“Hey,” she says, stepping inside. She pauses mid-step, her eyes widening slightly as she scans the living room.
I swallow. “I’ve made some changes.”
Her lips curve, suspicious and amused at the same time. “Changes?”
I walk toward her slowly. “Some things to make it feel like home. For you.”
Her gaze softens as she takes a look around. The candle, the blanket, the subtle touches, even the books she loves stacked on the coffee table, they are all there. She looks at me, a little wide-eyed, a little teary.
“You… you did all this?” she whispers.
I shrug, trying to act casual but failing miserably. “I’ve been taking notes.”
“Notes?”
“Yeah,” I admit, stepping closer. “The little things I’ve noticed over the past few months. Your favorite candles, your favorite body lotion, and shower products. Your books.” I let the words hang between us. “I wanted you to walk in and feel like you already belong here.”
Her lips part slightly. I can see her trying to process, and I keep going, my hands reaching for hers. “I want us to live here. Together. Not just weekends, not just visits. I want you, Emily, and me to be part of this family. Our family. And I know that’s a lot, but…” I swallow. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
Her hands tremble slightly in mine, and I know this is exactly what she needs to hear.
“You really mean that?” she asks.
“I do,” I say, closing the distance. “I love you, Violet. I love you more than I thought possible, and I want us to wake up here together, build this life, make it ours. I don’t want to imagine it without you in it.”
Her breath catches. Just a little, but I notice. Her eyes glimmer in the warm light, her head tilting slightly. I lean in, brushing my forehead against hers. “I want to do this with you,” I whisper.
And that is all she needed.
Violet
“Love, Coffee.”
I can’t even speak at first. Every corner of the house screamsus.And now he is standing in front of me, hands holding mine, eyes serious but soft, heart open.
“I…Everett,” I say, my voice breaking slightly. “This…this is…you thought of everything.” I laugh softly, trying to calm the sudden lump in my throat. “It feels perfect. I’ve never walked into someone’s place and felt like I already belonged there.”
“You do,” he says simply. “And I want you to. I want this to be our home.”
I can feel the tears threatening, but I refuse to let them fall, not yet. I take a deep breath. “Everett, this, me moving in, I…I choose you. I will always choose you and Emily.”
He smiles, that slow, confident, heart-melting smile that makes me weak at the knees. “You have no idea how happy that makes me,” he says, pulling me into a hug that feels like it erases every fear I’ve ever had. “I promise, I’ll do everything I can to make this work for all of us. You won’t have to figure any of it out alone.”
I bury my face in his chest, feeling his warmth, his strength, and for the first time in months, I don’t feel the tiniest shred of doubt.
I pull back, just enough to look at him. “I trust you.”
He cups my face gently, thumbs brushing my cheekbones. “And I love you,” he says, the words so heavy, so full, that I can feel them in my bones. “I love you, Firefly, I love you, and I’m never letting go.”
We kiss, slow and deliberate, a kiss that feels like it can last a lifetime. One hand in his hair, one pressed against his chest, while the world shrinks to just us.
“One thing,” I ask as I glance up at him. “Why do you call me Firefly?”
He smiles and kisses my forehead. “You ever notice how fireflies show up when it’s dark? You came into my life and everything felt lighter, you walk into a room and make people smile. You make bad days feel less bad, you make things brighter.”
I stay quiet, I am speechless.
“You lit up places in me that had been dark for a long time. That’s why you’re my Firefly.”
