I gasp as I take in the beauty of the lights.
He puts the car in park. “I thought we could spend the first night in our house.”
“You bought it?” I ask, surprised.
He nods and smiles. “I bought it.”
I squeal as I get out and rush around the car to meet him on his side. He takes my hand in his and leads me toward the front door.
“I’ve already started doing some work on it, but it’s nowhere near ready. We’ve got power and water just because I needed it to work on the house.” He opens the front door, and we walk into the living room, which is lit up with the same twinkling lights he used outside. They’re strung up along the top trim where the ceiling meets the walls. In the center of the floor is a big blanket that’s spread out. There’s a picnic basket on the blanket and dozens of flickering candles and flowers surrounding it.
“You packed up a picnic?”
“I thought it would be a good idea to also have our first dinner in our first home on our first night.”
“Lots of firsts tonight.”
He takes my hand and leads to the center of the blanket, and we sit down. “This is also where we’re going to be sleeping tonight, but I brought us a blow-up mattress.”
“My hero,” I breathe out jokingly.
He laughs as he pulls the picnic basket closer, opening it to pull out a bottle of wine and two glasses.
“I know this all seems over the top,” he says, opening the wine and pouring some into the glasses. He hands one over. “But I want you to know that I’m all in. I’m not going to back out or take off again. This time, I’m seeing this through. I want to marry you, start our lives, have children, and grow old together. I meant it when I said I learned my lesson, Jade. I’ve spent almost ten years running from my feelings for you, and I’m done running.”
I offer him a small smile. “Good,” I say, placing my glass of wine on the floor as I make my way onto his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck, keeping his eyes on mine. “Because there’s no way I’m letting you go again. We’re in this together from here on out. And if you ever think about running, talk to me. I’ll make sure you find your way home.” I press my mouth to his and kiss him deeply but slowly, wanting to make sure he feels every ounce of love I have for him and have always had for him.
He slowly lays me back against the blanket, covering my mouth with his. His hips push my knees apart as he settles between them. His hands come up to cup my cheeks. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?” he whispers.
I offer him a small smile but don’t answer him. I just pull his sweet lips back to mine and kiss him like he’s the air I need to breathe.
It doesn’t take us long to strip each other from all clothing, and before I know it, he’s sliding into me, filling me completely and making me thank the universe for bringing him back to me. As he pushes into me again and again, I can’t help but to think about this long journey we’ve been on. A chance meeting in high school led to all that heartbreak and years of being broken, but it also led to this, us finally getting our happily ever after.
We’re back together, and it’s like no time has passed, except now I know what it’s like to live without him, and I know it’s something I never want to do again. And now, thanks to this ring on my finger, I know I won’t ever have to. Memphis isn’t running from me anymore. He’s running to me. And even though I know we’re still young and have our whole lives ahead of us, something tells me that he’ll be by my side for every good moment, for every turn of bad luck, and everything in the middle. Memphis and I got started a long time ago, but we’re nowhere near over. This isn’t exactly our beginning, but it’s a new beginning. It’ll be a story that will survive the test of time. The love that Memphis and I have created will live on through our children and their children and their children. A little piece of our love will last far longer than we do, and I can’t wait to get started on writing our story to be passed down with it.
Epilogue
MEMPHIS
“Keep them closed,” I tell her as I lead her to the sidewalk in front of the house.
“If I fall, Memphis, I swear to God…”
“You won’t fall. I promise. We’re almost there.” I place her in the center of the sidewalk. “Okay, open them,” I say, watching as her eyes open and take in the finished house before us. Her mouth drops open, and the corners turn up into a big smile.
“This is…beautiful. I can’t believe you did this all alone!”
I shrug. “Well, Dad helped some. You want to check it out?”
She nods. “Yes, of course.” Her hand moves to her belly, supporting her growing stomach as I take her hand and lead her toward the front door.
The front of the house has been bricked over, and the overgrown bushes have been taken out and replaced with new life. There are scrubs, rosebushes, flowers, and vines that have already started to take over.
I open the front door, and she steps into the newly redone living room. “The hardwood is original, and it runs throughout the house.”
“I love the color we picked for the walls,” she says, running her hand over the light peach-colored wall.
“The big picture window looks perfect there. It’s like it was there all along.” She goes to stand in front of it, looking out.
“Come check out the kitchen,” I say, taking her hand and pulling her to the left.
The kitchen has been completely torn out and replaced. All new tiles adorn the floor, countertops, and backsplash. There’s an island in the center, and it’s full of brand-new appliances, all matching the country theme. In the corner is a big round table that I built from scratch.
“Through here is our bedroom.” I open the door in the kitchen to reveal our master suite. The bedroom is bigger than most, with a walk-in closet and private deck. There’s a master bath with a walk-in tiled shower with the old claw foot tub that was originally in the house, and a big closet to hold plenty of towels and anything else that needs to be stored.
“This is all so perfect, Memphis.” She reaches for me, but I know if she gets those arms around me, I won’t let go until we’re both naked and breathless on the floor, so I dodge her reach.
“Come on. Let me show you the kids’ rooms.”
“Kids?” she asks, arching a brow. “There’s only one in here, you know?”
I laugh. “I know, but soon enough, that one will be out, and we’ll be working on another.” I lead her back through the kitchen and living room and into the nursery. I open the door to reveal the freshly painted blue walls. The dark-colored hardwood floor is also in this room, but I found a big blue rug to place in the center, which warms the room up a bit. Already set up is the crib, changing table, dresser, and rocking chair. There are small toys and baby items around the room, but my favorite part is the picture I found of her and me back in high school. I had it framed and hung over the baby’s crib.
She takes in the room with wide eyes. They land on the picture last. Tears fill her eyes as she walks closer, examining the picture more closely. “Where did you find that old picture?”