Chapter 28 Madelina #2
After what feels like eternity, the door chimes again, and Elliot is gone.
I press my hands against the boxes, but the weight of his return is too much. I hate that I still crave him, and that after all the time that has passed, every part of me is still in love with him.
Forgiveness isn’t as easy as people may think.
But I know, deep down, that forgiving Elliot is the only way I can move on.
With or without him.
At exactly the same time the next afternoon, the door chimes, prompting me to notice that someone has entered the bookstore.
Last night, I binged-watched Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. I needed any distraction from the fact that Elliot has returned to town.
Neither Eva nor Billie mentioned anything, and I suspect they knew, which is why they haven’t called or texted. For all I know, Elliot only returned to tell me he’s marrying Nicole or some French heiress.
Clearly, watching Logan Huntzberger marry someone else still hurts me to this day. Why couldn’t he and Rory get their shit together?
A familiar snort echoes from behind me. I swiftly turn around to see Elliot standing inside the store with Margaret Anne on a leash.
“You’re back, and it appears you’ve brought reinforcement,” I mention with a bored expression to mask my surprise.
“I finished reading the book you recommended,” Elliot states simply. “Willow gave Gabriel a second chance.”
“She did,” I agree, but something compels me to turn my back on him once more. I’m scared he’ll see just how vulnerable I am because no matter how hard I try, seeing him again is just too hard.
He is no longer mine.
Douglas steps out of the storeroom again, but this time, he appears on alert, like he’s locked in a standoff with Margaret Anne. I want so much to go over and rub behind her ears like many times before, but I don’t want Elliot to see my weakness, plus Douglas would get all jealous.
“Madelina,” Elliot whispers, his voice so close, I’m dead sure he’s right behind me. “Please turn around.”
“If I turn around,” I murmur with a timid voice, “you’ll see just how much you hurt me by leaving. Six whole months, Elliot. You hurt me.”
“I wanted to call you but…”
“You had every chance. I could have called you, too, but what was the point? You left, and that was that.”
“Please, Bugs. Turn around,” he pleads.
The fond nickname stirs an array of emotions. Slowly, I turn around, only to see Elliot on his knee with a dark green box in his hand.
My hand flies to my chest. “Wha… what the hell are you doing?”
“I traveled across the world to a life I thought would make me happy. A job that was my dream job, a city with a penthouse apartment overlooking the ocean. The entire world was handed to me, but none of it, and I mean none of it, made any sense without you. I love you, Madelina, and if I have to read every second-chance book in this store, I will do it, because my life doesn’t exist without you. ”
The walls inside my chest slowly cave in as I stare into the eyes of the man who stole my heart in this very town. I see the raw emotion on Elliot’s face. The way his mesmerizing blue eyes draw me in with their vulnerable stare.
I see a man, broken as much as I am, realizing that our dreams are nothing if we don’t have each other.
A single tear falls down my cheek. “Show me the stupid ring.”
Elliot opens the box with a relaxed smile. I stare in confusion, expecting a ring to be sparkling in all its glory—but inside sits a key.
“I’m not here to make any more mistakes, and the last thing I want is for you to feel pressured into marriage again.
I love you, and want to spend every night with you beside me.
For now, it’s a key to a small house I’m renting near the lake, but what I’m truly asking, Madelina, is for forever. This is just the beginning.”
My hand instinctively wipes the tears from my cheeks. “This is the most romantic non- proposal for marriage, and I read a lot of romance. But it’s not just me, you know. If I say yes to moving in, you’re committing to me and Douglas.”
Elliot stands and presses his forehead against mine. “I want all of you, but also, it’s not just me. You’d be committing to Margaret Anne, too.”
I pull back slightly, already feeling the loss of his touch. “Where’s Ronald?”
“He passed,” Elliot mentions faintly. “Thankfully, he went peacefully. It was his dying wish for me to adopt her. There was no chance I was going to say no. She’s family.”
And with our cards all laid out again, but our hearts firmly in sync this time, Elliot closes the gap between us and gently kisses my lips. An electric jolt startles me, but as the taste of him spreads over my entire body, I know my life can’t go on without him.
Without the four of us.
“So, I guess this means…” I trail off with this sudden wave of excitement flushing through me.
“Forever, here.”
“But you hate Cinnamon Springs,” I remind him.
“I don’t hate it,” he tells me with a reassuring smile. “Besides, if I hated it, why would I have bought the vacant land next to Aston and Eva so we can build our dream home? You know, Margaret Anne and Douglas will need space to run around. This little standoff of theirs is rather unsettling.”
I glance at both of them, laughter breaking free from my lips.
“It’s like Douglas thinks he can take on the queen. Honestly, it’s so sausage dog syndrome.”
“So…?” Elliot asks with hopeful eyes.
I wrap my arms around him. “Welcome home, baby.”
He picks me up and spins me around, our laughter filling the air.
“I love you, Madelina Beaumont.”
“Hey,” I interject, frowning. “One day it’ll be Mrs. Woods, unless you want to get complicated and do all that hyphenated BS.”
Elliot’s smile leaves me breathless. “Kiss me, Bugs.”
And just like that, we’ve found each other, after a long journey of learning to find ourselves.
Life, as I know it, is perfect.
All I needed was my best friend’s older brother.
My second-chance romance.
Elliot Woods.