Page 9 of Eternally London

I shrug. “Not sure, but it will happen. I know that.”

“Promise?” Sarah asks wistfully as she stares up into the dark night sky.

“I promise. This won’t be our life forever.”

My chest aches with happiness for Sarah as I take in the house. It’s a light cream color with blue shutters, and a white picket fence surrounds the front of the property.

It’s so much like her dream. The only difference is, I’m not the one living there with her; it’s Dixon. But that’s so much better. She’s living in her dream home with a good man who loves her the way she deserves.

“Loïc?” London’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. She’s got one foot out of the car, and she’s turned back to check on me.

“Shut the door, babe. I need to get something.”

London looks confused, but she closes her door. “What is it?”

“We need to stop by the store down the street first. I need a basket of muffins,” I say as I pull back out of the driveway.

“What? Why?” London asks as she buckles her seat belt.

“We should show up with a housewarming gift, right? And Sarah loves muffins.”

“Okay, sure,” London answers in a carefree tone.

On the drive, I tell London about the memory I had in the car. We pull up to a bakery and step inside. London insists that we buy not only all of the wicker baskets they have available, but also every last muffin in the shop as well. London loves to go big. Her generous heart is one of the things I love most about her.

In thirty minutes’ time, we are parked back in the driveway of Sarah and Dixon’s house. Gift baskets of muffins in our hands, we head up to the front door.

Sarah opens the door with a wide grin. “You’re here!”

“We’re here.” I smile.

“Ooh, you come bearing lots of baskets.” Her mouth tilts up into a smirk as she scans the baskets in our hands. “Here, come in.” She steps aside, allowing London and me to enter.

“Your new house is adorable,” London tells Sarah.

“Thanks. We love it,” Sarah answers.

“Well, these are for you.” I hold out my arms, presenting Sarah with the gifts.

She reaches toward my outstretched arms and removes the tissue paper that covers the top of one of the baskets.

Her mouth drops open as she stares into one of the baskets.

“Blueberry muffins,” she almost whispers in awe.

“Yes…well, actually, it’s all the muffins the bakery down the road had. London insisted we buy out the place.” I pause and watch Sarah as studies the contents of the basket. “Do you remember?”

She raises her face to meet mine, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and she nods. “I can’t believe you remembered,” she says, her voice shaky.

I place the items in my hands on the table in the foyer and pull Sarah into a hug. “Of course I remember. I remember everything about us. I’m so happy for you.”

Sarah burrows her face into my chest as she hugs me tight. “I got my cute little cottage with my grandma shutters.” She sniffles.

“You did,” I agree. “And, now, it’s full of muffins, just like you wanted.”

“Yeah.” She nods again before pulling away. She wipes her eyes and turns to London. “Here, let me take those to the kitchen.”

She grabs the baskets from London’s hands, and we follow her into the kitchen.

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