Page 111 of An Endless Memory

He touched two fingers under my chin. “How are you?”

He would be sweet while severing ties between us, wouldn’t he?

“Not well,” I answered honestly. Who was I kidding? I’d been emotionally white-knuckling through each day.

“Me neither.” He searched my eyes.

I was either going to melt into the floor because he was touching me again, or I would combust from anticipation. I could not get my hopes up. “Why are you here?”

“For you.” He dug out folded-up papers that had been stuffed in his back pocket. He unfolded them, and I recognized my lawyer’s letterhead. “I came to find out what you want me to do with these.”

This was it. The pressure to sob pumped behind my eyes. He didn’t need me to tell him what to do. Was he shoving them in my face? Was that why Sutton was almost apologetic? “You can probably just run them over to his office.”

“No, Lily pad.”

I had to close my eyes at his use of the nickname. “What do you mean?”

“Do you want me to sign them?”

A tremble whispered through me, leaving a tiny thread of hope winding through every cell of my body. “You haven’t signed them?”

“I had something to run past you first. Like, what if I move a few horses to your property after the mares drop their foals and they’re all healthy enough to relocate? What if I hired Jasper as the ranch manager, and when he moves on, I’ll hire another? Then I could live in Crocus Valley. The ranch would still be going, but the Arabian breeding operation would downsize even more and be right in your backyard. And what if I had a special pony already picked out for Cali? And what if I trained one of the new arrivals this spring to be a good horse for Kellan?”

Those hopes of mine rose up from the depths of my soul, shaky but there. “What are you saying?” I whispered.

“What if we didn’t divorce? What if, on our first anniversary, we renewed our vows in front of our friends and family in a big-ass Knight-and-Duke picnic at our place, which will officially be your place? Because there’s no way your aunt and uncle won’t know that I’m committed to you and those kids forever.”

It sounded absolutely perfect. A dream. But how did I know he wasn’t doing this because he felt bad? “Eliot, it’s okay if I don’t get the house. I’m going to be okay. I have a big family, and I’m not afraid to use them anymore. You don’t have to do this for me.”

Bewilderment flared in his eyes. “It’s for me.” He winced. “That makes me sound selfish, but dammit, I am around you. I want to do this for us. I want to do this for those kids. I want you. And them. I want this family. I want to live under the same roof as you so I can tell you I love you every damn day. I’ll do it in text too. I’ll wake you saying it. I’ll go to bed with you every damn night and whisper those words in your ear. I love you, Lily. I love those kids. I might be selfish, but it’d be an honor to spend my life with you.”

His words stole every molecule of air. He loved me? He wanted to be with me? Eliot wasn’t a liar, but he was finally being honest with himself. It must not have been easy. And he was here, telling me everything I wanted to hear because it was exactly what he wanted too.

“Eliot.” My voice shook. “Are you serious?” Please say yes. Please don’t make me go through all the heartbreak again.

He brushed his fingers down my cheek. He was so close. “You’re not the only one who fell hard. Honestly, as soon as you brushed me off with those indigo eyes, I was yours.”

That would’ve been the cookie incident. “I really liked when you asked if I wanted cheese on my burger.” I was serious, but gosh, that sounded insane.

He blinked, then his lips twitched. “Lily, that was not our first meeting.”

“Before that, you were just a really hot apparition I embarrassed myself in front of.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I remember a really nice set of tits.”

I laughed and rested my cheek on his chest. He pulled me closer to him. This was real. He was real. His words were real.

My dream was coming true.

“Are you sure?” I was scared to ask.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything. I’ve been so damn miserable without you. Chambers complained about how cranky I was, and my brothers and Aggie wouldn’t leave me alone.” He pulled back and met my gaze. “Being married to you is the happiest I’ve been all my life, and that was with me being a half-assing idiot. I’m all in, Lily. I want to spend my life with you. If you want me.”

My breathing turned shallow. All in. If I wanted him. I was on the edge of a precipice. I just had to leap.

He’d been there to catch me so many times. And when he hadn’t? I had the support system a shitty ex tried to take away from me.

“I love you, Eliot. I want to spend my life with you too.”

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