Chapter 6 - The True Beginning
He led me down the executive elevator to the ground floor, through the main lobby, and out onto the private timber dock extending two hundred feet into the quiet, crystal-clear waters of Lake Michigan.
The sun was setting over the horizon, painting the water in brilliant streaks of pink, violet, and burnished gold.
Parked at the end of the dock was a sleek, fifty-foot wooden motor yacht, its polished teak deck gleam in the twilight. Painted in elegant, hand-carved gold letters across the stern was the vessel’s name:
THE CRIMSON QUEEN
I stopped on the dock, my breath catching in my throat as I looked at the boat, then at Reed.
"You didn't..." I gasped, turning to him.
"My father built the original hull of this boat forty years ago," Reed said softly, wrapping his arm around my waist as we walked toward the bow. "It sat in a dry dock in Traverse City for fifteen years, completely abandoned. After everything happened three months ago, I bought the title back from the estate and spent every weekend restoring the woodwork."
He took my hands and guided me onto the polished deck.
"This boat was supposed to represent the Mercer family’s old legacy," Reed said, his eyes shining with deep, boundless warmth. "But now, it belongs to us. To our future."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box.
I looked at him, surprised. "Reed? We’re already married."
"I know," he smiled gently, opening the box. Inside lay a breathtaking, custom-designed necklace featuring a brilliant, fiery red rubelite gem surrounded by a halo of tiny, sparkling diamonds. "You wore a crimson suit on the day you saved my family. I wanted you to have something to remind you that no matter how dark the room gets, you will always be the brightest light in my life."
He unclasped the necklace and fastened it gently around my neck. The weight of the stone rested against my collarbone, warm and luminous in the twilight sun.
I turned around in his arms, wrapping my hands around his neck and pulling him close.
In the distance, the grand lights of the Mercer Grand Hotel flickered on, shining like a beacon across the dark water. The hotel was full of life, filled with music, laughing guests, and the promise of a hundred new stories waiting to be written.
I looked up at my husband—the man who had stood beside me through the storm, who had chosen truth over convenience, and who held my heart with steady, unwavering strength.
"Happy early birthday, Reed," I whispered softly into the cool evening air.
He smiled, bowing his head to press his lips against mine in a long, sweet, deep kiss that tasted of cider and autumn rain.
May you like
"I already have everything I could ever want, Tessa," Reed murmured against my lips. "I have you."
As the stars began to twinkle over the quiet, endless expanse of Lake Michigan, we stood together on the deck of The Crimson Queen, holding each other close, ready to navigate whatever waters lay ahead—together, triumphant, and forever whole.
