She burst into laughter and then looked at me, shaking her head.
“What?” I asked her as she leaned closer to me, holding my gaze.
“I want our first kiss to be under this tree, Seth.” She spoke with confidence, and my breath hitched in my throat.
I hadn’t been expecting that response, but I was ready to do her bidding.
Reaching up, I cupped her face in my hands, and she smiled up at me. A nervous look crossed her face, and I paused, wanting to make certain she was ready.
“Thinking about this being your first kiss since James?” I asked her.
Of course she was. I thought the same about Scarlett.
She nodded. “I might have forgotten how to kiss. It might be really bad or weird,” she admitted as she leaned closer to me and licked her lips.
I shrugged. “Might be. I mean, not on my end, of course.”
She grinned. “Kiss me, Seth Jacob Knight.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Ella
I’d healed from James’s loss under this willow tree, and I fell in love with Seth under it as well. When he pressed his lips to mine, it felt like my old, dead, dried-up heart came back to life, like giving a cactus in the desert a drink of water. Desire bloomed inside of me, which I never thought possible again. I had never thought I could remarry, until now.
When we pulled away, he was grinning. “Worst kiss of my life,” he teased.
I crossed my arms. “Same.”
We both shared a knowing look and burst into laughter before kissing again.
This time, when I pulled away, I whispered into his ear. “Thanks for waiting for me.”
“Longest wait of my life. But totally worth it,” he assured me.
I peered up at him. “Where do we go from here?”
“Home. Let’s go home, Ella.”
The thought of going back to Idaho with Seth actually made all the tension leave my body. I loved Paris; I’d loved my year here, but it wasn’t home.
Home was wherever my kids, Seth, Honey, and Maggie were.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Ella
Two years later
Seth and I wasted no time dating before getting married. We got engaged right after getting back from Paris and were married five months later. I didn’t see the point. I knew he was the one. Any man who would fight to bring you back to God deserves a chance to steal your heart. Seth was the reason I still had a relationship with the Lord today.
“How’s my favorite baby factory?” Seth joked as he came into the kitchen, where I was frying up some of Honey’s eggs.
Honey sat patiently at my feet in her flower diaper while the twins banged on the table, chanting, “We want food!” Seth rubbed his hand over my swollen belly, and I laughed.
“Baby factory? You’re gonna pay for that.” I warned him.
