We sprint to his car in silence, the excitement over new life coming into this world overwhelming.
Reeve’s hand slips into my own, the comfort of his presence managing to tame my erratic heart.
As we drive to the hospital to see Lottie, I can’t help but think about where we’ve been over the past few months and where we will go. A life no longer filled with maybes but whens.
Reeve and I aren’t perfect. I’m reckless and irrational at times, where he is unsure and too logical, but if we were the same our lives would be dull, and the universe knows I need a bright, messy canvas.
We laugh, we learn, and we love. And we also fight, because life isn’t perfect, and neither is love. But it’s the strength of our love that overpowers any possibility that life could break us. A part of me always wondered if we had the kind of love that was broken before it really got the chance to begin, but as the time I spend with Reeve increases, I realize the idea of love that I had created in my mind was just that, an idea. It was a concept formed around broken hearts and half-attempted chances. It wasn’t until we went all in that I realized Reeve Sawyer wasn’t going to be my never; we just needed to grow so he could become my now.
Reeve
I hold Emilia’s hand in my own, hoping this small bit of protection will bring her comfort when we enter the restaurant.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask for the tenth time. It’s unlike me to constantly question someone, to need to reassure, but it’s different with Emilia. Everything is different with her. Emotions are heightened and the deep need I feel to protect her is overwhelming to say the least.
“I think I need to do this,” she responds, looking up at me, her eyes so expressive and full of trust. “I’ve been trying to let go for so many years, and I think this is truly my final step. My parents might be gone, Reeve, but keeping their memory and traditions alive only feels right now. I’m ready to remember the good times with them, no longer being weighed down by the sadness of their absence.”
“You know I’ll support anything you do,” I tell her, rubbing my thumb against her own.
“And that’s why I love you, Reeve Sawyer.”
“No more than I love you, Emilia Ronan.”
She grins, stretching up to briefly kiss my lips before staring back at the restaurant. “There’s no time like the present,” she says finally, a smile tracing across her lips.
With her reassurance, we step forward, walking toward Antonio’s Italian together, Emilia no longer filled with demons of her past, but rather visions of her future.