CHAPTER ELEVEN:
The days after their reconciliation felt different, softer, steadier. The fire between them was still there, always ready to flare, but something deeper had taken root.
Zack noticed it in the small things; the way Vanessa brushed her hair back when she was focused on her sketches, the quiet smile she wore when she caught him watching her, the sound of her laughter echoing in her apartment late at night.
He had always thought of himself as a man married to the sea, untethered and free. But now, when the tide called, he felt the tug of something stronger: her.
One evening, as they walked along the harbor, Vanessa tucked her arm through his, the lanterns flickering along the docks, the waves whispering against the wood. She was telling him about a new ship design, her voice animated, her eyes bright. Zack barely heard the details; he was too busy watching her, memorizing the way the light danced across her face.
"Zack?" she asked, nudging him."You're quiet."
He smiled faintly. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
"about how I never thought I'd find someone who could pull me to shore."
Vanessa tilted her head, puzzled, but he only kissed her temple and let the words hang between them.
That night, lying beside her, listening to her slow breathing, the thought struck him with startling clarity; he wanted this forever. Not just the fore, not just the passion. The fights, the laughter, the long nights, the waiting, all of it. He wanted a life with her, not just moments.
The idea of marriage had never once crossed his mind before. The sea had always been his only vow. But with Vanessa, the word no longer felt like chains. It felt like freedom.
As dawn crept through the window, Zack traced the line of her hand with his thumb, quiet but certain. he didn't know how or when, but he knew. he would ask her. he would make her his, not just in nights stolen between voyages, but for always.