Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Faye
Another forty minutes pass and the line doesn’t budge an inch. I sigh and glance at the row of taxis across the street. My eyes get hot with tears, but I hold them in, trying to wait until I get home before I cry.
“This is hopeless,” I whisper. It’s almost one o’clock in the morning. Owen is probably sound asleep in his bed right now. I should just leave.
My throat is tight as I step out of the line, trying not to cry.
I thought this was it. I thought this was the night. I thought he’d come for me. I thought he’d try.
What was I thinking?
Owen made it perfectly clear what he wanted from me on the dock.
Nothing.
That’s not the life for me, Faye.
Those words are echoing through my body, doing as much damage as they did the first time I heard them.
A tear slips out as I step off the sidewalk. I head right for an open cab.
“Faye!”
I stop in the middle of the street and turn around.
My heart aches when I see Owen pushing past the bouncers, heading right for me. “Faye! Faye, don’t leave!”
Everyone in line watches as he rushes up to me, grabbing my hands. I’m breathless as I stare into his stunning blue eyes. The streetlights cast us in a warm golden hue. He’s impossibly beautiful. The most breathtaking thing I have ever seen.
It’s like the whole city holds its breath as everyone watches this inevitable moment. Everyone in line is silent, their captivated eyes on us. The road is empty. My cab idles, the driver watching on.
“I spoke with Vivian,” he says as he gazes into my eyes. “I understand now. You’re like a gross, stale coffee that’s been sitting out all morning.”
I rear back in shock. “What?”
He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head. “No. That came out wrong. Let me start over.”
I exhale long and hard as he regathers his thoughts.
“I was wrong,” he says softly. His voice quivers. His eyes get watery, but that only makes them more beautiful.
“About what?”
“About everything,” he says. “You did it, Faye. You did the impossible. You made my cold, logical brain believe in magic. These feelings… They’re not just chemicals and biological processes.
I know that now. They can’t be. They’re so much more.
My love for you… It transcends science. It transcends this world.
We are magic, Faye. We are destiny and fate and I want to live in this magical world with you forever. ”
I drop my eyes, not sure if I quite believe him. I want to, but how do I know he’s not going to close up on me again and shut me out? How can I know I won’t be trapped behind his thick walls? Cast outside of his bubble?
I want to believe him, I just…
Something on his left hand catches my eye. It’s small and dark, sitting in the soft skin between his thumb and index finger.
A four-leaf clover.
My four-leaf clover.
The one I drew on his cup sleeve the morning of his interview. The one he kept. The one I found hiding in his wallet.
I run my thumb over it. “What’s this?”
“A tattoo,” he whispers. “A real one. With real ink.”
I gasp as I look up at him. “What? Why?”
He smiles sadly at me and it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. “A wise person once told me, when you have the time of your life, you’ll want to remember it forever.”
I swallow hard, my eyes watering as I touch it again.
“It’s sexy.”
He grins. “Really?”
I nod. “You look like a hot Irish mobster.”
“But I’m not Irish.”
“That’s okay,” I say with a grin. “I won’t tell anyone.”
I look at him for a long moment, and then drop my eyes.
“I thought this wasn’t the life you wanted.”
“I panicked,” he says, desperate for me to see the truth. “I was scared. I was wrong. Please, Faye… Ask me again.”
I swallow hard as the people in line watch and the light shines down and the cab driver patiently waits.
“Do you see yourself,” I say softly, “with a cottage, and a dog, and a wife?”
“Yes. But only if it’s you. You’re the only one I want, Faye. You’re the only one I’ll ever want.”
I stare into his gorgeous eyes and choose to believe him. I decide to go all-in.
“You’re the only one I want too.”
We come together, our mouths connecting in a warm, perfect kiss. His arms wrap tightly around me as I melt against him. He kisses me like he means it and this man always means everything he does.
The crowd in line cheers. The taxi driver honks the horn twice.
We break apart just enough to smile at each other, foreheads touching, both of us breathless.
“Apparently public displays of affection receive considerably more social approval than I anticipated.”
I laugh against his mouth. “Shut up and kiss me, scientist.”
He does.
I cling to him and pull him closer, all the fear and uncertainty fading away.
I don’t hold anything back. I give myself completely to the moment.
To this perfect, romantic, fairy-tale moment.
A car turns onto the road. Its headlights wash over us.
“Let’s go inside,” Owen says, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the sidewalk.
I run my thumb over his new tattoo, loving what it signifies. Commitment. Permanence. He’ll carry a piece of me on him forever. It’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.
Even though I’m basking in the romance, I can’t help but be a little petty and stick my tongue out at the giant bouncer as Owen brings me inside.
The party is loud and full of life with fun music blasting through the speakers. The large room is packed, but Owen gets through the crowd easily, pulling me along behind him.
“You okay, bean?” he asks, stopping to make sure I’m good.
I grin up at him. “Just peachy, Lavoie.”
He smiles as his eyes drift down to my mouth and then he comes forward and kisses me. It’s so not like him—kissing in the middle of a crowd. It just goes to show how crazy about me he really is.
“Owen,” I say when he finally pulls away. “Will you do something for me?”
“Anything,” he whispers on my lips.
“Will you take a rock climbing class with me?”
He jerks his head back and gives me a confused look that makes me laugh. “What?”
“I signed up in a momentary burst of fearlessness, but I’m totally freaking out about it now. I keep having these images of me hanging upside down by a rope and screaming while the whole class laughs and videotapes me.”
He comes forward, cups my cheeks gently, and kisses my mouth. It gives me tingles all over. I love kissing that mouth.
“I’ll sign up with you,” he says, giving me a smile that reaches his eyes. “I’ll even carry you up on my back like a cute little baby koala.”
I might not say no to that…
“Owen!” Ryan says as he appears from the crowd. “Is this her?”
He doesn’t wait for Owen’s answer. He just scoops me up in a bear hug and lifts me off my feet.
“I love her already,” he says as he puts me down, my cheeks burning.
“Faye, this is Ryan,” Owen says. “Ryan, Faye.”
“Hello,” I say shyly.
Ryan grabs two martinis off the tray of a waitress passing by. He hands one to each of us and takes another one for himself.
“A toast,” he says, holding his glass up and spilling half of it on his hand. “To true love.”
“I’ll toast to that,” the other brother Jason says, appearing with a drink. “It’s not every day you meet the love of your brother’s life.”
“To family,” I say, lifting my glass. “And to the three closest brothers I’ve ever met.”
Owen smiles as he adds his glass to the mix. “To Love Bot. We owe all of this to that crazy bastard.”
We all clink glasses and take a long celebratory drink.
Ryan and Jason are the best. I have a blast talking to them and I can tell we’re all gonna get along just great. Jason invites us all over for dinner tomorrow, but Owen steps in and says no while Jason is planning the menu.
“I haven’t even taken her on a proper date yet,” he says. “She’s all mine.”
“How about next weekend?” I suggest while wondering what Owen has planned for our first date. I’m sure it’s going to be amazing.
We spend the night dancing and drinking and having so much fun my cheeks hurt by the end of it. It’s early morning when we finally return home, holding each other in the back of an Uber, gazing up at the last of the night sky through the open sunroof.
“It’s not like Muskoka,” I say as I see nothing but gray sky over our heads. “You can barely see any stars in the city.”
Owen is gazing at my face with warm, adoring eyes. “I have all the stars I need right here.”
We go back to my place and the reunion between Newton and Owen is one I’ll never forget.
They look like long-lost best friends who have finally found their way back to each other as they hug and wrestle around the living room.
Newton is too happy to contain himself and Owen is falling in love with the dog all over again.
His tongue is sticking out and his tail is wagging like crazy. Newton, not Owen.
Owen eventually takes my hand and brings me to the bedroom down the hall. Newton follows close on our heels.
“Sorry, buddy,” Owen says. “You’ll have to sit this one out.”
All of that doggy happiness turns to a look of complete betrayal as he closes the door in Newton’s face.
“I’ll make it up to him tomorrow,” Owen says as Newton whimpers through the door.
“It better be something good,” I say. “You’re going to have to make it up to him with a lot of fun.”
He lets out a playful growl as he comes over and scoops me off my feet. “You first.”
I squeal as he tosses me onto the bed. He peels off his jacket and pulls off his shirt, my body suddenly throbbing with need when I see all of that hard, chiseled muscle and those dark, lustful eyes.
This time, I don’t have to teach him. This time, he takes over.
And it’s pure bliss.
Much later, when we’re lying in the early morning light, limbs tangled together, the window open with the city sounds drifting in, and Newton’s muddled snores coming from somewhere on the other side of the door, it really hits me.
This is what I was looking for. This is what I deserve.
A love that may not be easy, but it’s certainly going to be worth it.
I think I finally figured out what love is. I think we were all right in a way.
Love is chemistry—dopamine and oxytocin flowing through my brain, giving me this blissful high.
Love is magic—an unknown force that brought us together against all odds.
Love is a decision—if that’s true, then Owen is the easiest decision I’ve ever had to make.
Whatever true love is, I know it feels like this.
Owen’s hand is resting on my hip as he drifts off to sleep, his big chest slowly moving up and down with every heavy breath.
“Bean,” he murmurs, one foot already in dreamland.
“Go to sleep, Lavoie,” I whisper.
He does.
I look at the four-leaf clover etched forever onto his skin and smile.
Finally, I’ve had a romance worth remembering. I’ve had a time I never want to forget.
And the best part?
It’s only the beginning.