37. Epilogue Two
Eva
Closing the book in my hands, I wipe under my eyes. An epic tale of loss and love, I wonder why I torture myself the way that I do.
To escape?
To dream?
To block out what happened?
Perhaps it’s all of the above. One thing’s for sure, the reality I find myself living in is no longer the one I feel caught up in. It’s the one I find myself smiling about for no other reason than because it’s mine.
Mine.
Not many people get to walk away from being shot. Not many people get to walk away from being stabbed, either. But here I am, officially off all medication and moving around properly again.
It’s been a long six months. What with settling in Dad and everything in my house moving around so I could live more comfortably, it’s been beyond challenging. But it’s been made bearable, thanks to the help of the man I can smell getting closer to me.
“You finished with your book?”
I smile feeling my insides warm when he steps into view. “Physically? Yes. Mentally? Probably never.”
Luke shakes his head at me. “Food’s ready.”
Holding out his hand, I place my book in it .
“That was for you, dummy.”
“Give me your other one. You’re strong enough to help me to my feet with one hand, Luke Jones.”
He grins sexily at the compliment. “Of course I am. I just, you know, want you to be careful.”
I slide my hand into his, feeling the tiny sparks. Still as strong as the first day, they never fade.
Luke notices. “Steady,” he says, giving me a wink before placing a loving kiss on my bump. “My boy doing okay?”
Giving him a faint eye roll, I smile at how excited he is that he’s going to be a dad. Of course, we don’t know the sex yet, it’s still early days, but my tummy is ever so slightly firmer now from something other than my injury.
We both knew my medication would affect my pill, so I stopped taking it. Luke was ever the gentleman and waited until I felt ready to be intimate again. We knew the risks, and we talked about it after getting the all clear from the doctors. Low and behold, during one of the rare moments we found alone together, we fell pregnant almost immediately.
And I’ve never felt happier or more complete.
“You wink at my mum like that. You don’t need to do that to me.”
“It’s reserved for my favourite ladies,” he replies, kissing my cheek, then lifting my hand to his lips. His thumb twirls the bracelet he placed on me the day I was rushed to hospital.
No words are spoken as he softly kisses the back of my hand. I can hear his thoughts, though.
The reason he always slipped his hands into his pockets the way he used to? I’ve since found out it’s because of this simple piece of jewellery. As captivating as the man who believes it’s what saved my life when the accident and emergency staff had to resuscitate me, I now wear it with pride and joy.
“Little Warrior.” Luke presses his lips to mine. Our kiss starts slow, a gentle push and pull as we take each other in. Then I feel our souls interlace in a passionate moment, one I wish could last forever.
Luke tosses my book to the chair he pulled me from. I go to scold him, but both his hands scoop the back of my neck, his fingers pushing into the back of my hair. He holds me still. Claiming me. His mouth devouring mine in a breathless exchange of love. “I’ve missed you.”
Time like this together is proving difficult.
With Liam wanting to sleep in my bed but not being able to because of fear he might damage my stitches, it was easier for me to spend the first few weeks on the sofa. Gradually, I made it back to my bed. But that was around the same time Liam decided to start joining us again.
“You need a shower,” I say into his mouth, both loving our kiss but smelling his heady scent.
“That’s what your mum said when I kissed her.”
I smile, forcing my tongue to press against his.
“Fuck’s sake,” he moans deeply.
“What?” Neither of us stops the way our mouths twist and our tongues lap together.
“I’m rock solid and now we have to sit down for dinner with your mum and dad.”
For good measure, I release my hold around his neck and cup between his thighs. My breath catches.
“Told you.”
I squeeze my fingers, making Luke moan. “Eva,” he grumbles. “Unless you’re about to get on your knees and swallow me whole, I suggest you let go of my dick before I’m unable to stop.”
I smile cheekily, a flare of pleasure lighting up my insides. “I want to. I want to swallow you whole.”
“Jesus,” he says, losing his breath.
I keep going. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. We’re about to sit down to dinner. Even Laura’s here for God’s sake. Then I open my eyes and see the man who completes me, looking at me with hooded eyes. “Can I join you in the shower?”
He closes his eyes. “With everyone within thirty feet of us? First, no way you can keep that quiet. And second? ”
I moan into his mouth, angling my head as I press my body into his. “Yes?” I purr seductively. Shit, there’s no way I can stop myself now. “What’s second?” I ask, rolling my head as he pulls me into him.
His hips roll deliciously, surging forward, giving me a feel of his hard chest and thick arousal. “Second,” he breathes with difficulty. “My moral compass won’t allow it. Not with your father in the other room.”
That certainly dampens some of my drive. “Screw your moral compass.” I pull back, running my fingers over my lips, teasing not only myself, but Luke, too.
He watches every slow trace I make. The soft skin feels beautifully swollen by him.
“Tomorrow,” he begins, his hands curling into the back of my hair, sending shivers down my spine. “After your therapy session, Liam is staying with your mum. You and I are getting naked in every place around your house, and that pretty little mouth is being put to work.”
I think about the art therapy sessions and how much they’ve helped Dad and me already. Luke bought the studio last month as a surprise. Best surprise he could have ever given me. We’ve only had a few sessions in there, but they’re as much for me now as they are everyone else.
“Is that right?” I smile up at him. “And what about your mouth? Seems only fair that it should be put to work, too.”
Luke pulls me in a little closer. “My mouth is going to bring you a thousand orgasms, Little Warrior. All over your house. Every room. Every surface. We’re christening every place we haven’t already done so.”
Biting my lip, I lustfully tell him, “I can’t wait,” before both our heads turn, hearing my mum call us.
Luke sighs, looking up to the sky, doing a little bounce on the balls of his feet.
“Willing it to go down?”
“Yep. Thinking about kittens and old people.”
I look down seeing the perfectly large, round bulge, wanting to touch it. “Think harder,” I laugh at him, Mum’s footsteps sounding louder. “Quick, just think of Adam and Carrie having sex,” I rush out.
His head falls to his chest, and he looks at me all bug-eyed and confused. “What? ”
I look down. “It worked.” I raise a smile, pleased with myself.
“Adam and Carrie aren’t fucking.”
“You can ask them tomorrow. You know, when they get back from their holiday together .” I drag out the word. He can’t seriously think they’re just friends?
“You two. Come on. We don’t want to miss it.” Mum turns and huffs at us both.
I can’t help but smile as I spin and grab my book, leaving Luke a bag of confusion. “Prude,” I mutter under my breath.
“Eva,” he says behind me. “Prude?”
I keep walking.
“They’re not? They can’t. Eva?”
“Come on.” I turn to face him, holding my tummy, watching his eyes drop and his face fill with pride. “We have a sunset to watch.”
Passing around the plates of food, we have various blankets spread around us. Eating our hotdogs, all of us are looking out to the sea. The steady roll of the waves has my head tilting.
“Happy sunset, baby.”
Liam smiles up at me. “Dadda?”
A pang of misery hits me, but the tightening of Luke’s arm wrapping arm around my shoulder, instantly makes it go away.
“He misses you too, baby. How’s your hotdog?”
The vicious nod of his head and him shoving his food into his mouth, tells me he’s happy.
The reality is that Ben hasn’t made his way back into Liam’s life yet, and for better or worse—I can’t tell which yet—Liam seems just fine without him. He misses his dad, of course, but as we both watch Luke take a sip of his water, then leave a kiss on the side of my head, I can tell we’re going to be just fine.
“Thank you,” I tell him .
I don’t have to say any more. He reads me so well. He knows I mean for looking after, well, everyone where I couldn’t. “You’re welcome.”
“How’s Tiffany?” Mum asks.
My head swings to her. “She’s good. We spoke yesterday. Hopefully she will be home next weekend with her new partner.”
“Oh, that’ll be nice for you both. I bet you’re looking forward to meeting him finally?”
“Sure will.” I’ve missed her.
My high-flying friend met the guy she’s dating on her business trip. He was supposed to be there on his honeymoon, but had found out his wife was sleeping with his brother. Ouch.
The pair hit it off, and other than coming home and wanting to murder Sammie, things turned out well for her.
Quietly eating, we watch in silence as the sun sinks below the horizon, blissful shades of purples and pinks mixing in the dimming sky. My hand falls to my dad’s, sat the other side of me. “Love you, Dad.” I’m so grateful we still get to do this together.
Slowly turning his head to face me, he looks down at the bracelet on my wrist. I watch his face tighten, then he looks towards the sea.
“Dad?” I question. I know he’s trying to remember something. His face pulls and his shoulders tense whenever he does. “Everything okay?”
He looks at me again, giving me a smile. I can tell by the vacant space in his eyes that he doesn’t recognise me. He then looks at Liam, giving him the broadest of smiles.
Liam licks the side of his next sausage before holding it up and gesturing towards his grandpa.
“No, you eat that one, little man,” Luke tells him. I feel him shiver with disgust as Liam turns to dip it in more sauce.
I chuckle to myself.
“Is that Eva?” Dad says, stunning all of us.
Mum and I exchange a look. She’s sitting next to Dad trying to make sure he eats. Dropping the fork to his plate, her head moves side to side. The dumbstruck look on her face is caught somewhere between total confusion and utter exuberance that Dad’s asking questions.
The thought makes me sad—that I’m trapped somewhere inside his mind. But I’m also happy. It’s been a few months since he’s mentioned anyone other than Mum.
He points down at Liam on his blanket in the sand. “Is that my daughter Eva?”
“No, darling. That’s Liam. Eva’s son.”
Luke’s arm tightens around me.
“Dad. I’m Eva. I’m right here.”
He looks down at my wrist, lifting his other hand and swirling the bracelet in his fingers gently. The touch is comforting. “She’s here somewhere. This is hers.”
“That’s right. This is mine. Luke gave it to me.”
He turns confused in a flash, making me feel guilty. That was information overload.
Mum gestures at me not to worry as I swallow the lump in my throat and say, “Tell us about Eva, Dad.”
My heart shatters, but he’s instantly back to touching my bracelet. It’s giving him comfort, and I know that Luke’s thinking it’s the power of his prized possession.
Maybe it is magical after all.
“I made this for Eva.”
All of us freeze. The only sound comes from the waves gently brushing the shore.
“What?” I shake my head, my throat catching. Dad only talks about things in his distant past. Distant moments are the things he remembers. Desperation kicks in, making me shake.
“She ran away after we’d put her to bed. She’d had a nightmare. Andrea will tell you.” He slowly looks at Mum, nodding when he sees her. “Andrea?”
“Yes, darling.” Her tears are flowing freely down her face.
“Did I make this to keep her nightmares away?”
Mum gasps. “Oh my God.”
“Mum, what?” I stammer, both Luke and I sitting up straighter.
“Eva, I know it can’t be, but I think… I think it is. I think Dad’s right. Let me see.”
I quickly tear it from my wrist, looking between her and Luke.
He’s breathing faster than usual, his front pressing to my back.
“That stone,” Dad says, calmly watching Mum inspecting the bracelet. He points at the greyish ball that’s so different to the others. “That one protects.” He smiles at me, and with that look, he manages to tear down every defence I have ever built around him and his forgetting me. “Eva,” he says.
I lean towards him, dropping my head to his hands and kissing them. If I kiss his face, he might forget me. I just keep everything slow, savouring the moment.
“Do you remember what you told Eva? The night you gave it to her?” Mum asks.
There’s a gasp, and I listen as Luke chokes out, “To keep you safe in the storm.”
I slowly sit back in my chair, wondering what the hell is going on here. When I look at him, Luke’s eyes are red. His hand covers his mouth.
“What’s going on?” Mum says for all of us.
“Eva, one of the first nights… one of the first nights I ran away from home, I found a park by the coast. I went back there every time I couldn’t sleep.” He talks in a manner which saves the details. “There was one night I ran there, I saw a kid in the park. She was only little, Eva. When I spoke to her, she ran, but not before dropping that bracelet.” He darts his eyes down to my hand as I slip it back over my wrist. “It was in an envelope.”
His admission has me swinging my head to my mum.
Her hand flies to her face, tentatively covering her mouth. Her flooding tears are also proof this is really happening.
We were close when we were so young?
“It also had a note, Eva. To keep you safe in the storm.”
Mum gasps. “So, all this time, you had it?”
Luke nods. “It saved me.”
Mum wipes her tears.
“Mum?” I ask, looking at her.
“I don’t know what to say, Eva. You ran away once as a little girl. Neighbours found you in the park on the green. You were a thirty-second run from the house, but I must have left the door unlocked. You were so scared by these dreams; Dad made you that to keep you safe. To show you that nothing on this earth could harm his daughter. It was too big, but you grabbed the envelope we put it in and ran after waking with a fright.”
Luke sighs, but it’s more in realisation. “I kept it in my pocket because it was too big at the time. But I knew even then it was special. Eva?”
I turn to look at Luke.
“You’ve always been with me. Through everything ,” he emphasises. “You’ve always been by my side. You gave my life meaning without even knowing what you were capable of.”
I don’t think there’s a dry eye in the house.
Luke pulls me into an embrace as Dad keeps his hold on my hand. “My Little Warrior,” he whispers, kissing me between his tears.
When we break free, I lick my lips, my head dizzy and light. Still, I laugh, feeling layers of comforting bliss washing over me.
“What is it?” Luke asks.
“This is soulmate shit, Luke.” I recite Tiffany’s words.
He smiles, kissing me chastely on the side of my mouth. “I’ve always known it.”
Quietly, and blissfully content, I look back at Dad. I watch him smile at Mum before he looks back at me. “Eva,” he says confidently, knowing that I am his daughter.
I smile back, revelling in the moment that I know is soon to pass. The twilight sky has crept up on us, the first few stars are beginning to shine. I’ve never felt more grateful for anything.
“I have something I need to show you.”
I kiss Liam’s forehead. “I’m actually a little tired.”
Luke’s shoulders drop when he sees my playful smile. He’s standing in the doorway to our room. “Get your head out of the gutter and come with me.”
I push off the bed and tread lightly, falling into his arms when I reach him .
“Hop on. I’ll carry you.” He turns and bends, his hands held out behind him.
I do as I’m bid before he’s walking us back out of the cabin towards the seafront. He slows, negotiating the sand, finding his perfect spot.
“What are you up to?”
“Back pocket,” he says simply.
Confused, I look down at his perfect arse, admiring how firm it is when I slide my hand into one pocket.
“The other one,” he chastises playfully.
I give his cheek a squeeze for good measure.
Shaking his head, I grab the piece of paper as he simultaneously twirls me in his arms, placing my toes on the sand. “What is it?” I hold it up.
“Read it.”
I widen my eyes, confused and feeling the sea air biting my face.
Luke moves behind me, reading the letter over my shoulder. It’s titled, ownership.
“Ownership? For what?” My eyes scan the address in the top right corner. It’s for the studio Luke bought. “Luke?” I don’t think I can take any more crying today.
“I’m no longer the landlord, Eva. It’s all yours.”
My mouth drops open, and I look up at him, spinning in his arms to face him, eyes filled with unshed tears.
“No more,” he says, running a thumb over my cheek. “This was yours and your dad’s dream, and whilst I get that things have changed, I’ve already seen the happiness it brings both of you. It should be your name on the deed, not mine.”
All I can do is stare at him.
“Are you okay?”
Licking my dry lips, eventually I say, “You’ve made all my dreams come true, you know that?”
Standing back, he looks at me with adoration, his face beaming. “I couldn’t have done this next part without Tiffany.”
What? He steps back when I go to wrap my arms around his shoulders.
Luke then leans down, placing a kiss on my stomach. “I love you,” he says, looking up at me. Then he sinks his knee into the soft sand, and my eyes widen .
“Luke? What are you doing?” My heart thumps wildly. I lift a hand to my chest as Luke pulls out a ring from his back pocket. Oh, God.
“Eva Robinson.”
“Luke. What are you? Is this?”
“Eva, please.”
“Sorry.” I shut up, covering my mouth with my hand.
“I want you to know, that everything I have, is yours.”
I sob, my hand now resting against the side of my face as I watch him.
“My heart. My soul. You made them both yours when you found me in the bar. I’d never seen anything as beautiful as you in all my life. Still haven’t.”
“Luke.” My chest heaves. “What are you saying?”
“Every moment I spend with you makes me crave the next one even more, Eva. I’m saying that for the first time in my life, I have found the person I truly love, and her family. I’m saying I want to grow old with you. I’m saying I want to call you my wife.”
“Your wife?” My voice is squeaky as I try to suppress my tears.
“My wife, Little Warrior. What do you say? Will you do me the honour of marrying me?”
I don’t have to think about this. This is the easiest thing I’ll ever do. Bending down, I cup the sides of Luke’s face and smile as I press my lips to his. “Guess.”
His soft lips stretch against our kiss. “You want me to guess whether you’ll say yes to marrying me?”
I move my head back, looking down at him. “It’s our way.”
Luke stands making my back straighten. “Little Warrior, of course the answer is yes.”
My cheeks hurt as they pull wide. The gentle breeze skims my heated skin, blowing my hair across my face.
Luke sweeps it away, then pulls my body flush to his. “Still need to hear you say it, though.”
I feign thinking about my answer as he lifts me effortlessly off the sand, making me squeal.
Wrapping both arms around his neck, my elbows rest on his shoulders as we twirl. Then we stop, and I gaze into his soul, seeing my future—my happy ending, reflected back at me. “Without a shadow of a doubt, yes, Luke. I want to be your wife.”