Page 142 of Fame & Chaos

“But that’s where I see us heading,” I continue softly. “I’ve wanted to be with you my entire life. And these last twelve hours of officially having you beside me have been the happiest twelve hours I’ve ever had.” I squeeze her hands gently. “Every second I spent without you felt empty. Like I was existing but not really living. There was this constant void inside me because you weren’t there.” Emotion thickens my throat, but I force myself to keep going because she deserves complete honesty from me. “I know this probably sounds intense. I know you want slow, and I’m not trying to pressure you. I’m not proposing tonight.” I smile softly at her stunned expression. “I just need you to know that when I picture my future, it’s always you standing beside me. Always.” Tears begin filling her eyes. “It doesn’t have to happen tomorrow or next year. Hell, I don’t care if it takes ten years. I’ll wait however long you need. I just…” My chest tightens painfully. “I just need to know you can see it too.” A tear slips down her cheek. “Can you see it, Indi?” I ask quietly.

For a second, I genuinely stop breathing because if she says no, I honestly think it’ll destroy me.

She smiles through her tears and nods slowly. “I can see it,” she whispers emotionally. “Just… not yet, Caleb. Slow, okay?”

Pure fucking happiness explodes inside my chest so hard I can barely contain it. Laughing breathlessly, I shove back my chair and hurry around the table toward her. She rises to meet me, and the second she’s standing, I pull her into me so hard our bodies collide together.

My hands cup her cheeks, forcing her to look at me.

Her eyes are wet.

Mine probably are too.

“I love you,” she whispers shakily.

“I fucking love you,” I breathe before crashing my mouth onto hers.

The kiss is messy, emotional, desperate, full of every single thing we’ve held back from each other for years. I pull her hands around my neck while the quartet continues playing softly behind us, and slowly we begin swaying together in the middle of the empty restaurant.

Dancing, kissing, and holding onto each other like we’re terrified to let go.

My heart feels too full for my chest while my stomach flips violently with happiness.

She sees it too.

She sees forever with me.

Maybe life does throw punches. Maybe sometimes it knocks you flat on your ass over and over again until you’re convinced you’ll never get back up. But eventually, after enough misses, enough heartbreak, enough bad timing and pain, you finally land the perfect hit.

And that’s what this feels like.

Like after years of swinging and missing, I finally hit the ball straight out of the fucking park.

Because Indi isn’t just the love of my life.

She is my home.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Caleb

Afterward, Indi comes back to my place so she can finally see where I live, and we can squeeze every possible second out of our time together before reality kicks back in. She has work the next morning, and I need to drive out to Oxfordshire for rehearsals, but right now everything feels… right.

For the first time in years, my life feels like it’s finally clicking into place.

My music career is starting to take off, and somehow it all circles back to Indi. She’s the reason I ever chased this dream seriously in the first place, so it only feels fitting that she’s here beside me while it all begins.

We spend the rest of the night tangled together in my bed, making love, talking, laughing, and filling in the six years we lost. I learn things about her that surprise me. Despite being gorgeous, sweet, and impossible not to love, she’s actually lived a pretty sheltered life. She doesn’t really have many friends either.

Apparently, there’s one girl from work named Kenzi. Indi describes her as loud, outgoing, chaotic, and embarrassingly extroverted, which honestly makes me laugh because it sounds like the complete opposite of Indi’s quiet, guarded personality. But she says they work well together, and apparently, Kenzi is the only person who knows everything…

About Indi’s past.

About me.

I can’t even lie, hearing that secretly makes me ridiculously happy. The fact that she still talked about me after all this time, that she still thought about me the same way I thought about her… fuck! It means more to me than it probably should. And honestly, I’m grateful she had someone there for her while I couldn’t be. I definitely want to meet Kenzi someday and personally thank her for helping Indi through everything.

But right now, I’m driving toward Oxfordshire with a stupid grin plastered across my face and so much love for Indi filling my chest it almost physically hurts.