Page 109 of Wish I Didn't Want You Back

When I looked up, I saw a man who would give up everything and fight until his last breath for me. I didn’t feel like I deserved him, so when the tears started up again, they came fast and heavy. He didn’t wipe them away this time; he pulled me closer and wrapped his protective arms around me.

“I’ll never be able to repay you for all you’ve done for me.”

He kissed the top of my head. “You don’t owe me a damn thing.”

God, this man.

He didn’t just renovate my house; he put me back together, piece by piece. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. He loved me when I gave up on us. He was giving me a second chance when I didn’t deserve one.

I brought my hands up to his face and traced the strong lines of his jaw.I don’t think I’ve ever felt this type of certainty in my life. This is the type of love I’d never be able to find with anyone else. It was the type of love that scared you and settled you at the same time.

I looked around the room again, at all the little details and personal touches I hadn’t expected.

It was filled with so much love—more love than I ever imagined feeling. For the first time, I finally understood true happiness.

I might have come back for this house, but I was staying for him, and this was so much better.

This might have started as a temporary solution to a messy problem, but somehow, our fake arrangement became something real.

Now, I didn’t just have my house back, but I had his love, too.

And I would never let anyone take that from us again.

EPILOGUE

The DJ played a Luke Bryan song while our friends and family danced, looking like they were having the time of their lives. It was the type of reception I always wanted, full of love, good food, and lots of laughs.

My heels were somewhere under the table, and my veil came off the second we said, “I do.”

I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I was this happy.

We actually did it

We were married.

I looked across the lawn, feeling so many emotions at once. Today was perfect. It nearly seemed like a dream.

I turned to see Brooks standing at the bar, laughing with a few friends. His hand was wrapped around his beer bottle as Finn slapped him on the back. His jacket was off, his tie was loose, and the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows.

My husband was hot.

He caught my eye from across the lawn and winked. I swear, my stomach fluttered every time he looked at me like that.

Would it always be like this? There were so many times when I doubted we would ever get here, moments when it seemed ourlove would never suffice. People thought we would never work. They thought we were too opposite. We had too much baggage, but we did it. We fought, and here we were.

I was about to grab another glass of champagne when I spotted Molly heading my way. “Marty looks like he’s having a good time.”

I looked over to see Mona sitting next to him, gesturing with her hands widely and telling him some outrageous story that had him laughing so hard that he had to wipe the tears from his eyes.

“I’m so happy to see him enjoying himself.”

Molly grinned. “They seem pretty cozy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Leave them alone. He deserves to have a good time. Especially after everything he’s been through these past few months.”

Looking at him today, you would never have guessed the toll his cancer treatments had taken on him. There were days when he could barely get out of bed. Times when I feared we would lose him any day, but he continued to beat the odds. His days were still numbered, and I didn’t even want to think about how we would deal with that loss, but right now, he was here. Determined to live life on his terms.

When I asked him to walk me down the aisle, he told me I granted him his dying wish. We both cried.

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