Alexis was ready to do more than simply exist; she wanted to live.
Unable to contain her excitement any longer, Alexis took a golf cart down to The Blue Heron after dinner. She was desperate to share her news with Tyler in person and couldn't bear to wait until he finished work. Her stomach was in knots as she parked out front and made her way inside.
The bar area was relatively quiet and she spied Tyler on a stool with a guitar on his lap, a pen in his mouth, and paper in front of him. Immersed in his songwriting, she watched as he played a few chords and jotted them down.
Alexis slid a hand across his shoulders. "Play a song for me."
Tyler moved the guitar and pulled Alexis onto his lap. "You are my muse.
Maybe I'll rely on osmosis for my creativity."
He kissed her passionately and she felt the rise of his excitement beneath her.
"So I have a serious question. What would you think if I stayed here and ran my own practice?"
He stopped kissing her and gripped her shoulders. "Stay, as in live here?" She nodded happily.
"Isn't that what I've been begging for?" he asked, engulfing her in his arms.
"You don't need to ask what I think, Alexis. It'd be the smartest move you ever made."
"Morris asked me to take over his practice and I've accepted. It's a chance to shift gears and be the kind of lawyer I'd like to be."
"You'll be amazing." He nuzzled her neck. "You are amazing."
"There's a cottage over on Juniper that's for sale," she told him.
"Oh, Mrs. Kirby's house. She's moving to Tampa to be closer to her sister."
Alexis leaned back to study him. "You really do know everyone, don't you?"
He shrugged. "Local bartender, what can I say?" His brow wrinkled. "You're not thinking about buying it, are you?"
"Why?" she asked in alarm. "Does it have defects I should know about?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "Alexis MacAdams, if you're going to live on Mangrove Island, you're going to live with me. I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life and I want the rest of my life to start right now."
She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. "I'm so happy to hear you say that."
"Guess I'll need to have a talk with old Greg MacAdams, too."
Alexis's head snapped to attention. "Why?"
"If we're going to live together, then I need to do things properly."
Alexis clutched his shirt and peered up at him with indignation. "If you think you're going to ask my father's permission like I'm a piece of chattel, you don't know me as well as you think."