He raised an eyebrow. "I can't believe that."
"It's true. It's not the house that will make me happy. I know that now. It's you, and my business, and this town that bring me joy. When I'm ready to move somewhere, I want to start fresh in a place that's all mine, that's going to tell the next part of my story...and maybe yours." She took a breath. "And even though I would love to stay here, if the Marines take you away, you might find me stowing away in your backpack."
"I would like that."
"And I like that you want to include me in the decisions, so I want to do the same. I want to give us a chance to find out where this love takes us."
"Me, too."
She let out a breath. "This is all moving so fast. A few minutes ago, I thought you were leaving, and I didn't know how I was going to say good-bye. Now you might stay, and I'm hoping I'm not deliriously tired and this is all a dream."
"It's not a dream. It's very, very real."
She laughed. "I can't believe it. I finally found my Romeo."
"And if you call me that, I'll have to…"
"Have to what?" she teased.
"Kiss you senseless."
"In that case, Romeo, Romeo, Rom—"
He cut off her words as he made good on his threat, kissing her long and hard, with passion and tenderness and love. He lifted his head and smiled at her. "You know what's funny?"
"What?"
"I never ate one of your Wish cookies, but I got my wish anyway."
"Well, it's too late now. They're all gone. The magic is over until next year."
"The magic was never in the cookies, Juliette; it was in you. You've changed people's lives in this town: Cameron, Donna, Travis, Cecelia, my grandfather, Doug, me—probably even Martha."
"I'm not so sure about that, but there's still time."
"For everything we want," he agreed.
"Everything is really just you," she confessed.
"And you," he whispered. "Let's go upstairs and get you to bed…"
# # #
