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“So now what?” I ask.
“Now, nothing. Now, we go on with our lives. You were fine, anyway.”
“Why would you think I was fine?” I ask. “I was the opposite of fine.”
“Well, you look fine,” she mumbles.
“Are you saying that you’re fine without me?” It hurts my heart to ask her that question because what do I do if she says she is fine without me? What if she really is done with me? “Because I’m not fine without you.” I grip her hip. “I will never be done with you. Never.” She looks down, and I close the distance to her. “I meant what I said before.” I lift her chin with the other hand. Only when she looks at me do I continue. “I’m going to marry you. We’re going to have babies together. We’re going to fight, and you will always be right.” I wrap the arm that is holding her hip around her. “Living without you has been the worst time of my life. I felt like I was dying every single minute of every single day. I refuse to live like that again. I know what it feels to have you in my life, and I know what it feels like not to have you in my life. I never ever want to do that again. So, Ryleigh…” I exhale, stepping into her.
She puts her hands on my chest, right over my heart. “I’m not fine without you,” she admits, blinking away the tears in her eyes, but one escapes and rolls down her cheek, stopped by my fingers. “After you broke up with me, it was too late to turn back. I had already given my notice at work, and they were bringing in someone new. I was days away from meeting with a couple of firms in Nashville, which I called to cancel. One called me back the next day. It’s a firm that specializes in family law and I spoke with the owner who told me to take some time for me. He told me to take some time for myself, and that I had an office waiting for me when I was ready. After that, I packed up some clothes and headed to my family’s home in Montana. Some nights, I would sit outside by the firepit and think back to every memory we had together. It would hurt, the agony of loving you and not being able to have you.”
“I should never have let you go.” I put my forehead on hers. “I should have listened to you.”
“Yeah, you should have.” She sniffles. “It would have saved us a lot of heartache.”
“You could have shown up,” I tell her, “with your bags.”
“You could have gone skating without skates,” she snaps, “and hot feet.” I chuckle at her joke but only for a minute. “You hurt me, Stone.” Her voice is like a whisper. “Like no one has ever hurt me before.”
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” I vow to her right before I kiss her lips softly. I haven’t touched her in a month, so the soft kiss I want to give her quickly turns into serious tongue.
Her hands move from my chest up to my neck, and she slides one into the back of my hair. “Forever.” I let go of her lips for a second, only to consume her again. “For the rest of my life.” I pick her up, and she wraps her legs around my waist. “I will show you how much I love you.” I walk toward the steps, her arms going around my neck. “I will never ever let you go again, Ryleigh.”
She stops moving when I say her name, her arms dropping from around my neck as I stop at the top of the landing. “What did you just call me?” I look into her eyes. “Did you just use my name?” She shakes her head.
“Gorgeous,” I say gently, and her face goes soft.
“Say it again.” She wraps her arms around my neck tighter, burying her face in the crook of my neck. “Say it again and again.”
“Gorgeous,” I repeat, heading down the hall to the primary bedroom. “Gorgeous.” I squeeze her tighter. “Gorgeous.” I walk over toward the bed, turning to sit on the edge. “Gorgeous.”
“Yes,” she mumbles from my neck.
“I love you,” I say softly as she unwraps her arms, “so much more than I can say.”
“Do you now?” She tries to hide the smile on her face. “Well, it took you long enough.”
I throw my head back and laugh as she leans in and kisses my neck. “You know what else is taking you too long?” she asks. “Getting me naked.” I smirk at her. “I thought you missed me.”
“More than you will ever know.” I pull her shirt up, and her arms go in the air as I peel it off her and toss it to the side. Her hands lunge for my shirt, balling it in her fists as she pushes it over my head.
“What the…?” Her eyes fly to the black ink under my left pec, where my heart goes toward my ribs. “What is this?” Her fingers slowly trace it.
“It’s the coordinates of the first time I kissed you and fell for you,” I tell her. “I’m going to put our wedding day under there, and then every time we have kids.” Her eyes fly up to mine.
“You were serious,” she says, “about the whole wedding thing.”
“Why would you think I was joking?” I put my hands on her hips. “I wasn’t joking, just like I’m not joking when I say we’re going to Chicago tomorrow and clearing out your place.” Her mouth hangs down. “And then you’re going to move in with me.”
“Just like that?” she asks.
“Just like that,” I state. “I don’t know if you are aware, but you were made for me.”
epilogue one
RYLEIGH
Two Months Later
