Chapter 43
Elijah
I’m the luckiest man alive. No argument about it.
If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be falling—no, completely gone—for my son's sister, I would've laughed in their face and called them an idiot for even thinking it.
Yet here I am.
Standing on a quiet beach while snow drifts lazily from the sky, watching the girl who somehow turned my entire life upside down.
Willow crouches near the shoreline, brushing sand from a shell she's just picked up like it's a rare treasure she's just picked up. The wind lifts strands of her copper hair as the last of the sun sinks towards the horizon, turning the sea into a shimmering gold.
The whole scene looks like something out of a postcard. The ocean, the snow, the sunset.
None of it holds a candle to her.
Leon's letter is still rattling around in my head.
I've been turning it over and over like a puzzle I can't quite solve. Parts of it made me laugh because, honestly, I wouldn't put it past him to haunt my ass. Probably already is for fucking his daughter.
What doesn't sit right with me is that he mentioned that he tried calling and messaging me.
I didn't receive anything of the sort.
I could ask Willow about it, but today was already hard for her. Watching her break down and blame herself at the graveyard nearly broke something in me. The way she crumbled as the guilt poured out of her—it's going to stay with me for a long time.
So I keep it to myself.
Before we left, and Willow waited in the car for me, I stood there beside Leon's grave for a minute.
Just the two of us.
I told him that I will look after his daughter for the rest of my life. That I’ll be there for her through whatever the world throws her way.
And if he wants to haunt my ass, he's welcome to.
I just hope he doesn’t mind the view.
After that, we went out for dinner and spent hours at the arcade.
She absolutely annihilated me.
Seriously, the woman destroyed me at nearly every game we played. No mercy, no sympathy, just pure competitive joy written all over her face.
I didn't mind losing, though. Not even a little.
Every time she won, she laughed heartily, complete with a cute little snort at the end. Her face lit up, making her eyes shine bright, and the sadness disappeared.
And that?
That is worth losing a thousand stupid games.
“Tell me something you like about me.”
Willow's voice pulls me straight out of my thoughts.
She doesn't even look at me. Instead, she flicks the shell in her hand out toward the sea, watching as it skips across the surface a few times before disappearing beneath the water.
I don't think she realises that while she's been gushing about the view for the last few minutes, I haven't really been looking at all.
The ocean stretches endlessly in front of us. Most people would be soaking it in, but I’m not.
All I see is her.
The soft curve of her cheek as she watches the sun dip down. The faint scatter of freckles across her skin. The way the evening light wraps around her hair, turning it into something warm and bright against the winter air.
“Like?” I repeat quietly.
The word feels wrong. It doesn't even come close to touching what I feel for her.
A shaky breath slips out of me. “Like is a very weak word for what I feel for you.”
She turns toward me, her brows drawing together in confusion as she studies my face.
“What?”
The surprise in her voice is real, and for the life of me, I can't understand it.
My heart is pounding hard enough that I’m sure she must be able to hear it, each beat knocking against my ribs like it's trying to escape. There's no panic or sudden urge to pull the words back or pretend I didn't mean them.
There's only certainty.
This feeling has been growing inside me for longer than I realised. It was quiet at first, and it only grew with every laugh, every kiss, every argument, and every moment she looked at me like I was someone worth choosing.
Now it's everywhere.
In my bones.
In my blood.
In my heart.
In the way, my entire world seems to tilt toward her without even trying.
Like gravity itself decided she's where I belong.
A soft smile finds its way onto my face as I reach up and brush a loose strand of her hair away from her cheek, tucking it gently behind her ear before the wind steals it again.
For a moment, I just look at her.
Really look.
This woman has completely ruined me for anyone else.
The words finally leave me quietly, but with more truth than anything I've ever said.
“I love you, Willow.”
Fuck I do love her.
I think I have been for a while now.
Her lips part slightly, like she's about to argue with me and for a second, I brace for it.
I expect her to laugh it off or tell me I’m being ridiculous. That there's no way I could feel something this big for her.
She doesn’t pull away; instead, she leans closer to me. My hand remains against her cheek, and she tilts her face slightly, pressing deeper into my palm. Her hand slowly rises, gliding up my chest until it rests right over the organ that only beats for her now.
“I love you too.”
A grin breaks across my face before I can even try to hide it.
It's probably the cheesiest damn smile I've ever worn in my life, but I don't care.
Not when those three words are still echoing in my mind. I pull her into my arms without a second thought and lift her off the ground. The rush of happiness that floods through me is almost overwhelming. My mouth finds hers as I spin us in a loose circle, making the world tilt and blur around us.
She laughs against my lips—soft, bright, completely unrestrained—and the sound sends something warm fluttering straight through my chest.
I love that laugh.
I kiss her again and again, unable to stop myself.
Her fingers slide up to the back of my neck, threading into my hair as she holds onto me while I turn us in the sand as the snow swirls around us.
“You really love me?” she asks breathlessly.
I lower her back onto the sand, but I don't let her go. My arms stay around her, keeping her tucked against me where she belongs. Her head tilts up so she can look at me, her green eyes searching my face as if she's still trying to convince herself this isn't some dream.
So beautiful. I can't even describe her beauty.
“Willow.”
My cold hands move up and down her back, a steady, soothing motion that makes her shiver beneath my touch.
“You walked into my life in a way I never imagined,” I tell her. “Nothing about us was planned. Hell, I didn't even know it was possible. But my soul recognised yours before I even figured it out, and once that happened, there was no going back for me.”
Emotion washes over her face, and a single tear slips free, tracing its way down her cheek. It isn’t one of her sad tears that rips my insides apart.
“Through every good day and every bad one, there's nothing in this world we won't face together.”
Resting my forehead against hers, breathing in her scent and relishing this moment, I can't believe she's mine. "I love you now, and I will love you after."
“I love you so much it actually hurts,” she chokes out.
Her confession breaks free, as if it's been trapped inside her for so long.
I cup her face, holding onto her with care, letting her take whatever strength she needs to say what's been sitting on her heart.
“I didn't have any control over falling in love with you. I tried to fight it. I told myself so many times it was wrong, that I couldn't possibly even like you.”
A weak laugh escapes her. Half disbelief, half surrender.
“You helped me fall in love with life again. You made it easier to breathe. To live.”
Her fingers curl against my chest.
“You're the breath of fresh air I didn't even realise I needed,” she whispers. “And for the first time in so long… I don't feel like something inside me is missing.”
She pauses, her voice thick with feeling.
“I’m whole again because of you.”
Willow reaches up and brushes a tear from my cheek.
I never cry. Only with her, it seems.
The gesture catches me off guard. I dip my head with a quiet huff of disbelief, shaking it slightly before pressing a kiss into the centre of her palm. The warmth of her skin lingers against my lips.
I’m going to love this woman forever.
“I’m scared about how Rivers is going to react.”
I hush her before she worries too much. I understand it, hell, it's always crossing my mind, but this weekend isn't about the world outside of us.
It's about her.
“We’ll deal with that when we get home, baby,” I murmur. “Right now, I just want this weekend with you. Celebrating you,” I pause, a crooked grin taking over. “Preferably naked.”
“Is that all you think about?”
“Maybe,” I tease.
She knows I’m joking.
Well, I hope so. Although part of me isn't, because I think anyone would think about their girlfriend naked constantly.
Suddenly, she slides her hand down and cups me through my jeans.
I choke out a breath, my body tightening instantly.
Jesus fucking Christ.
This is the least suitable place to start something like this, considering the sand might end up in places it shouldn’t and how cold it is.
I’d rather not get frostbite down there.
There's no way I am driving back to the lodge again while she tortures me in the passenger seat.
“I need you.” She nips at my chin. “Sir.”
Yeah.
That's it. I’m done for.
I nod once, already claiming her mouth. The kiss hits hard, hungry and desperate. I grip the back of her neck as my tongue licks along her lips, asking for more. Taking more.
I’d planned to take it slow tonight.
Ease her into it.
Now that's going to be impossible because she's now completely and irrevocably mine.
She loves me.
I have the whole weekend to do everything I have planned for her birthday.
Tonight, though, I’m just a man completely gone for his woman, and the thought of all the things I’m going to do to her body spears through me. I feel like a teenage boy who's just seen his first set of tits.
I can’t fucking wait.