Epilogue
epilogue
JULIAN
1 YEAR LATER
Thanks to Elena, I was about to pull something I only had one shot at not messing up. My hands shook as I made my way to Mila, who sat in front of her computer, Cooper glued to her side. I’d repurposed the empty room into what it was always intended to be—the office and library of her dreams. I’d built a bookshelf into the walls and attached a ladder so she could move between them with ease, put her desk directly in front of the window so she could write accompanied by her favorite view.
I stood back and watched her for just a moment. Almost a year ago, she showed up at my doorstep, dripping wet from the rain, and since then, I considered myself the luckiest man alive.
My heart swelled when she turned around and greeted me with her ocean blue eyes and bright smile. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” I showered kisses all over her face.
“Shouldn’t you be getting to work?” I should’ve, but I knew the boys would be okay running drills with their new assistant coaches. After going down to the school to speak with the team like Mr. M requested, he offered me a full-time position as the varsity head coach. I had my doubts, but after pondering it over with Mila, we agreed it was a good way to bring the sport I once loved back into my life, untainted by my dad. I did have one catch; my assistant coaches had to be people who loved the sport just as much as I did. I thought of only two people—Elijah and Damon.
“Do I smell coffee?” I smirked at how predictable she was beforeI revealed the breakfast spread I’d made for her: pancakes with strawberries from Mr. and Mrs. Asher, eggs, bacon, and a fresh cup of hot coffee. Usually, we ate together at our table, but that morning was different.
“What’s the occasion?” Her lazy smile made my heart leap. “I have a surprise for you.” Her shoulders straightened as she perked up with interest. “What is it?”
I pulled a book from under my shirt and offered it to her. After watching her write in every spot in the house for months, I felt it was only right she had the very first copy of her second book.
She pried it from my hands with a gasp. “You didn’t.”
“You can thank Elena.” I didn’t know how, but she pulled a miracle and got her hands on an early copy just so I could surprise her. Since Mila moved back to Willow’s Cove and Elena still lived in the city, they hardly saw each other, but there wasn’t a day they didn’t talk on the phone.
She ran her fingers over the cover we’d approved together a few months before. “Open it.”
My heart pounded in my chest as she read the four words I’d written on the very first page.
Will You Marry Me?
I had Sofia and Taylor to thank for the idea. Only they would have the creativity to think of asking her to spend the rest of her life with me using the book about our love story.
She met my eyes with her mouth gaping. “Are you serious?” When I said I’d never let her go, I meant it. It was her or nobody. We went from being two kids who knew nothing about love, teenagers who desperately tried to figure it out, strangers who still held a piece of one another, to two people growing more in love each day. I never wanted to know a life without her again.
“It’s you and me forever, Mila.”
With tears in her eyes, she grabbed a pen sitting on her desk and scribbled next to my handwriting before handing the book back to me. One word in her cursive stared back at me.
Yes
I cupped her face and devoured her lips until I could no longer breathe. “I love you,” I whispered as our foreheads touched.
“Forever,” she said.
Lying next to us was the book we’d written together about our love story, with the only title that felt right— Right Where You Left Me . I never gave up hope she would come back to me, and now, we had forever to make up for lost time.