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I leaned in and kissed him right there under the wide-open sky. Forever was wrapped up in a large yellow bloom.
I twisted the stem between my fingers. “What should I do with all these sunflowers, cowboy?”
Wells sat down next to me, and his eyes focused on the water. “Build a shrine to me.”
I scoffed. “A shrine?”
He bit back a smile. “A tasteful one, obviously.”
I nodded seriously. “Maybe I should create a life-sized statue of you made of leaves.”
“Now we’re talking.”
I nudged his arm. “You are ridiculous.”
He beamed. “I’m romantic.”
“You’re both.” I paused for a moment. “I really do need to figure out what to do with them. I’ve got dried up sunflowers in vases all over the house. I don’t want to throw them away. They feel like little pieces of the way you love me.”
“So keep them.” Wells paused. “I actually had an idea I wanted to run by you.”
I raised a brow, not sure where he was going to go with this.
“Save the seeds.” He spoke up.
“From the flowers?”
He nodded. “Save the seeds, and next spring you can plant them. Turn them into a field. We can have a whole field of sunshine.”
I stared at him. My chest swelled. “A field.”
Wells shrugged like he hadn’t just handed me a vision of our future together wrapped in something impossibly tender. “It was just an idea.”
It wasn’t just an idea. It was a dream.
“I could plant some around the porch. Let them grow tall and wild.”
“You can cut them and sell them at the Solace Blooms storefront you pretend you’re not dreaming about.”
I turned my head; my eyes were wide. “You think I could do that?”
“I know you can.” Wells comforted.
A laugh escaped. “That sounds like heaven. I’ll save every seed.”
I looked down at the flower in my lap, thinking about the sunlit shop. I imagine helping people who came in, not knowing what they were looking for. I wanted to be part of something that brought a little bit of joy into people’s everyday lives.
Wells reached over and grabbed my hand, pressing it against his lips. “That’s my girl.”
We let the breeze speak for a while. The waves fizzled up and dissolved, exposing some beautiful shells. The sun dipped lower, and the sky became a beautiful rose gold.
“Do you want to go look for seashells?” Wells asked, breaking me out of my trance.
I nodded vigorously. “Like you didn’t already know.”
“I figured I would ask.” Wells stood and extended a hand for me to take.
I slipped my hand into his and let him pull me to my feet. The sand had cooled down, shadows stretching long across it, and the breeze had picked up just enough to tug at the hem of my dress.