“You told me to figure it out,” he murmurs. “So I did. Properly this time. And I figured out that my life’s a hell of a lot smaller without you in it.”
He steps closer, lifts a hand to my face. Calloused fingers brushing my cheek. “I want your messiness. Your sarcasm. Your overthinking and your silly renditions of every Disney song like it’s a bloody stadium show. I want your bad dance moves in my kitchen, your chaotic playlists, your awful Christmas shirts, and your weird habit of organising everything by chaotic colour-coded lists. I want it all, Trouble. I want you.”
His thumb lingers at the corner of my mouth. Then, just for a second, he leans in and presses his forehead to mine. “I didn’t get it before, didn’t realise what I was holding until I felt what it was like to loseyou. And I don’t want a version of this life where you’re not in it. Where I’m not tucking Teddy into bed and hearing your laugh from the other room. Where I’m not stealing kisses in the kitchen, or pretending I don’t love the way you always steal my hoodies. You changed everything. You made me want more. More than survival. More than just getting through the day. You made me wanta future.”
I blink hard, overwhelmed. Speechless.
“If there’s proof that prayers don’t go unheard, it’s you. Because somehow, God sent me exactly what I didn’t know I needed.” He takes a heaving inhale before he continues. “You’re the kindest soul I’ve ever met. You made me feel like I belonged. Especially with you. Like I was meant to find you. Like we were destined to be.”
“You are so cheesy.” I laugh through a sob, wiping beneath my nose in the most unglamorous way possible.
His eyes stay on me. There’s no armour left, no smirk to hide behind, no sarcasm to soften the honesty. “Only for you, Trouble,” he murmurs. “Never in my life did I think that somewhere out there, among billions of souls, was a soul likeyours. So, it’s the truth. You are proof that God answers prayers, Olivia.”
Something in my chest pulls tight, sharp and sweet all at once. He steps closer, barely an inch between us now, voice softer than I’ve ever heard it.
“And I think you were meant to find us… me and Teddy. Because there isn’t a single person on this earth more perfect for him than you.”
The tears spill faster now, slipping down my cheeks in warm, silent trails. His hand stays on my cheek, thumb brushing gently under my eye.
“I asked if you were miserable without me, too. But now I just need to know if you believe me when I say this.” His throat works. “I love you. We both do. With everything we’ve got. I want all the little secrets you and Teddy whisper when you think I’m not listening. All the pinky promises I’ve got no idea about. I want to be a part of them. And I swear to you, Liv, I’ll earn every single one. Every day.”
And just like that, my heart forgets how to beat properly.
Because for the longest time, I couldn’t get more than a half-sentence out of this man. Trying to get him to open up was like trying to get emotional vulnerability out of a brick wall. But now? Now he’s out here baring his entire soul on a plate like some emotionally constipated poet finally finding his rhythm, and damn it, it’s working. I nod, choking on the only words I can find.
“I do.”
“You do?”
“Yes, Bash.” My voice is wrecked, but I smile through it. “I do. I love you. I love Teddy. God, how could I not?”
He exhales sharply, like the air’s been punched from his lungs. Then he kisses me. It isn’t sweet or tentative. It’s not shy or unsure or any of those things we’ve been pretending we are. It’sweeks, months, of tension, of regret, of nights spent apart when we both knew we didn’t want to be. It’s longing and fear colliding with the sheer relief of finally having what we want right in front of us. It crashes into me like a wave, stealing my breath and knocking me off balance. His hands slide to my jaw, holding me steady like he’s afraid I’ll disappear. My fingers fist into the front of his shirt because I need something to anchor me, need to feel him, all of him.
It’s the kind of kiss that sends chills across your shoulders and warmth straight through your chest at the same time. The kind of kiss that makes you forget anyone else exists. The kind you feel in your knees. The kind you neverforget.
Teddy squeals, tugging at my shirt. “The mistletoe!”
We break apart, breathless and smiling like idiots. I glance down at him, heart so full, it might actually crack open, and he holds the mistletoe high above his head. Sebastian grins, all warmth and dimples and cockiness, and leans in again, brushing his mouth over mine. Slower this time.
“I love you, Trouble.”
I tilt my head back, teasing, “Why’d you stop calling me Little Mitchell?”
“Because I realised I didn’t like the sound of your last name being anything but…” There’s a glint in his eye as his words trail off.
“But what?”
“But mine.”
My stomach swoops. My thighs clench. And my brain? It short-circuits completely. I want those words engraved on my skin. Sewn into the fabric of every damn day. I want to taste the way he says them again and again. The possessiveness. The promise. The ease, like he’s been carrying that truth in his back pocket, just waiting for me to ask. And just when I think I mightcombust from the heat curling through me, a loud chorus erupts behind us.
Whistles. Clapping. Someone full-on wolf howls.
I blink, startled, cheeks blazing red as I whirl to find half the damn family watching, grinning like lunatics. “God, you people need a hobby,” I mutter, covering my face with both hands while laughter rolls through the group. “What happened to privacy?”
Dad chuckles, his eyes glassy. “Around here, there ain’t none, darlin’.”
That hits me. Hard. Because I can see it now—the look on his face. Silent approval. Maybe even pride.
