Suddenly, a dim light illuminates the ground, and I look over my shoulder. Daisy gives me a sheepish grin as she uses her phone as a flashlight, and a small laugh escapes me.
I’ve spent so many years trekking this exact path, I could do it with my eyes closed.
“Where are we going?” She asks just as the trees give way to a clearing. The sound of water drowns out the small gasp that escapes Daisy and I hold my breath as I wait for her inevitable question.
“Is that…” she runs her hand over the mixture of letters and numbers carved into the oak tree.
“Yeah.” My voice is thick as I come to stand behind her.
“So, this is…” she spins to face me.
“Where we had our first date,” I finish for her.
And where I proposed.The unsaid sentence hangs heavily in the frigid air between us, mixing with her caramel scent and it takes every ounce of willpower I can conjure up not to reach out and pull her against my chest.
Tears glisten in the moonlight as she stares up at me. In this very moment, there’s no pain between us.
It’s just us.
Without thinking, I bring my hand to her face, tucking her hair behind her ear as I stroke her cheek, rosy from the cold bite in the air.
“I built the house because a small part of me always hoped that one day, you’d come back to me. I spent years putting every cent I earned into makingourhome, just in case you changed your mind.” With a shrug, I add, “you never did.”
A lone tear drops from her eye, and I watch it roll down her face before catching it with my thumb. I give her a sad smile. “I thought if I could give you everything you ever dreamed of, then maybe I would be enough. But I was wrong.”
Daisy brings a hand up to cover mine, leaning her face into my touch. “You werealwaysenough, Killian. It was never about you.”
Closing my eyes, I drop my head and nod, accepting defeat. My eyes burn behind my eyelids and the ache in my chest deepens as the realisation that I may never get the answers I need hits me.
I’m so tired of wondering. I’ve spent so many years driving myself to insanity with the whys. I tried so many times to get in contact with her if only just to get some kind of clarity. But it wouldn’t have mattered. Because she’s always going to keep her secrets. And when all is said and done, I’m not sure that trust between us can ever be rebuilt.
Suddenly, what happened in the car earlier makes perfect sense.
Only this time, it’s me who shuts down.
Keeping my eyes closed, I pull her hand to my mouth, place a soft kiss against her palm and finally look at her.
“We should go.”
***
My palms are damp with sweat as I climb the steps to Daisy’s house. When my feet hit the landing of the porch, I take a few deep breaths and attempt to shake off the nerves that have my stomach locked in a vice.
I don’t know why I’m so nervous.
We’ve been together for over two years, but I still get butterflies every time I see her.
The first time I laid eyes on Daisy Bennett she was a shy seven-year-old girl knocking on my front door to invite mylittle sister out to play. She had squeaked out the question with red cheeks and something inside of my eight-year-old heart had immediately softened toward her.
I was a typical older brother, annoyed and exasperated by his clingy little sister wanting to tag along with him and his friends anywhere they went, but after Daisy came along, I found myselfhopingthat Bella would ask to join us, just so I could be aroundher.
It took me nine years to gain the courage to ask her out.
While everyone else my age was partying and hooking up with girls in closets during a game of seven minutes in heaven, I was pining after my little sister’s best friend. Everyone knew how I felt about Daisy, and I got shit for it constantly but there is not a single bone in my body that regrets it.
That thought is only reinforced when the front door swings open and my girl is in front of me. Her wavy hair is pulled back and secured at the back of her head with a pale pink bow to match the colour of the dress that clings to every curve of her body. As usual, her makeup is minimal, only a light layer of mascara and lip gloss that has my eyes drawn to her lips.
When her face lights up with a wide smile, my mouth goes dry, and the breath seizes in my lungs.
