Chapter 48 - Gabriel
GAbrIEL
Of course, I wasn’t going to let the final thing on Lily’s list go unchecked. Have a little faith in me.
Not long after we got back from Milwaukee, and while we were working on our pitch to Hal, I downloaded an app that tracked meteor activity and turned on notifications for upcoming meteor showers in northern Wisconsin.
I also reached out to Cooper and Wes to see what spots they recommended around here for a clear view of the sky.
Cooper recommended a farm on the outskirts of town that one of Marnie’s friends owned.
Then there was the challenge of figuring out how we were going to comfortably watch the sky without freezing in the chilly January weather. Luckily, I had help figuring that out, too.
“Can I open my eyes now?” Lily asked again. Her mitten-covered hands were over her eyes as I carefully drove us to the viewing spot.
“Don’t act like you haven’t been peeking,” I teased, stealing a glance at her and watching her smile widen.
“Okay, but even with my peeking, I haven’t been able to figure out where we’re going.”
Within a few minutes, I pulled into the long driveaway, the snow crunching underneath the tires. I couldn’t wait for Lily to see the view in front of us—an open field covered with snow paired with a dark sky and brighter than life stars. I put the car into park and unbuckled my seatbelt.
“Alright, Sunshine. Go ahead and open your eyes.”
Lily wasted no time removing her hands from her eyes and blinking into focus. Her lips parted in awe as she looked between me and what I’d set up for us. “Gabe, how did you…” She trailed off with a laugh.
In the middle of the field, there was a clear pop-up bubble tent with blankets, pillows, a thermos of hot chocolate, and snacks for our meteor shower viewing. The exterior of the bubble tent had white string lights clipped to it.
She hopped out of the car, and I followed her, eager for her reaction as more of the setup came into focus.
After a few steps, Lily turned around, tears glistening in her eyes.
She threw her arms around my shoulders. I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to me.
I never wanted to let her go, and luckily, I didn’t have to.
“We’re going to see a shooting star tonight?
” she whispered. Lily bit down on her bottom lip, but even that couldn’t hide her smile.
One of my favorite things in life—if not my very favorite—was making Lily happy, whether that was reassuring her that she didn’t have to do things alone, starting a bubble bath for her after a long day, or anything else that would lessen the stress in her shoulders and bring a smile to her face.
She was always thinking about others, and I vowed to be the man who prioritized her each and every day—and reminded her it was more than okay for her to put herself first.
“We’re going to see multiple shooting stars,” I said to her, finding it impossible to hold my own smile back. “A meteor shower is anticipated to start within the next hour or so, and we have a front-row view.”
“Wow,” Lily sighed. She looked back up at the sky, as if imagining what was to come. She then reached for my hand. “Well, we better get all cozy, right?” She wiggled her brows, and I let out a laugh.
“Right,” I agreed.
We climbed inside the warm tent, zipping up the entrance and taking off our coats, hats, and gloves.
“I’m kind of bummed that this is the last thing on the list to complete,” Lily admitted once we got comfortable.
She pulled out the pink piece of paper from her pocket—the list that started it all.
“I know the point was to finish this”—she twisted her lips to the side as she looked at the paper—“but checking these things off the list with you and making these memories was incredible. And now it’s over. ”
I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into my side and pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. “We might’ve finished one list…” I started. I had one more surprise for Lily.
I leaned over to the bag with the thermos and snacks and pulled out two pieces of stationary and various pens. Yes, I’d even picked up a pack of glitter pens. I wanted to make sure my girl got everything she wanted in this life.
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t start another.
One that we could make together and keep adding to this year, next year, ten years from now.
” My tone grew softer, my words holding more weight.
“Or seventy years from now.” I set the supplies in front of us and turned my attention back to Lily, only to see tears in her eyes again.
“Oh, Sunshine,” I murmured. “I hope those are happy tears.”
“Very, very happy tears. Oh, Gabe. I love you so much. There’s so much I want to do with you. I have a feeling we’ll need more pieces of paper for our list, because this is just the beginning.”
“I love you, too, Lily. So damn much.”
It truly was only the beginning. We had so much ahead of us—getting married, watching Lily expand her business, traveling, and starting a family one day. It was all waiting for us.
“Oh, Gabe, look!” Lily gasped, and our attention turned to the sky as a sudden, thin streak of white light moved across.
It lasted only a few seconds. Since the meteor shower wasn’t anticipated to start for another hour, this was likely a one off, but it meant the final thing on Lily’s wish list was checked off.
“That was so magical.” Lily’s voice was quiet, wistful. “Did you have enough time to make a wish?”
I tipped her chin up, looking down into her blue eyes. “Didn’t need to. I have everything I could ever want right here.”
Lily grinned and playfully rolled her eyes before pressing a kiss to my lips, murmuring, “I should’ve known you’d say something sweet like that. You always do.”
“What about you? Did you make a wish?” I asked.
“Uh, of course,” Lily said playfully. “I’ve been thinking about it the last few weeks.”
I raised my brow. “Oh, yeah? And what was it?”
“I can’t tell you! Otherwise the wish won’t happen.” She gently nudged my side. “And I really, really want this one to come true.”
I hummed in thought. “Well, luckily, we have forever to make it happen, don’t we?”
Lily rolled her lips, a blush forming on her cheeks as she nodded. “Yeah, we sure do. Forever sounds absolutely perfect with you.”
I had a feeling—and hoped—her wish had to do with us. About everything that was to come. I couldn’t wait to propose to Lily—soon, if I had my way.
When I first got to Golden Falls—and for most of my life, really—I felt like I was on the outside looking in. I didn’t think that would ever change. But now?
I finally felt part of something—part of a town, part of a family—and that meant everything to me. Lily meant everything to me.
With her by my side, life was less scary, way less lonely, a whole lot brighter, and so much more magical.