And just like that, all is well in my world. Everything else falls away because I’m here, the man I love is kissing me, his hands cradling my face like I’m the most fragile thing he’s ever touched, but his kiss is deep and passionate like he can’tget enough.
He breaks the kiss, resting his forehead against mine while he catches his breath. “I’ve missed you so much, butterfly.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
“I can’t promise I won’t fuck up every now and then, ‘cause I probably will, but I’ll do my best to never let either of you down.” He releases me, reaching into the inside pocket of his kutte. “Here,” he pulls out the bracelet he gave me for Christmas, the onehemade me.
I shoot him a questioning look. “Have you had this on you the whole time?”
“Been carrying it since the moment you took it off, ready for when I could give it back to you. I would’ve waited a lifetime if I had to, because life is meaningless without you.”
I hold out my arm, allowing him to unclasp the bracelet and place it around my wrist.
Once it’s secured, he covers my hand with his.
“I thought I lost you today.Fuck, when I found out Naylor had you…” He squeezes his eyes shut, shaking his head like he can’t bring himself to think of what could’ve happened.
“I woke up in that house this morning, and all I kept thinking about was how much I wanted you, and if being tied to that chair was going to be my last moments alive, I needed you to know how much I love you.”
“I do, butterfly. I fuckingfeelit. Never felt anything like it and I hope you know how much I love you too. These past weeks without you have been torture. My body wouldn’t working right, like half my heart was missing and itwas, because it’s always been yours.”
“And yours has always been mine.”
Epilogue
Three months later
“How about Noah for a girl?”
I frown. “Noah?Isn’t that a boy’s name?”
We’re sat on my bike, parked up at a clearing beside the lake, the roar of the waterfall cascading over the rocks providing the soundtrack to our discussion. One of my boots is planted on the ground to ease the strain on the kickstand as I straddle the bike. Kaia is sitting on my lap facing me, her legs draped over mine as she fiddles with the zipper on my kutte.
“Yeah, but it can be a girl’s name, too. I think it’s cute. Don’t you?”
“Yeah, sure…” I reply, the tone of my voice tells herexactly how I feel about the name.
“Did you not hear? It’s my birthday today, that means you have to agree with everything I say.”
She’s really gonna milk the wholebirthdaything, I can feel it. She’s already roped me into watching some cheesy-as-fuck romance movie with her tonight because apparently telling her no on her birthday doesn’t mean shit, but Noah? For a girl? Absolutely fuckingnot.
“That’s not a rule and Noah’s still a boy’s name.”
With a roll of her eyes, she sighs. “Ugh, fine. What do you suggest?”
I think on it for a minute. “Daisy.”
She shoots me an unamused look. “We’renotcalling our daughter Daisy after the actress you fancy in thatTwistersmovie we watched the other day.”
“It’s a pretty name.”
“Yeah, so is Glen, if we’re choosing hot actor’s names,” she shoots back, referencing the actor who’s that Daisy chick’s co-star.
We find out in a couple of weeks at our next ultrasound if we’re having a boy or a girl. I’m not ashamed to admit I cried during the first scan I went to a couple of months ago. Hearing that rapid heartbeat through the speaker, seeing our tiny baby on the screen… I’ve never felt such a rush of emotion hit me like a tidal wave and I couldn’t contain it. Despite the tears streaming down my face, right there, holding Kaia’s hand while we looked at our baby, I was the happiest fucking guy on the planet.
Ever since, we’ve been brainstorming name ideas for a while, neither of us managing to agree with the other on what that name should be.
The last few months we’ve rarely been apart and I’ve never been happier. It’s a strange feeling to be filled with such joy and excitement for the future, it’s something I’ve never felt before.
