I hand her the little velvet box, and her cheeks blossom in response. She unwraps the gift, revealing a set of keys. “Here are the keys to my house. I know you love your apartment, so I won’t force you to move in right away, but I want you to know I’m all in, Greene. My home, my heart—they’re yours.Allyours.”
“Jasper, I don’t know what to say…” She pauses, twiddling the keys in her hand. “I’ve never felt like I had a physical home. Even the home we’re in right now isn’t a comfort to me. It’s just a house I lived in around people who truthfully didn’t cherish me until they lost their other child. To call your home my home means everything.”
I pull her into my arms and peer into her eyes.Those eyes. Have I mentioned how bright they have been lately? They're gleaming like emerald stardust these days. A beat of silence passes between us as I anxiously await her response.
“So, when can I move in? How does the third weekend of January sound? I don’t have an event that weekend,” she teases.This girl.She never ceases to surprise me.
I pull her in for a kiss, savoring the taste of her full lips. For years, I’ve felt like a letdown. I’ve lived a mundane life without caring what happens next, then they walked in. Since encountering the Greenes, my life has been anything but mundane.
Knowing I’m enough for Iris means more than she even knows. After trying so hard and feeling like a failure for so many years, she swooped into my life and filled me with a feeling I didn't realize I was missing:hope.For the first time in my life,I'm feeling optimistic about what the future holds. My buddy, Kai, may be her angel, but she is mine.
If Kai taught me anything, it’s how pivotal it is to embrace my emotions and treasure those I hold closest to my heart. While I cradle her in my arms, I kiss her head and breathe in my favorite scent—her.
Quite frankly, I didn’t know it was possible to feel this way. Now that I have the privilege of accompanying Ms. Iris Adelaide Greene through life, I refuse to take another step for granted ever again.
Forty-Six
Iris
Iawake in a quiet room, glimpsing down to see his strong arm wrapped around my waist, reminding me of another moment of time that wasn’t quite like this. As my mind wanders, his gentle breathing on my neck anchors me, pulling me back to the shore while giving me goosebumps simultaneously. I lie awake, deeply contemplating how I got here.
On a chilly autumn day in a small, seemingly inconsequential town, I stumbled upon my soulmate. He walked into my life like an angel in disguise, stealing pieces of my heart every moment we shared together. Then, several weeks later, he gave me a keyto his home. Little did the gray-eyed thief know, he stole the key to my heart long before he gifted me his.
I offered to move in the next month, and I think he thought I was teasing him when, in actuality, my offer was genuine. I’d gladly move in with him next week if I didn’t have to work some things out with my apartment complex. I’ve never felt more certain of anything.
From his passion for vintage antiques—regardless of whether or not he admits to liking them—to his love for cooking and learning, to the sound of his intoxicating laugh, I have fallen hard. I have plummeted to Earth face-first, and in an odd twist of events, I have no fear. No, instead, excitement rushes through me at the thought of what lies ahead for us.
Cutting a glance at my old baby blue alarm clock resting on the yellow nightstand, I realize the sun will be rising soon. Who would’ve thought I could wake up before the sun without an alarm? I attempt to wiggle out of his arms as wearily as possible, careful not to awaken my love. As I adjust his arm to slip away, I hold my breath. After managing to get loose, I sit up, stretching my arms, when an arm yanks me backward, causing me to crash into his chest.
“What are you doing awake, baby?” His husky voice breathes into my ear, giving me chills. Words can't describe how it feels to be cherished by this man. I turn to face him and hold him in my arms tightly. His eyes haven’t even opened yet. My fingers trace his jaw, gliding over to trace his lips.
“Just wanted to catch the sunrise,” I whisper softly. “You can go back to sleep.”
“Not without you,” he answers groggily, keeping his eyes shut tight and his grip on my waist even tighter. “Not anymore.”
“Someone’s being dramatic,” I tease, running my fingers through his dark waves. “I’ll be back soon.”
He sighs, loosening his grip on my waist. “I’ll be waiting, Greene.”
If there’s one thing I know about Jasper, it’s that he will always wait for me. Some might consider me the luckiest girl in the world for that fact alone. I stand up and slip on a thick olive green bathrobe. I sneak out of the bedroom, creeping as quietly as a mouse across the hallway, careful not to wake my parents. Instantaneously, I’m transported to a different time—a time full of wonder, not so different from this one.
“Hurry up, Irie! We’re going to miss it!” he whispers frantically, dragging me across the dimly lit hallway. “Be as quiet as a mouse, they can’t know we’re doing this.”
“Kai, you’re the one who’s being loud.” I pout. I’ve never been much of a morning person, but especially not before the sun comes out.
“Shhh, Irie, listen to me just this once,” he says as we stumble down the stairs. We’re young. So young. I follow Kai across the home as he leads me toward the back door.
“It’s so cold, I don’t wanna go outside,” I whine. He mutters under his breath and slings his robe over my shoulders, and then we slip outside.
“Look, Irie! Do you see that?” He points to the dusty sky.
“See what?” I squint my eyes, hoping to see what he’s referring to. “All I see are stars…”
“Yes, exactly! Guess what those stars are right there?” He points to a group of stars clustered together.
“Um… the Milky Way?” He shakes his head in amusement.
“Those stars are Santa and his reindeer. They just finished dropping off all our presents, and we caught them in the act right before they disappeared.” He grins proudly. “See? The sun is starting to rise, so they’re slowly fading away.”
