“Miracles do happen!” I tease before my lips meet his. My heart explodes with happiness when he kisses me back with a smile.
I want him now, and forever. It’s the least we deserve after surviving what we did.
We untangle, and he quickly finds hissevenneon green bags.
“Those are absolutely hideous,” I say with a sneer while he figures out how to squeeze all of them in my car.
He has to try three times to get my small trunk to close, but he grins when it finally does. “It’s not my fault you fell in love with a horrible, fashion-challengedoaf, now is it?” He pushes me against the car and finally kisses me the way I crave. His tongue teases mine, and all my senses fly away when he grips my face to deepen the kiss.
“I do love you, you know.” I gasp when we come up for air. “But you love me, too.”
Lochlan grins. “I do, lassie, I sure do.”
CAPRI
Grief is like a train that never stops running. The tracks are infinite, never derailing.
It’s been three months since I lost Lee. Three months of living with a hole in my heart the size of his love. Three months of reminding myself that I’ll never see his smiling face again.
Three months of an emptiness that sears itself into my very bones, flaring up anytime I forget for even one moment.
But today, I don’t have the energy or time for grief. Today, I have to be strong—for myself, for my friends, but primarily for my daughter. Because today is Skye’s first day of school, and the girl is nervous as all get out.
Rebecca homeschooled her at Windermere the entire time she was there, so Skye has never been in a classroom setting, let alone around children her age. I know she’ll do great; she’s light-years ahead of anychild in her grade. Rebecca taught her well, and I thank her every day for being there for my baby girl when I wasn’t.
Skye shifts her purple backpack nervously as she stares up at the doors of her new school. “I’m scared.”
I bend down and brush a hair from her cheek. “I know, baby, I know. Change is scary. But I promise you’ll have so much fun. You’re going to meet so many new friends.”
She looks around the school yard and watches the other kids with interest. “What if they don’t like me?”
“Then you’ll find one who does. All it takes is one friend to make you feel invincible.”
She cocks an eyebrow at me. “But how did you get two best friends? You have Aunt Teagan and Aunt Lexi?”
My heart thumps happily in my chest as I remember first meeting them. It’s a nice change-up from the painful pulsing it usually does these days.
“Well, I got lucky with them.” I wink at her, making her laugh. “But you know how I got so lucky?” She shakes her head. “I walked right up to them with chocolate treats and a smile and introduced myself. You just have to be yourself, sweetheart. After all, you’re my favorite human on the planet. And if you keep being yourself, you’ll be someone else’s favorite, too.” The bell rings, and I stand and kiss the top of her head. “I love you.”
Her blue eyes take my breath away when she looks up at me. I no longer see her father’s eyes when I look at them. I only see hers. “I love you, too, Mom. Hopefully, I’ll get to meet my own best friends today.” She grins and salutes me before walking toward the school’s double doors. They are only a few feet away from where I’m standing, but I find myself holding my breath the moment she steps away from me.
I wonder if I’ll ever get used to the fact that she’s mine now, and that she’ll always come back.
My heart stills when two girls stop her before she can enter. “Hi, my name’s Skye.” She pulls two beaded bracelets we made last night off her wrist and hands them to the girls. The two girls smile at her, take the bracelets, and put them on their wrists.
“Want to be our friend?” the blonde girl asks.
Skye beams and nods her head. “Yeah.”
The brunette girl fist bumps her, and all three link arms and head into the school together.
“I wish you could see our girl, Lee. You’d be so proud of how brave and strong she is,” I whisper as I head back to my car. A magnolia flower falls from the tree above me and lands on my windshield.
I let out a strangled laugh as I pick it up. Lee may not be here with us, but I know he’s always watching from above.
My phone goes off, and I see Teagan’s name on the screen. “What’s up?” I ask.
“Lexi and Lochlan just got here! Where are you?”
