Chapter 48Olivia
Olivia
The bike engine halts above the patchy ground. Cade swivels against me as my feet drop from the foot pegs, his fingers unbuckling my helmet.
I swing a leg over, brushing through my tousled waves as I greet the guardrail under the indigo sky. The stars twinkle just as intensely as every other time we’ve made it to the overlook. I’d like to think it’s the strength of us , but I’m a daydream believer.
Small rocks crunch under my heel as the smell of fresh oak wraps around me. A gentle breeze slices through my long bangs, and I smile as I say, “I came here to write today. In the journal you gave me.”
“I’m glad you’re making use out of it,” he answers from behind.
I turn, walking toward him as he curls his palm around a chrome handlebar.
“I wrote an ending to my story. I’m not sure exactly how I want to write the beginning or the specific events that take place, but I do know how I want it to end.
” Then I offer a casual shrug, and his gaze radiates warmth.
“I figure if I know how I want to close the book, I’ll know how to fill in the gaps before. ”
A hint of a smirk graces his mouth. “What’s it about?”
My bottom lip folds between my teeth as I absently turn my attention from him.
“I think you might be familiar with the story,” I confess before rolling my eyes.
“It’s not our exact story, but it’s about two people who keep finding their way back to each other.
” My eyes land on him again. “No matter how well written, I figure no story could beat the reality of ours. So I plan to change up a lot of details.”
“Not a chance,” he breathes.
I grin, my head dipping to stare at the way my hands fiddle at my stomach. “I think you know you’ve found your person when you look forward to waking up to live.” My gaze elevates to his. “Instead of falling asleep to dream,” I say softly.
His throat bobs. “Is that how you feel with me?”
My head nods mildly. “Yeah,” I breathe. “I really do.”
His smile grows confidence as he peels his palm off his bike.
With his hands, he ghosts my upper arms as his striking blue eyes meet mine.
Then his knuckles graze my jawline on either side.
“Olivia, you’ve been a walking dream ever since I found you that night.
My heart just couldn’t let go of you.” He swallows thickly, plunging his attention briefly before dragging it up again.
“I don’t think it was by chance I happened to be at the right place that night.
I’m convinced my heart knew you were the one.
The one who would change everything for me and alter my stubborn perception.
Maybe my mind didn’t know just yet, but my soul fucking knew it had to keep you in this world.
” His hand plants on his chest. “Right next to me. Right here,” he whispers.
Warmth blooms in my belly, sprouting to my heart as I place my fingers on top of his hand.
My stare clings there when he says, “The end of one story is the beginning of a new one.”.
My throat cocks, and I lift my eyes to his.
“That was the message inside the gift box when Jenna gave me this ring. At first, I thought the quote was referring to my change in career, and I guess given the context of my situation, that’s what its original meaning was.
But now?” He nods his head in certainty.
“Now I know this ring was meant to help me let go of Jenna and bring me to an even greater destination. I still wear it because I was given these wings to fly where I was meant to. You .”
My vision hazes, the glimmer of the stars blending above his gorgeous face. Framing a halo around my guardian angel.
“After all this time, there’s one thing I never said to you,” I whisper.
Peeling his hand off his chest, I lightly press my lips to his coarse knuckles before cradling my cheek with them. Tears lodge in the crooks of my eyes, a downpour of relief cascading inside me when I hold the eyes of the man on the other side of my letter.
All those months ago, when I thought this moment would never come.
“Thank you.”
He struggles through a swallow, and a single tear plunges down my cheek.
“I’m sorry,” I breathe, wagging my head. “That’s the first thing I should’ve told you. I never want you to think I—”
My words evaporate when Cade’s arms scoop under my own just as mine snake around his neck. His palms are splayed on my back, our bodies molding together as I press the toes of my boots into the ground.
We hug each other so tight, it’s impossible for me to inhale my next breath. The only sound vibrating through the air is our sighs of gratitude.
Relief.
Both of us chanting the same words in our minds.
I finally found you.
“Don’t ever thank me, Olivia.” His lips rest at the side of my head, tickling my ear.
“Thanking me implies that this life is honorable enough if I did nothing. You might as well cut my heart out if that’s the case.
Because there isn’t a world I want to breathe in where the idea of protecting you is optional. ”
My eyes swell, chin resting on Cade’s leather-clad shoulder. His woody scent invades me, and I just nod.
We pull away, his palm traveling to nestle my cheek. “I ask myself all the time, what would have happened if it was a cut somewhere else? Somewhere more fatal?” he breathes.
I shake my head, eyes falling at the hideous thought. But he props his fingers under my chin.
“The truth is, I would have taken any wound for you. Even if it meant something much worse for me.”
My head wiggles profusely. “No. I won’t let you leave me.” I curl my fingers into the black shirt under his coat, digging them into the fabric until I pull his forehead to mine. “You’re not going anywhere,” I whisper. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”
“You drive a tough bargain,” he murmurs.
I smile, yanking on his shirt. “Come on.”
I don’t wait for Cade to respond, leading us to the guardrail of the overlook. Snuggling his arms in front of me, his hard chest glues to my back as we close the distance to the edge.
“I didn’t fall in love with you before meeting you. I leapt into it.” His chin plants on my shoulder, the stars radiating across the canopy above us, and my hands curl around his forearms. “It was mad, and it was crazy. All-consuming. I’ve never experienced such a high like that before.”
I swallow, only to ingest another breath.
“But the higher the jump, the longer the fall. I’ve been falling every day since I realized you were the one .” My head shakes, eyes roaming over the dusted night sky. “You didn’t miss that part of my love, Cade. You’ve been witnessing it this whole time.”
I turn in Cade’s arms, my palms framing his stubbled face as I hold those crystal blues.
“My feelings for you aren’t fleeting. They’re everlasting.
You own every single part of me. You inspire me to be a better version of myself.
You challenge me. And you’re not afraid to hurt my feelings.
You’re honest and brave.” My thumb strokes his scruffy jawline.
“My love for you may have been lifted by your wings, but your heart carries it.”
My teeth ghost my bottom lip, and his eyes scoot back and forth between mine. I dip my head, fingers sinking into the pocket of my shacket to retrieve the anklet.
I cradle it in my palm, holding it between our snug bodies as I hear the barest exhale from Cade’s lips. “You aren’t wearing it.”
My eyes fasten on the silver piece of jewelry, thumb massaging the ridges of the cool metal that have provided me so much comfort for so long. “No,” I whisper with a shake of my head. Then I’m lifting my gaze to land on his. “I don’t need your wings.”
My body angles in his embrace. I stare out at the sparkling indigo sky as I fiddle with the stainless steel between my fingers, taking a few extra seconds before parting ways with my cherished possession.
But as much as I’ve found peace in this tiny trinket, there’s nothing in this whole world that compares to the real thing.
Cade.
I raise the metal to my lips, kissing the tarnished surface in gratitude. An ode to the divine future it granted me.
Until I’m tossing it over the guardrail.
My head turns back to Cade’s face, my mouth stretching a small smile of victory. “I just need you.”
His eyes hold me for a few moments. His blue-gray depths are composed of shining awe as they bounce around my face, only for him to hoist me up by the backs of my thighs.
A playful yelp escapes me, my hands and legs coiling around his steel body before our mouths seize each other’s. Hungry and waiting, we fuse together in passion as we fall into a familiar pastime.
Our lips tear away breathlessly, foreheads melting into one another as he whispers, “I’m so fucking gone for you, Olivia Sawyer. So in love with you, it doesn’t even seem like it’s enough to tell you that. But it’s the truth.”
I grin, biting my lip as I stroke his rugged jawline.
“You gave me the extraordinary when all I knew was the ordinary,” he says.
Stripped of my crutch and ready to leap with the man of my wildest dreams, I answer him. “I love you, Cade Owens,” I breathe. “More than you’ll ever know.”
His chin tilts up as he scoots me higher around his waist. The rough pads of his fingers lace through my hair, his throat rolling when he says, “You called for me.”
I exhale on a smile, my thoughts retreating to that silly little note I pinned on that café message board. After some asshole refused to accept my apology. “You answered.”
Our eyes close as we press our foreheads together again, reveling in each other’s embrace before catching each other’s lips.
A kiss that seals our destiny.
We did it.
Two people who met each other for the first time twice . Two people who held each other’s fate in the palms of their hands. Two people whose hearts spoke before their minds did. Two people whose paths tangled and untangled until the roads found the right map to become one.
Two people who saved each other.
In every way.
Two people who were just meant to be .