Chapter 20
twenty
brIDGET
I clutch the small paper lantern in my hands, while groups of people huddle on the outskirt of the pond. Every Friday night in March at Ever After Farms, there’s a Lucky Lantern release, where everyone writes a wish on a lantern, and then lights it to release it on the lake.
But tonight is a special occasion, since it’s St. Patrick’s Day. Two in one week.
Cue the confetti and magic.
I look out over the water, contemplating how wild it is that in this general area roughly six months ago, I met Weston for the first time.
It wasn’t exactly a great meet cute either. He was charming and I was extremely uptight. If it wouldn’t undo this week—I’d wish for a redo on that front.
But the woman who has gone through everything since wouldn’t appreciate Weston like I do now. So it would be wasted. I want to be grateful for everything that led us to this moment: baggage, scars, and all.
That doesn’t solve my predicament though. What could I possibly wish for that I don’t already have?
Money is typically the first thing people wish for. The thing is, I had money and it didn’t solve any problems or buy happiness. I was pretty miserable.
I don’t want to wish for a fulfilling career because I’m really not even sure I want one. I’ve been told for so long who I am and what I should do that I never had a chance to explore that side of my life, so I think I’d like to figure it out myself.
Maybe it was my upbringing, but I’ve always thought productivity directly correlated to success. The more I did, the more worth I had. When really, all it did, was turn me into a shell of myself. A person carefully crafted to please and shine for other people.
I want joy. Outside of Weston and Bailey and Willow—I’m not sure what that looks like.
I want to love who I am.
I want to see what happens when you fully throw yourself into feelings about a person, who is also doing the same. No rules, no expectations, no plans.
When I came here to stay at Wanderlust Refuge, I was broken. In just a week, Weston has coaxed the woman inside of me out of hiding. Maybe not all the way—but she’s tipping her face toward the sun and experiencing hope.
If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. It’s everything I imagined it should be, with the last person I ever expected to feel that way about.
Love is a choice, not a wish. It’s something we’ll have to work for and even though I think it’s wild to feel this way about someone after a week, I’m embracing it.
“Having trouble deciding what to write?”
I gaze up at Weston, his signature lazy grin painting his handsome face.
“I guess.” I shrug. “There’s not anything I want. I think—for the first time—I’m happy not really knowing what comes next.”
He leans down to whisper in my ear, “What about world peace?”
Joy blooms in my chest: wild and unencumbered. “I’m not sure any magic is strong enough to grant that wish.”
“Want to see mine?” His lips brush my cheek, sending warmth through my whole body.
“Sure.”
He passes his lantern to me, and he’s scrawled my name across the green rice paper. I turn it in my hands, expecting to see more. But it’s simply my name. He touches my elbow softly, so I glance up at him.
“Confused?”
“A little.” I nod.
“Well, you may be happy not knowing what comes next, Spitfire. But I want plans.”
I freeze. “You do?”
“Mmm hmmm. Loads of them.” He steps into me, the lantern releasing a crinkling sound between us.
“You’re going to damage it,” I whisper as he chuckles. The rumble in his chest sends goosebumps down my arms.
“I don’t care.” He tugs it out of my hands and drops it into the grass. “I can’t see a future without you in it.”
Oh. This is moving so fast… but maybe that’s part of our story. Everyone’s love story follows a different path and while ours started messy, maybe it was always supposed to be a little chaotic.
“Alright Mr. First Down, Last Nerve. When did you become a fortune teller?”
“That mouth drives me crazy, Bridget.” He shakes his head. “Will you listen to what I’m telling you?”
“I’m trying.” I murmur. My nerves are fluttering around like trapped butterflies and it’s hard to stand here in the quiet.
Despite being previously engaged, Andrew wasn’t a man of big words or grand gestures so this is new for me. My feelings are all tangled up like a Celtic knot. Weston shoots from the hip, and has since the day I met him. He’s a shameless flirt, but I’m starting to think that maybe he was only that way with me.
And that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.
“Mrs. O’Bradycallahan?—”
My head falls back in a laugh that probably sounds like I’ve lost my mind, but it’s so freeing. Let the people stare. I’m so stupidly happy I can’t stand it.
Look what happens when you color outside the lines!
When I finally collect myself, I school my face as seriously as I can manage so he realizes I’m taking him seriously. But the truth is, I could burst.
“Yes?”
He sighs. “You’ve made me watch that movie twice this week.”
“The first time was the house?—”
“Because you wanted to watch it,” he says, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. Every place his skin touches sends flutters through my whole body.
“Details. The second time was already scheduled with the town for movie night. We didn’t have to go,” I say, but I don’t pull away when his fingers linger near my cheek.
“When are you going to figure out that I’d go anywhere just to be with you? You make me happy. I’m sure we’ll drive each other a little nuts, and there will probably be a thing or two we don’t like about each other—but it’s nothing we can’t work through. If we can survive a week in an enchanted house, I think we can handle a few bumps and bruises along the way.” He grins. “Marry me.”
He shows me a ring—a simple silver Claddagh. I love that I don’t have to tell him I’d hate a diamond. Maybe I won’t always feel that way, but at the moment it’s perfect.
This goes against every plan I ever made as a little girl, then as a woman who planned wedding for a living. There’s an expected timeline for things like this, and a week doesn’t fall into any of them.
But I don’t care.
I want adventure, and I want it with Weston. And our dogs.
My breath catches as a couple of the lanterns float in the sky like glowing wishes, even though they should be floating ones.
“I feel like Rapunzel,” I whisper.
“Then we should change Louie’s name to Pascal.” His arms pull me closer, protectively wrapping around me.
“Flynn’s horse was named Maximus. I think we can leave it.”
He pulls me in for a kiss, his lips lightly brushing over mine.
“You have your animal sidekick now. Want me to change your nickname to Princess?”
I wrinkle my nose. “No. I like Spitfire.”
“Do you still hate Goldilocks?”
It’s a minute before I answer because I have to think about it. I’m not sure I ever hated it. I was more irritated with our initial meeting because everything was wrong. We spent too much time flip-flopping between too hot or too cold.
“I think I can deal with it.” I sigh. “And the answer is yes, I’ll marry you.”
We don’t have to hurry to figure anything out because for now, everything is just right.