I smile. “I loved him.”
Fully and without judgment.
Though he doesn’t have a response to that, Liam matches my smile and gestures with his head for me to follow him past a warm and inviting kitchen and out onto a stunning back patio where everyone has gathered. Liam goes straight to a brown-haired woman, sitting next to her on a bench and wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her close. His wife, Kasey. Bonnie holds hands with her husband, Hank, and is still crying softly as she listens to the conversation around her. Cole’s wife, Carissa, sits with her head on Cole’s shoulder and smiles up at the baby held snugly in Derek’s strong arms. The baby is absolutely adorable—so is the grin on Derek’s face—and something settles deep inside me.
It’s a wish I didn’t think I would ever have because it required another person to make it come true, and I was perfectly content to be on my own.
I think raising a kid with Derek would be pretty great.No onewould be more loved than that child.
Not wanting to interrupt the sweet moment, I lean against the side of the house and unlock Derek’s phone. I open the post from the beach with unbridled curiosity and start reading the comments. At first,I’m caught off guard by some unexpected reactions, but the more I read, the happier I get.
derekfan1:When was someone going to tell me that grown up Nova Tate is smokin hot??
rileyrileyriley:WHAT???? Shirtless Derek Riley post??? That he posted HIMSELF??? LET’S GO!!!!
lovezoelove:Girl needs to drop her workout routine asap! #goals Like hello abs! Nova Tate is jacked!
abbababba:That is way too much hotness in one couple! *sobbing emoji* Why do pretty people always find each other?
sam.i.am2468:OMG I totally saw them at Point Dume when they took this! I didn’t say anything because hot scoop has been all up in their business lately so I just sat and watched them for a while and they were so cute I wanted to die. Nova literally makes him relax when she smiles at him and Derek is soooo soft with her like ugh I want what they have! I took some pictures because they were so cute but I won’t share them because *privacy* so don’t even ask!
derekrileyofficial:Anyone else OBSESSED with how happy they both look? I don’t think Derek has ever been so at peace, and it’s obvious Nova feels completely safe with him. (Who wouldn’t though? It’s Derek Riley!) But seriously, these two are obviously soulmates.
Tears prick my eyes on that last one, and I read the comment three more times until it feels etched into my heart. Happy. Peace. Safe. Soulmates. These strangers described my relationship with Derek so perfectly, even though things still feel so new. No matter how short of a time we’ve had together, nothing has ever felt soreal.
“Hey.” A gentle finger touches my chin, nudging my head up. I’m not surprised that even in the midst of reconnecting with his friends and meeting his friend’s baby for the first time, Derek noticed me crying in the corner. His eyebrows pull low, and he brushes a tear from my cheek with his knuckle as he asks, “Happy or sad tears?”
More tears follow the one he brushed away, and I smile wide despite the emotion overwhelming me. “Happy.”
“Good.” Wrapping one of my hands between both of his, he moves in closer, almost until he’s pressing me into the wall with his body. “And what is the reason you’re crying happy tears?”
I lift the phone so he can see the comment that set me off, though I think my emotional overload really started as soon as Cole opened the front door. Derek reads the comment, and his eyes skim over a few of the others before he scrolls back up to the photo of us. A smile pulls the corners of his lips up as he studies the picture. “You do look happy,” he murmurs.
“I am,” I assure him. “And you look like you’re at peace.” I’m talking about now more than in the photo. Now that he’s back in his friends’ lives, he seems whole.
“Almost,” he says and slips his phone into his pocket. His eyebrows rise, and a bit of worry enters his expression. He steps back, still holding my hand with one of his as he gestures to the friends unabashedly staring at us. Even the baby in Cole’s arms seems to be watching us. “Want to meet my friends?”
I could explode from the love washing over me, both my own love for this man and the love I feel from him. But if he thinks there is a universe in which I wouldn’t want to meet the people he cares about more than anything, he still has a lot to learn about me. “That’s a stupid question and you know it, Superman,” I say, drawing a surprised laugh out of Cole, like he’s never heard anyone talk back to Derek.
He’d better get used to it, because I plan to stick around for a while. Hopefully forever.
Chapter Forty-Three
Derek
“DerekRileyReid,youhave a good deal of explaining to do!”
Did I think Freya was on the other side of the world in Candora? Sure. Am I surprised when her voice breaks through the peace of my quiet morning at home? Not even the slightest.
Glancing at my watch, I silently commend Freya’s ability to show up at my house before seven in the morning, though I almost wish I was still asleep like Donovan so it would be easier to be annoyed by the intrusion.
Last I checked, Donovan was still out cold, but my mind wouldn’t let me sleep in this morning, so I came out to the back patio to watch the Malibu coast slowly come to life for the first time in months. It’s not quite the same as a morning on the river, but it’s still nice.
Or it was before the Queen arrived.
“Derek!” Freya shouts again, sounding closer now as she makes her way through my house. “When I find you, I am going to—oh.”
I look over to where she stands in the open doorway, gaping at me like she’s never seen me before. It’s probably because I’m currently stretched out on the couch with a book in one hand and a mug of coffee balanced on my chest. Pretty sure I’ve never been this relaxed around her, so her shock makes sense.
