“My dream of visiting Skara Brae seems almost trivial now,” I admit.
“Nah. How about I steal us a car and I drive you there.”
I roll my eyes. “Or, crazy idea, we could just rent one.”
At my side, I see Ketill smile softly, like it’s his first time watching the sun rise without a cloud in sight. Like, there is nowhere else he’d rather be.
“Now, my treasure, where is the fun in that?”
I nudge him with my shoulder, shaking my head as he pulls me into a hug. I pretend to protest. But really, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, either.
“So…” he begins again, resting his forehead on mine.
“So…” I tease back.
“Are you in love with me yet?”
I stare into his pale grey eyes. At the single dimple in his cheek. His devilish, yet boyishly charming smile. In only a handful of hours, this crazy man has taken my life and flipped it upside down, and I don’t think I’d want it any other way.
“C’mon, let’s go see if we can find our way to Skara Brae.” I take his arm and pull him back towards the heart of the village.
“Fine. But I’m still waiting for you to admit you’re madly in love with me!” Ketill laughs.
I cast a look over my shoulder at my soulmate, who crashed through my window on a moving train, and my heart skips a beat. “You haven’t won me over just yet.”
Epilogue - Thomas
One year later…
I stare up into the blue sky, smiling, a navy and gold diploma scroll case safely tucked under my arm.
A breeze brushes across my sun-warmed skin, and I close my eyes as I fill my lungs with its cherry blossom scent. Any lingering stress from my last year of university leaves me as I let out a long exhale.
I hear the scrape of shoes against the train platform and open my eyes just as Ketill stands next to me. “Congratulations on graduating, treasure.”
As always, he steals my breath away.
In the spring sunlight, Ketill is as handsome as ever with his reddish-brown hair swept back, pale eyes glinting with mischief and something else. His single dimple is a place I’ve kissed countless times and plan to kiss countless more.
“Thank you,” I reply. “And thank you for putting up with my…” I clear my throat. “My nerves while I waited for my results.”
“If that’s what you wanna call being a grumpy mess, then sure we can,” he jokes. I roll my eyes, and he slings his arm around my shoulders.
“I suppose I can admit to being a bit more rigid than normal,” I huff, trying to hide my smile.
Ketill wiggles his eyebrows.
Shaking my head at my ridiculous man, I elbow his side. “Pervert.”
Ketill chuckles, his arm around my shoulders tightening as he buries his face into my hair and inhales.
We stand on the empty platform for a long moment like this—Ketill trying to fill his whole body with my scent, and me soaking in this perfect closeness. My heart and soul and mind are so full to bursting, my eyes well with tears.
Who knew a train ride could change everything?
Every day with Ketill has been… extraordinary. The little moments in the last year when Ketill hands me a cup of tea—with a dollop of honey and a splash of milk—before I even ask, or when he pulls me into a hug after an exhausting day, are memories I cherish.
The same goes for when he’d tell me his stories and act out all his ridiculously dangerous stunts. I’d sit on the edge of our sofa, clutching a pillow to my chest, excited and apprehensive, as if he might not make it, even though he was right in front of me.
