Page 156 of Frozen Flames

“Claire, don’t—”

“It’s okay.” She gently sets her hand on my arm. “I stole you away from Gemma. It’s all part of it.”

I snicker. “Punishing yourself won’t help. Did you ever think maybe we were meant to be? If we would’ve gone through the accident together, I think things might’ve been different. We’re open with each other, and wetalk. With Gemma, even before the accident, I couldn’t get a thought out of her. Sometimes it felt as if I barely knew her, even after all those years.”

“Truthfully…I can see that, I really can.” She nods. “Have you had any more physical accidents lately?” she asks, the nurse in her kicking in.

“No,” I reply. “No peeing on myself, and I have more control…sexually.”

“That’s good,” she tells me. “You could’ve told me all this before. I would’ve understood.”

“I know,” I say softly. “I just didn’t want to jinx any of it.”

“I still can’t believe it though,” she says, her voice low. “I had so many insecurities along the way.” Her chuckle turns into a sigh.

“You shouldn’t have them anymore. Now that you know I wanted you from the very beginning.” I tilt my head to stare at her, leaning over to swipe a fallen tear from her cheek.

“I don’t know why I’m crying!” She shakes her head. “I fell for you so fast, Harvey, and it all feels like a dream…that I’m here with you like this.”

“Come here.” I clear my throat, my hand on the back of her neck to guide her as she moves into my arms. “I’m yours now, Claire.”

“And I’m yours—forever.” The smile she gives me when she pulls back to look at me, her hand on my chest, is the reason I fell for her.

She’s right about one thing: being together feels like a dream.

And I’m happy.

Real happy.

Harvey

Eight months later . . .

“I can’t believe we live together!” Claire says as we continue unpacking the day after our move-in. “Our own place.” Her eyes are glowing, and it truly warms my heart to see her this way.

She hugs me tightly, and I don’t let go of her. I can’t express how much love I feel for her. It grows every day in different ways, even when she pisses me off during arguments.

“Yeah, finally.” I smile, pushing her hair back from her face.

We purchased a new home together in the suburbs. Another bungalow—all cozy like Claire wanted it.

We moved yesterday, and we hired movers to help move Henrik back into his condo and us into this new place. I might be walking a lot more now, and I use my wheelchair a lot less, but that doesn’t mean I can start walking around freely and quickly while lifting heavy boxes.

I’m not sure that will ever happen. Perhaps so, but maybe not.

Only time will tell.

It felt good saying goodbye to my old house, the one that was given to me by my parents as a result of the accident.

I know that moving wasn’t easy for Claire. Seeing her get teary-eyed as she hugged her mom and Audrey goodbye wasn’t easy to watch, but growing up is part of life.

“Now we get to go shopping,” Claire says eagerly, and I shake my head, excited for this new journey together.

I’m glad we saved up our money and decided to do this. It’s a big step, but I’ve been ready for it since she became my girlfriend. I just didn’t want to push her until she felt I had proven to her that my past was truly behind me.

“Oh, joy,” I say, and she jokingly narrows her eyes at me. “I’m serious, I can’t wait.”

We keep unpacking, and I’m in my wheelchair. This way I can move around a lot faster and avoid injuries. Besides, I’m seriously exhausted from planning the move and the move itself.

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