“That I was a real miserable son of a bitch.”
His words are so surprising that a laugh bursts from me. So does a tear.
He thumbs the tear away and keeps his hand on my face, slowly rubbing his thumb over my cheekbone. “That spell stripped away who I was, the part of me that was vindictive, who planned to blackmail you. Blackmail you!” He tips his head back in disbelief. When he drops his chin and looks at me, my insides pulse. “What an asshole I was, and it tookyouto show me I’d been living without love, pushing it away. And I’d been doing it a long time.”
My ribs hurt just hearing these words—that Stone, a man I’d grown to love, had chosen to be miserable.
Memories can bind us. They can chain us. But who we decide to be is up to us. Do we let the bad experiences, all the painful moments that get saddled to us, define who we are?
Or do we create ourselves by pushing through the bad and letting it fall away?
He shoots me his lopsided smile, his jade eyes filling with a warmth that just about undoes me right then and there. “The spell didn’t strip me of who I was. I see that now. It made me who I needed to be. You even said that, but I didn’t listen. Coco, I never want to be that person again.Ever.I refuse to be Stone Maddox:asshole. I want to be Stone Maddox, a man worthy of your love and someone who loves you back.
“You didn’t break me. Youmademe. You showed me who I could be if I stopped trying to be someone else. And I like who I am whenI’m with you. Maybe magic started it—but it was your love that made it real.Your love.It changed me, and I’m forever grateful.”
I’ve spent so long thinking I’m forgettable, and Stone just reinforced that I’m not.
Another tear slips from my eye and he thumbs it away again. “So I guess I’m here because I want to say I’m sorry for how I acted.”
I take hold of his wrist and squeeze. “You had every right to be angry.”
“I know.” He says it lightly, and we both laugh. “But seriously, I would have destroyed this town if it hadn’t been for you. And you’re right, I never would have accepted Hercules, and who doesn’t love that little guy? Maybe not so little anymore.” He looks over at the lambi, who stops munching on grass to lift his head and bleat. “Yeah, I’m gonna need a bigger SUV.”
I laugh at that, too.
His gaze drops to mine and he murmurs, “I guess what I’m asking is, can you forgive me for leaving you at the altar and for not listening? For not hearing you when you tried to tell me the truth? Can you forgive me for all of that?”
“Let me ask you this first: Can you forgive me for potioning you? And my potion days are over, by the way. But can you forgive me for that?”
“I already have.” His voice is so tender it rocks me to my core. “I was never angry at you. I was always angry atme, that I backed you into a corner. That you saw no other choice. So can you forgive me?”
His eyes are so clear and green, with small flecks of gold in them. “I already have,” I reply, repeating what he said.
His gaze drops to my mouth, and I tilt my face up until our lips touch. Both of his hands are on my cheeks, sliding into my hair and cradling the back of my head. I let go of all the worry and regret, allowing myself to truly be in this moment and melt into Stone’s arms.
This kiss—we’ve kissed so many times, and so many emotions have flowed between us through our lips. But this time, the sense I have is that this kiss is a promise not to break one another, to be gentle with each other and to give grace when sometimes giving grace is the hardest thing to do.
When we break apart, he takes my hands and kisses them. Then he lifts a brow and says, “Tulips?”
I laugh. “Tulips.”
“Were they hard?”
“They were so hard! It took me weeks to get it right.”
He twists away, still holding me, to survey the landscape. “Well, I’d say you got the whole town on your side.”
“It wasn’t the town I wanted. It was you.”
He kisses me again and murmurs onto my lips, “Well, now you have me.”
The bang of a door grabs our attention, and I look up toward the house. Brittany, Mom, and Dad stand on the porch. It’s my mom who speaks.
“Does this mean Stone’s staying for dinner?”
I cock a brow. “I bet my dad will let you put on some vinyl.”
He rocks back like I’ve punched him. “You drive a hard bargain, Coco Chanel.”
