Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
WILLOW
My mother stops in front of me, a smile dancing across her lips as she slides her arms through the holes in her coat and my father pulls it up over her shoulders. “We’re so incredibly proud of you, Willow.”
“You’ve really outdone yourself with the shop,” my father says, standing next to my mother with a proud look shining in his blue eyes.
I glance across the room to where Noah and Finn are standing. Their matching gazes shine back at me.
My brothers and I have our father’s eyes and our mother’s hair.
“I’m so glad you were both able to come for the festival today.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it,” my mother says, stepping closer as she pulls me in for a hug. “I’m sorry we can’t stay longer to have dinner or anything, but we will get together one day next week.”
“I’ll come see you guys,” I say, releasing her before stepping in to hug my father.
He squeezes tightly before letting me go.
The two of them take a step away, both of their eyes searching my face.
My heart pounds inside my chest. I haven’t been honest with them. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Of course, honey,” my mother says softly. Concern flashes in her eyes before she can stop it. "Is everything okay?”
Swallowing roughly, I nod. “Everything is fine. I just—I haven’t been honest about veterinary school.
” I look past them at Noah near the back of the shop.
He gives me a small smile and dips his chin, silent courage for me to continue.
“I didn’t get in for the spring semester and I’ve decided I don’t want to go at all. ”
My father’s eyebrows tug downward. “You aren’t planning on reapplying?”
“Christopher,” my mother scolds him under her breath, shooting him a glare before her face softens and she looks back at me. “Did something happen to change your mind?”
Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I slowly shake my head.
“I just realized it wasn’t for me. After coming home and being here, I realized becoming a veterinarian isn’t what I really want to do with the rest of my life.
” I pause, waving my hand around, a sense of pride washing over me.
“This is what I needed to fill my cup and I know this is where I want to be. Managing Grammy’s shop is what I want to do. ”
A tender smile pulls on my mother’s lips and she laces her arm through my father’s, giving him a small squeeze. “We support whatever you want to do, Willow.”
My father’s eyes are on mine and he nods, his mouth turning up into a smile to match my mother’s. “Yes. If veterinary school isn’t for you, then don’t follow a dream that is no longer yours.”
“You—” I pause, swallowing over the emotion lodged in my throat. “You don’t think I’m a failure because of it?”
“Oh, honey, no.” Pulling him with her, my mother reaches for my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “We’ve always believed that you can do anything you put your mind to. Look at what you did with this place.”
My father shakes his head. “We’ve never once thought, nor will we ever think, that you’re a failure.”
“We both love you very much.”
Corkscrewing my lips to the left, I bite on the inside of my cheek, willing away the tears that prick the corners of my eyes.
A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I no longer feel like I’m keeping a secret from two of the most important people in the world to me. “I love you guys.”
They both pull me in for a hug once more before pulling away. My mother glances at both of my brothers. “Are the two of you walking out with us?”
“Yep,” Finn says, walking across the shop toward the door with Noah right behind him.
“Drive safe!” I call out to our parents as I watch them head through the door and onto the sidewalk. They pause just outside the glass, lifting their hands to wave.
“We’ll be right out,” Finn says to them as he and Noah pause halfway out the front door. “Are you not coming?”
I look at both of my brothers. “No, I think I’ll stay here a little while longer,” I smile, nodding at the two of them. “I just want to refresh things a bit for tomorrow morning.”
“Okay,” Noah says, dipping his chin.
Finn walks over to the counter and rests his hand on it as Noah comes and stands beside him. “You did great here, Will,” he says, his smile stretching. “You proved both of us wrong.”
“And we couldn’t be happier,” Noah chimes in, winking. “We always believed in you, we just needed you to believe too.”
“Thank you, both,” I say softly, my own smile stretching across my face.
“I never thought either of you doubted me, but I needed to prove to you that I could do it anyway.” I pause, biting on the inside of my cheek.
“And I needed to prove it to myself too. That rejection letter from vet school hit me where it hurt and I needed something to prove to myself that I’m not a failure. ”
“Well, you’re not and we never thought you were,” Finn assures me.
“If you’re not reapplying, does this mean you’re staying?” Noah asks, tipping his head to the side.
I look back and forth between both of my brothers. “That’s what I was planning. I was hoping to stay and run the store.”
“That would be great,” Finn says, nodding his head. “We like having you home.”
Something catches Noah’s gaze and he turns his head, staring out through the front window of the store. “We’re not the only ones,” he says softly, lifting his chin.
Finn turns his head to the right, a low chuckle rumbling in his chest as he looks out to where Noah’s focus is. “I think that’s our cue to leave.”
“What are you talking about?” My eyebrows tug together and I lean forward over the counter, my eyes following after theirs to see what everyone’s looking at.
All I see is the darkness that has cloaked the town, the empty sidewalk and a lone car driving down the street with their headlights illuminating the path in front of them.
“We’ll see you at home later,” Finn says, smiling at me as he backs away.
“Maybe,” Noah chuckles, winking at me as they both turn away. They fall in step with one another and I shake my head, looking back at the register as the soft bell chimes above the door as they slip through it.
A gentle gust of the cold air from outside drifts into the shop and the door closes behind them.
Humming to the soft music playing through the speakers we installed in the store, I close up the register and walk around the counter.
I stop at the display of syrups to rearrange a few that are turned sideways.
“Be careful, Willow,” a low voice sounds from behind me, sliding over me like silk sending a shiver trailing down my spine. “Those bottles have a habit of falling off the shelves.”
“Is that so?” I tease as I slowly turn around to face him.
Jace stands two feet away with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand holding a brown bag with flowers poking out of the top.
His hair is mused and his green eyes are bright as they linger on mine.
“Turns out the bottles of syrup aren’t the only things falling. ”
His throat bobs as he swallows hard, his eyes widening just a fraction of an inch and he takes a step closer. “Oh yeah?” He rolls his lips, his tongue wetting them. “I think you mean fallen, not falling. There’s a difference, you know.”
My heart skips a beat in my chest as I take the next step closer to him. “What’s that?”
“You see,” he says with caution, his voice low as he moves a step closer, like we’re playing a game of chess.
“Falling is that intense, intoxicating, consuming free fall. It’s the action that leads to the collision.
Fallen is the after. It’s the slow, simmering contentment that settles deep inside your chest. It’s the peace that washes over you after the intoxication.
It’s the way your soul feels like it’s come home, like it’s finally found its resting place. ”
My breath catches in my throat, my heart coming to a full stop before it pitter patters into a steady hammering. I stare back at him, my eyes widening slightly as he closes the remaining distance between us. He drops the bag onto the floor, his hands immediately lifting to cup the sides of my face.
He tips my head back. “I’m not falling, because I’ve already fallen.” He lets out a ragged breath, his eyes unwavering as they burn holes through mine. “I’ve fallen for you, Willow.” A tender smile lifts his lips. “I’m in love with you.”
My heart pounds harder and faster. “Jace.”
“I’m not done,” he says, biting back his grin.
“I think it started happening years ago.
That first little seed was planted the night at Danny Potter's house. The years apart—I told myself not to reach out to you. I convinced myself I would never be enough for you and that your brother would never approve, but I know none of that is true now.”
“You talked to him?”
He cocks his head. “Of course I did.” His lips stretch across his mouth in a smile.
“I love you, Willow, and I want you. This would never work if things weren’t good between Noah and me.
” He pauses, his throat bobbing as he swallows roughly.
“I’m sorry that I hesitated. I’m sorry that I let my fear keep me from being honest with myself, and with you. ”
“It’s okay,” I whisper, and lift my arms to circle them around his lower back. “You’re not the only one who was afraid.”
“But you didn’t let your fears stop you,” he says quietly, his eyes searching mine. “You may have pretended your feelings weren’t what they were at first, but when the time came, you weren’t afraid to tell me the truth. You weren’t afraid to tell me what you weren’t willing to accept.”
A soft laugh escapes me as I shake my head at him. “You have it all wrong,” I admit, fisting the back of his jacket in my hands. “I let you go because I was afraid of my feelings for you. The intensity of them, the way they consumed me—it scared me.”
The realization washes over his expression. “I did exactly what you expected me to do.”
A pained smile tugs on my lips. “You aren’t the only one who messed up.
” My chest expands as I inhale deeply, sucking in a breath before releasing it.
“It took everything in me to walk away from you, but I knew I had to. Emotions were high in the moment and I needed you to come to me not out of desperation but out of truly wanting me. I needed to know that you combed through every thought and chose me.”
He stares down at me with emotion washing over his eyes. The pads of his thumbs are rough, yet gentle as he sweeps them along the sides of my face. “You are every thought,” he rasps, his voice catching in his throat. “You are everything that I want.”
My heart swells inside my chest as he stares back at me with love brimming in his eyes. “Jace,” I say in a breath, his name falling from my lips in a rush. “I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.”
“Willow,” he breathes my name, his face dipping down to mine as he breathes me in. His mouth collides with mine, his lips soft like silk as he draws the oxygen from my lungs. He pours himself into me, the warmth of his love wrapping around me like a cloak as he melts into me.
His tongue sweeps along the seam of my lips, tender and slow as I part them for him, granting him access. He slips inside my mouth, kissing me deeper. There’s no urgency and he kisses me like we have all the time in the world.
And maybe—just maybe we do.
He’s like a drug running rampant through my veins. He penetrates the walls, dipping into my soul, tangling himself within the fibers of my being. It’s exactly where he’s supposed to be. It’s where he was always meant to me.
My heart has always belonged to him and if there’s one thing I’ve always been sure of, it’s this—whatever he decides to do with it, I don’t want it back. It’s his.
His lips linger on mine, drawing the last bit of oxygen from my lungs before we break apart. He presses his forehead to mine, letting out a choppy breath. “Willow,” he murmurs again, as if my name is the solution to every problem he could ever have.
“I love you.”
He lifts his forehead from mine, his eyelids snapping open as he stares down at me with an intensity that rocks me to my core. “Say it again.”
The corners of my mouth twitch. “I love you.”
“Be with me, Willow.”
Pressing up onto my toes, my mouth meets his. “I thought you’d never ask,” I murmur against his lips after pressing a soft kiss to them.
“I don’t want to go another day of my life without hearing you say those three words.”
Lowering myself back onto my flat feet, I stare up at him. At the man who’s always held my heart, even when he didn’t realize it. “You’ll never have to go another day.”
His hands fall away from my face and he wraps them around me, anchoring himself to me as if I am where he’s always belonged.
Pulling my body flush against his, he lifts a hand and brushes the hair from my face. “You know, my heart has always been yours, even when I was too blind to realize it,” he murmurs, tucking the strands behind my ear. “You’ve always been mine too, haven’t you?”
“I have,” I murmur, tilting my head back as a smile pulls across my lips. “And I always will be.”
“I never planned on being anyone but yours,” he says softly, his eyes resting on mine. “I don’t ever want it back, just so you know.”
“What?” I ask, my eyebrows tugging together.
“My heart.”
The world around us falls quiet as his face drops back down, his lips sweeping across mine as he breathes me in. I’ve spent a greater part of my life thinking Jace Miller was just an unattainable dream, yet here he is, promising me forever.
And the last thing I’m going to do is let that be a fleeting moment.
Wrapping my arms around him, I kiss him back with the same intensity, slipping within the spaces between his ribs, diving directly into his heart.
The heart he’s given to me—the one I will hold onto for the rest of my days.
Because if there’s one thing in this life that I won’t live without anymore, it’s him.
It’s always been him.