Page 153 of Free to Fall

“Liam has. Some might say too much so with too little effort on my part.

“But unless you lived our story, is that a fair assessment of our wounds, our injuries?

“Maybe, maybe not.

“I know in the last few weeks, I’ve realized being without him has made all the little things I used to take for granted in my life fruitless. I don’t want to make meatballs. I have no desire to see the beach. I’m constantly chilled and nothing gets me warm except those brief glimpses of him.

“Is that enough for forgiveness, mind? Because my heart forgave him before I shed my first tear.

“Oh, sweet mind, we talk ourselves out of so many life experiences out of fear, but why do we sabotage our own happiness? I asked my mother about that. She said there’s a quote about not trusting people who sabotage your happiness. So, is it Liam I don’t trust, or myself?

“Liam opened his home to me. Shared the burden of my personal pain while opening up about his. He accepted the fact I withheld pertinent information. He understood my withdrawal and still persisted in letting me know he was sorry for wrongfully attacking me.

“Tonight, he gave it all back to me and he doesn’t know it.

“I have to show him how much his trust means to me.

“I didn’t leave tonight to run away from the man I gave my heart to. I left to plan so I could refuel our love with the energy he’s been feeding it this whole time we’re apart. He never took the coward’s way out when it came to winning me back. He loved me.

“Now it’s my turn to show him I saw what he gave me—fire. Passion. Dedication. Sensitivity.

“He created a heartbeat from ashes when dust may be the only thing we had left.

“It’s Liam. It’s me. And we’re not letting go.

“So, I’m going to fight for him and hope he says yes. Because this time, I’m not going to let him down.”

By the time her final words form, I’m already picking her up and lifting her to the counter. She yelps when her skin kisses the cool Corian, but her face nestles into the crook between my shoulder and my neck. She murmurs, “I love you, Liam.”

“I love you too, Laura. Never, ever, forget that again, even when I’m a complete jackass.”

She nods. “Only if you remember I’ll never hurt our family.”

I pull back. “I know you won’t. I especially know you will never hurt Bailey.”

Relief washes across her face. I press her face back against my shoulder and she nuzzles in, wrapping me up tight.

I slide my hands beneath her rear and boost her up. Her legs wrap around my waist. I stride up the stairs and down the hall to my room. Kicking the door shut behind me, I lay her down on the bed and brush my lips against hers.

Once.

Twice.

Laura’s hand slides behind my neck and she pulls my head down. “Come here, fiancé.”

That’s all it takes to snap the control I have. I roll the two of us so she’s on top and I can unclasp and tear her lingerie off her body. I’ll need her. More importantly, I’ll love her.

Now.

Forever.

’Til death do us part.

Epilogue

THREE YEARS LATER

I lift my phone to admire the picture of Laura and Bailey giving identical winks and thumbs up to whomever snapped this photo and feel the rightness deep in my soul. Leaning back in my chair, I think about everything we overcame to get to where we are today. My girls are off to get their hair trimmed with Grams—something Bailey immediately started calling Cassidy after Laura and I got married behind what her family affectionally refers to as the Farm two years ago. After the night Laura proposed, we came together in a tangle of love making that still makes my dick hard all these years later, both of us needing the physical connection to reassure one another we weren’t imagining the other.

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