Epilogue
Hazel, Three Months Later
Low, warm lights lit the restaurant in a dim, romantic glow, and a short vase with sunflowers sat between the two of us. Milton smiled at me from across the table like he knew a secret I didn’t.
I’d never seen him in a suit before, but the all-black tailored set fit him in the most delectable way. I was practically salivating. I hadn’t been able to stop admiring him all night.
And he freaking knew he looked good, eyeing me suggestively in a public setting every chance he got while I melted in my chair. I was honestly surprised we’d even made it to the restaurant after he casually came out of the closet, wearing that.
“Teasing me on my birthday like this should be a crime,” I told him, pouting.
He pulled his mouth up into his sexy, lopsided grin, using his lengthy, tattooed fingers to fix his collar.
I held my breath as I watched him, pressing my knees together beneath the table. I was obsessed with this man. Completely and utterly obsessed.
His shoulders shook with laughter, and I narrowed my eyes.
Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing to me, and he was eating it up.
“You don’t think you’re teasing me in that dress, Sunshine?” he raised a brow, working his jaw muscles.
His blue eyes burned into me as they dragged down the front of my green dress, clinging to my curves.
I squirmed in my seat.
His gaze landed on my mouth as he dragged his thumb over his bottom lip. “Or that lipstick shade,” he added.
My brow ticked with confidence. “You like it?”
“Love it,” he replied.
“Good. Tell me what part of your body you want it on later.”
His expression flickered with shock and intrigue as his hand dipped below the table to adjust himself. Once he steeled himself again, he answered, “Everywhere.”
Biting down on my lip and pushing my hair over to one shoulder, I reveled in my success.
There was something so empowering about the way I could make Milton look at me, the way I could make him feel.
What I loved even more was that I could do it wearing his favorite green dress or sweatpants and an oversize T-shirt.
Whether it was a good day or a bad day. He wanted and loved me all the same.
Milton straightened himself as he looked behind me, flicking his attention back and forth with the biggest smile.
A waitress appeared next to me with a cheesecake loaded with tall candles. There were so many; it brightened our entire corner of the restaurant.
“This is a fire hazard,” I exclaimed, giggling with joy.
“Make a wish, Sunshine!”
I looked through the tiny yellow flames at Milton, closed my eyes to lock in my wish, and blew them all out.
We took the long way home, driving along the coast and breathing in the salt air, as I held my arms out at my sides, pretending I was flying. At least, I thought we were taking the long way back.
I wrapped my arms back around Milton’s middle as the city lights came closer, peering over his shoulder. He turned down one familiar road and then another, following my usual route I’d take to the tattoo shop.
Confused, I pulsed my arms around him to get his attention, but he kept driving. I did it again, and he ignored me.
Growing annoyed, I lightly swatted the side of his helmet and then felt his abdomen shake with laughter.
He just patted a hand over the one I had resting on his waist, silently telling me to be patient.
I stubbornly listened, resting my chin on his shoulder until he pulled into a spot outside of Creature Tattoo.
“I knew it.” I laughed, swinging my leg over the back of the bike and smoothing out my dress. “What are we doing here?”
He helped undo the strap of my helmet, carefully lifting it off before removing his own. His grin was mischievous and addictive.
I twisted my mouth. “Milton? What’s going on?”
“Come on.” He chuckled, nodding at the shop and pulling a key out of his pocket. “Brian said it was okay.”
Begrudgingly, I followed him inside and back to my workstation. He took both my hands in his and sat himself on the bench.
I looked back at him cautiously.
His thumbs worked in circles on the backs of my hands, soothing me.
“Back at the restaurant, what did you wish for?” he asked, looking like he already knew the answer. Which was absurd.
He couldn’t read my mind. Could he?
I gawked at him. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s not how wishing works,” I replied.
“Says who?”
“Says … the wishing gods. I don’t know!”
“To hell with them.” He shrugged. “Make your own rules. Your wish will come true because you willed it to happen, not because you kept it a secret from the world.”
I exhaled, shaking my head at him with a smile. It was a convincing theory. Another rule I’d always followed because I thought it was just what you were supposed to do.
“What was your wish?” he asked again, his blue eyes soft and warm.
“I wished for you.”
He pushed his brows together. “Sunshine, you already have me.”
I nodded, swallowing. “But I wished to keep you.” My throat burned, and my eyes glossed over, tears spilling out of the corners. “Forever.”
He wrapped his hands around me and pulled me into him, kissing me deeply, then wiped the tears from my cheeks as he leaned away.
“I have a confession,” he told me. “I wished for you too.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You wished on my birthday candles?” I teased.
He shook his head. “No. But I wished for you on every single one of mine I’d ever had.”
I sucked in a small breath, my heart fracturing at his words. “What?”
“You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Hazel. Growing up … I just never knew a love like this existed. I didn’t know it was possible to ever feel the way I feel about you.” He smiled at me, looking sure of every word he said.
A happy sob broke free from my chest.
“You’ve been through a lot this year, and I know you are still healing, but I want to be your wish come true.
Your forever. Because you’re mine, Hazel.
Whenever you’re ready. I’m not sure what that looks like to you—if it’s a ring, kids, a countryside home overlooking some sunflowers, or all of the above.
I’ll give it all to you, whatever you want. ”
My heart fluttered at his words and the promise of our future.
“We have plenty of time to figure that out. Until then, I want to show you how committed I am to you. How much I belong to you, Sunshine.”
I looked at him, flitting my gaze back and forth.
“I want you to etch your name into my skin, wherever you want,” he said, unbuttoning the cuffs of his black shirt.
My lips parted at his proposal. “Wh-what?”
His hands worked down the middle, pulling his shirt off, and he placed it beside him.
He held out his arms, and I knew it was so I could get a better look, but I ran into them instead, crashing my lips to his.
My heart burst. To be loved by someone like Milton was the ultimate gift. I only wished I could have met him sooner so I could love him longer.
For too long, I’d been begging the wrong person to love me.
Devan had tried. In his own way, he’d tried.
But sometimes, being loved by the wrong person was cruelty in disguise.
Violent even. Two people fighting to make the pieces fit into place, forcing them with all their might, only for them to break and fall apart, leaving behind scars that no amount of time could heal.
Milton drew over my scars with patience and softness. He understood my storms and gave me sunshine, making those pieces of me fade away so that the rest of me could glow again. Grow again.
He was my sunflower field. My solid anchor in a storm of silent chaos, keeping me grounded and safe and sure.
He was my forever.