Extended Epilogue
As I rolled over in my bed, I could feel his warmth radiating from his body. A slow smile crept onto my lips and I studied his face as I listened to his slow, deep breaths. He had a little bit of scruff growing along his sharp jawline and I kind of liked it. His dark hair hung just above his eyebrows and my eyes followed down his straight nose.
He was my Oliver. The same Oliver I had always loved, just a little older now.
There was no sound of my ventilator or machines in the background. About six months ago, Dr. Wyn granted me clearance and I no longer needed to use it when I was asleep. We were in the process of removing my trach altogether. By some miracle that modern day medicine couldn’t explain, my body appeared to be healing itself.
“I can feel you watching me, Luna,” Oliver murmured without opening his eyes. A smile pulled on the corners of his lips. “A penny for your thoughts?”
I laughed softly and his arm tightened around me. “We both know you don’t have enough pennies for my thoughts.”
“You’re right. But at least you finally let me into that pretty little head of yours.”
This was our second summer together and our final days were approaching quickly. I wasn’t ready for Ollie to head back to school so soon, but I knew I couldn't be greedy. He gave me as much of his time as he could and I didn’t want to get in the way of his future.
He made it clear I was already a big part of it, but I didn’t want to be his entire world. Oliver needed to have his own things that didn’t involve me. I needed to know that he would be okay without me one day, and I tried to convince myself of that regularly.
I attempted to roll the opposite way and Oliver tightened his arm around me even more. “Where do you think you’re running off to?” He slowly opened his eyes and I was lost in the green hues swimming in his irises.
I shrugged lightly. “I figured it was time to get up and start moving.”
Oliver shook his head at me as he held me flush against his side. “Not today, love. We’re staying right here until we absolutely have to get up.”
We had gotten halfway through my bucket list before Oliver insisted we stop. He reminded me of what he said one day about making new ones. They were meant to last for five years, not for one summer. It was almost as if it gave him this false sense of assurance that if we still had things to check off on my bucket list, nothing was going to happen to me.
“Whatever you say.” I smiled at him before I curled my body back into him. I rested my head on his chest and listened to the steady drum of his heart beating inside. He ran his fingers through my hair, softly stroking it before trailing down my back.
His fingertips were feather light against my skin as he absentmindedly drew patterns that didn’t exist. We had become inseparable this summer, and no one objected when he became a permanent fixture in our household. His parents didn’t argue when he refused to come home at night and my parents never uttered a word about him being in my bed.
We were respectful. We were still under their roof, so if anything was going on between us, we made sure we were quiet and everyone was asleep. Given the fact we were two college kids in love—it was a little ignorant to think we wouldn’t be regularly having sex.
“I can’t believe the summer is almost over,” I murmured against his skin. I paused for a moment, inhaling his scent and savoring it. “It feels like it just started.”
“It really does, doesn’t it?”
I moved my hand across his chest and over his collarbone before holding onto his shoulder. Lifting myself slightly, I buried my face in his neck. “I’m not ready for you to leave.”
He fell silent for a second but his fingers didn’t stop moving. “What if I didn’t have to?”
“What are you talking about?” I breathed against his skin.
“I’m not going back.”
I lifted my head abruptly and my eyes bounced back and forth between his. “Yes, you are. You have to go back.”
Oliver shook his head. “There’s nothing there for me, Luna.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Are you insane? Everything is there for you. Your education, football…”
“I can get an education anywhere.” He paused for a moment, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “Football really isn’t that important to me, Luna. I’ve realized a lot this past year about what is actually important. I can play football anywhere I go.”
“What about your scholarship?”
He shook his head again. “That doesn’t matter either. I forfeited my scholarship at the end of last school year. Everything was already processed for my transfer and I’m enrolled to attend Wyncote University in the fall.”
I was a little shocked I was just now finding this out. Oliver had been keeping this from me for a few months now and I wasn’t sure if it was actually longer than that. How long had this been his plan? A part of me was happy he was going to be going to school only a half hour away, yet another part of me was pretty pissed.
“When were you going to tell me?” I questioned him, trying to conceal the disapproval in my tone. I couldn’t help but feel like he was forfeiting his future for me.
Oliver let out a deep sigh. “I wanted to tell you as soon as I made the decision but I knew you would try to talk me out of it.” He paused again and slid his opposite hand up to cup the side of my face. “You’re a force to be reckoned with, Luna Truly. I don’t like being in the dog house with you. I promise, I meant to tell you sooner… I just couldn’t find the right time.”
I stared at him for a moment, the warmth from his hand seeping into my soul. “Promise me you didn’t do this because of me.”
“Everything I do is because of you,” he said matter-of-factly.
I narrowed my eyes on him. “Oliver…”
“It’s the truth and it’s not a bad thing. I didn’t make the decision because of you in the way that you’re thinking.” He rubbed his thumbs over my eyebrows, attempting to smooth them out. “I made the decision because I don’t want to be away from you. Last year was a test of my strength and it nearly killed me being away from you like that. I don’t want to miss a single moment with you.”
Falling silent, I mulled over his words. Oliver always had me in mind when it came to the things he decided to do. I never wanted him to make a choice based on how fleeting time was. I never wanted the fact that I was living on borrowed time to be the reason behind him doing or not doing something. I only wanted Oliver to make decisions based on what was best for him.
“Will you be staying with your parents?”
He let out a sigh of relief. “So, you’re not mad at me?”
“No.” I smiled at him and settled my head back against his chest. “I just wish you would have told me sooner or let me know you were thinking about it. You can make your own decisions and choices.”
“Thank you, Luna,” he murmured against my hair before pressing his lips to the top of my head. “And I’ll officially be staying with my parents, but I was hoping I could unofficially live here. You know, like I have been all summer.”
A soft laugh escaped me. “I don’t see anything wrong with that. Although, I think that’s something you might need to talk to my parents about.”
Oliver was silent for a moment and he held me tightly. “I just don’t want to be away from you if I don’t have to.”
“And you don’t.”
Oliver lifted my head from his chest and he cupped the sides of my face in both of his hands. He gazed straight through my eyes and directly into my soul. It was where he had made his home. I gave him my heart a long time ago and it was something that I never wanted back.
“I was going to wait. I wanted it to be the perfect moment, but fuck it,” he said as a smile pulled on the corners of his lips. “Marry me, Luna.”
The air left my lungs in a rush and my eyes widened as I searched his eyes. “What?”
“I’ve loved you since the day I met you. You are all I ever wanted in life and all I will ever want. You’re already my everything and I want you to be my wife.”
Tears filled my eyes and I slowly shook my head at him. “I can’t.”
He narrowed his eyes on me. “Don’t you dare fucking tell me no, Luna Truly. Don’t you dare turn me down because you’re scared.”
“I can never give you a family. I could never be the wife you deserve.”
“Fuck that,” he growled as he slid his hands down to my waist and rolled onto his back as he pulled me on top of him. “Stop doubting yourself. I don’t want a wife if it isn't you. And you’re the only family I need. If we want kids someday, we can always adopt, but that doesn’t even matter to me. You are all that matters.”
“What happens if you change your mind?”
He stared at me with soft eyes. “You are the one thing I will never change my mind about.”
“I just don’t want you asking me this because you’re in your emotions,” I explained to him, still attempting to back track from his question. Only an idiot would say no to him and I was most definitely an idiot.
“If you think it’s just because of my emotions, go check the front pocket of my backpack and see what you find in there.”
My stomach did a somersault. “You didn't…”
He smiled at me. “I bought it months ago. I wanted it to be the perfect moment—which, clearly, my planning sucks.” He paused again. “I’m going to give you one more chance to give me the right answer.”
Tears filled my eyes and I nodded as I smiled down at him. “Ask me again.”
“Will you marry me, Luna Truly?”
I stared at him as tears fell down my cheeks. Oliver Hart was the absolute love of my life. I would never experience another love like him and I never wanted to. He was all I wanted and nothing would ever change that.
Not fate.
Not life.
Not even death.
“Yes.”
The Story Behind the Story
from the Author
A few years ago, on a hot summer day, one of my closest friends and I sat and watched our two children playing together. We sat and dreamed about a future for my goddaughter, who walked and talked like a typical child, yet required medical care around the clock. She was tethered to a ventilator that assisted her breathing, yet my son never once looked at her as if she were any different from him.
We sat and pondered about what a future would look like with two little best friends growing up together and one day falling in love, despite their differences.
And that was when the story of Luna and Oliver was born.
The seed was planted in my brain and over the years, it blossomed into this unforgettable journey. And over the years, my goddaughter managed to shock all of us, soaring past the bleak odds she was given. By an absolute miracle, her body has began to heal itself. Long gone are the days of toting around a ventilator and all her medical equipment. I’m typing this with tears still in my eyes from the video her mother sent me two weeks ago of her telling me they’re hoping to to remove her tracheostomy tube in the near future.
Like Luna Truly… you are fearless and limitless, little Lou.
It has been an absolute honor to have you in my life.
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Keep reading for a look inside Love Me Wild , the first standalone in a brand new small town romance series, coming Fall 2024.
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