Page 52 of Still The One

Holding hands feels like tiptoeing into the flirtatious deep end. I’m not sure we’re ready or have thought it through, but having his hand wrapped around mine brings me some kind of comfort I’ve missed.

‘They did.’

‘Tell me why?’ he asks, stopping and turning to face the sunset. He drops our hands to our sides, his thumb stroking the back of mine.

‘Watching the sun bid farewell to another day is peaceful. Whether it was the best or worst day you’ve ever had, you’ll never repeat it. Ever. And that made me realize that no matter what happens, life goes on.’

Foster nods thoughtfully, his gaze never leaving the sky. As the last remnants of daylight fade away, he turns to me with a small smile playing on his lips.

‘Do you want to hear how smart I think you are, or something ridiculously marshmallowy and over-the-top flirtatious?’

‘I’ll take marshmallows, please.’

He looks shocked.

‘They always made me smile.’

‘I remember,’ he says. ‘Good. Here goes: I always thought of you as my sunset. That’s part of why I fell in love with them the way I have.’ He squeezes my hand gently in his.

‘That was so cheesy,’ I say with a laugh.

‘It was.’

‘Really, though?’

He nods. ‘One thousand per cent, Evie. Sunsets are breathtakingly beautiful and sadly fleeting, but each one leaves a lasting impression on me – just like you.’

My heart skips a beat at his words, causing me to let out a gasp as a rush of emotions floods through me. This is why I face-planted into a dirt racetrack for this man. Because he’s sweet, and goofy, and charming, and handsome, and so many adjectives that I could go on for days. Most importantly though, he is beautiful inside and out, and so many people have only ever been interested in the out.

‘I think sometimes sunsets help you see someone in a new light too,’ I say, noticing the colors of dusk painting Foster’s background in a dreamlike haze. Why didn’t I get this guy for the last five years like I was supposed to?

‘Do you ever wonder if maybe we were always meant to find our way back to each other?’ Foster muses. ‘Like two ships passing in the night, destined to collide again and again because fate decided a long time ago they were meant to be.’

I heave a sigh at the thought of fate. It hasn’t done me any favors. But what if he’s right and I just haven’t seen them yet?

‘Maybe we needed to lose ourselves before we could truly find each other?’

Foster’s smile widens, a glimmer of hope and love shining in his eyes. ‘Maybe. Of course, I didn’t expect losing myself nearly meantdeath.’

‘Neither did I,’ I chuckle. ‘Look at you now though, without even realizing it, we’ve walked six blocks and you haven’t groaned even once. That’s huge progress!’

He turns, his face scrunching like he’s trying to see something a mile away. ‘Six blocks, huh?’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘We’ve got six blocks back and I’m ready for a napnow.’

He’s tired. And here I thought he was doing so well. ‘And a nap you will get as soon as we get back, after we change those shoulder and wrist bandages, and after you get that deep cleansing shower you wanted.’

‘Oooh, the shower. Race ya back?’ he asks, pretending to take off in a sprint but not getting very far in the skip, hop, walk he’s doing.

It takes us a bit longer to get back to my building than it did to walk six blocks and by the time we’re climbing the stairs, Foster is moving much more slowly.

‘What did you get?’ he asks, looking at the package in my hand that I grabbed from my mailbox on our way through the lobby.

‘You’re going to love it,’ I say as I unlock my door and push it open, allowing him through first. He beelines right for my couch and drops onto it with a moan it sounds like he’s been holding in all night.

I open the box and display the two purple- and green-colored containers. ‘These are pill organizers. You take meds so often that I had to buy two. In the coming days, I’m going to have to go back to work and I thought if we get started with these now, then while I’m gone you won’t forget when your meds are due.’

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