by Sarah Taylor
Again I giggle, resting against him. I see now that nothing is promised. You have to make the most of every day and every opportunity you’re given. I intend to live as fully as I can. Not just for myself, but for Carl and for my friends and loved ones as well.
Behind us, the house has been doused, and it appears that the damage is negligible thanks to the hard work of Brady and his squad. We gaze at the smoke lazily puffing towards the sky, our arms around each other so tight that we may never have to let go.
I close my eyes and thank every lucky star I have that I was brought to this town to find Brady. Surely, it was Carl who guided me here so that I could again find happiness.
Brady and I, side by side, will never give in to fear again. Instead, we’ll bolster one another with the powerful love that sears through both of us.
Epilogue
Brady
It’s laughable to me now, as Olivia sleeps in my arms, that I ever refused to believe in love.
She twitches, yawning, and nestles against me as sunlight spills in through the nearby window. I stroke her back, mesmerized by her beauty. Even without a trace of makeup on, I'm still blown away every day by how lovely she is.
As my fingers stroke down her spine, her dark eyes slowly crack open. She gazes up at me as a slow smile spreads over her face.
“Good morning,” she murmurs, her voice still thick with sleep.
“Good morning,” I answer, astonished by the fact that almost six months’ worth of ‘good mornings’ has passed since she and I moved in together.
It started when her older brother, Jaxon, moved to town. He took her little house, and she moved into mine. Ever since then, she’s been flourishing — just like her bustling little flower shop. She always glows with happiness. That, in turn, makes me happy as well.
I never believed I deserved someone like Olivia, and that belief almost caused me to lose her. Now, I know I’ll never let her slip away. I’ll be with her for the rest of my life if I'm so lucky.
She leans closer and kisses me, her fingers stroking through my hair.
“You’re going to be late for work,” she muses against my lips, though she rolls me, so I'm on my back, and she’s lying across my chest.
I hold her naked body against me, drinking in her sweet kisses.
“I'm the fire chief now, who’s going to reprimand me for being a couple of minutes late?” I ask with a chuckle.
She laughs as well, straddling my hips and running her fingers over my muscled chest. Her gaze is tender and warm. I take in the glory of her tan figure, enraptured by the way the sun dances across her supple flesh.
On the windowsill, strung from a photo of a man in a police uniform, Olivia’s necklace and ring rest in the warm glow of the light. Occasionally, the diamond sparkles.
“You might as well put in some extra hours now, because when our baby comes—” she cuts herself off with a faint yelp, pursing her plump lips and staring at me.
I freeze beneath for a second, absorbing the shock on her face before slowly pushing myself up onto my elbows.
“When our...baby…comes?” I echo, blinking rapidly. “What baby, Olivia?”
She claps her hands to her mouth and searches my eyes for a panicked moment. “I didn’t mean to say it like that. I just took the test yesterday and—”
“We’re having a baby?” I cry, sitting fully up now so that my arms can drape around Olivia’s body.
She keeps her hands on her face, wide eyes locked on mine as she hesitantly nods.
I loop my arms around her and pull her against my chest. I hold her so tight that I'm almost worried I might break her, but she holds me just as tightly.
“Are you happy?” she whispers into my ear.
I bury my face into her shoulder.
Am I happy? That seems like such a silly question.
“Of course I'm happy!” I answer, tilting my head back up so I can gaze deeply into her eyes. “When you and I first told one another that we loved each other, I thought I could never be happier... But every day since then, my joy has only grown. Today, it has multiplied by a thousand, Olivia! We’re going to have a family!”
She laughs, delighted, and tackles me back down against the bed so that she can pepper my face with kisses. I gently roll her over so that I can kiss her belly, whispering sweet nothings both to my love and to the unborn babe in her belly.
I might be late for work today, but I need to take every second I can to bask in this moment of joy. Olivia came and turned my world upside down, but I couldn’t be happier about it.
For today and tomorrow and always, she will be the other half of my soul. It burns only for her.
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