table, where Noah sat with Beatrice, telling her about his love of the film The Other Guys, which Beatrice had obviously never seen.
“Tell me,” Audrey demanded.
Amanda crossed and uncrossed her arms. “I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know?”
“There’s nothing to tell,” Amanda tried.
Out on the dance floor, Sam spoke to Tommy good-naturedly, wearing a goofy grin.
“Look at him! He looks like he just jumped over the moon,” Audrey said.
“He does not.”
Audrey sighed. “You’re being ridiculous. I would tell you if it happened to me.”
Amanda’s nostrils flared. “Still have no idea what you’re saying.”
“Oh. My. God.” Audrey tossed her head back. “You’re engaged. I know you’re engaged. Just finally—”
But as she spat the words out, Amanda leaped forward and placed her hand over Audrey’s mouth. “Will you shut your big mouth, Audrey!”
At this, Audrey howled knowingly and tossed her arms around Amanda. “I knew it,” she breathed. “The minute you disappeared into the parking lot, I knew you’d come back an engaged woman. But dammit! That means you’re leaving the Sheridan House, isn’t it?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Amanda breathed, her heart surging with sorrow. “Let’s just enjoy the night. Okay?”
Together, she and Audrey turned back to watch as Lola and Tommy kissed beneath the moonlight, their faces youthful and alive and their arms wrapped tenderly around one another. Sam soon joined their table with a fresh slice of cake and kissed Amanda delicately before flashing Audrey a look of disdain.
“You told her, didn’t you?” he muttered to Amanda.
“What?” Amanda and Audrey cried in unison.
“I don’t know anything,” Audrey tried.
“Yeah. Right.” And with that, Sam snapped his lips around another bite of cake, shaking his head with dismay. Only his eyes shone with humor.