You should know something. I never doubted you, not for a heartbeat. Not the way you've sometimes doubted me, though I don't blame you. I have had relationships before, but it has never been a betrayal like you suffered when we parted. From that moment on that train, I knew you weren't a passing chance, or a whim, or a diversion. You were the moment my life turned. And now you are the force that makes my world go round.
You've made me start to believe in possibilities again, not dreams spun out of air, but ones rooted in something real. I want flesh-and-blood life. I want the woman who laughs with her whole face, who fights for her son, who walks into a hospice and makes strangers feel less alone.
I want you.
I understand that life can sometimes get overwhelming, and I know you may feel uncertain or doubt yourself. But through it all, I'm here, wholeheartedly, to stand by you. I want to be someone you can lean on, someone who loves you exactly as you are, even when things feel difficult. I want to be a safe place where you never have to question if you're enough, because, to me, you always are.
Expect a surprise soon. Something that says I'm not just words on paper.
Always only yours,
Euan
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Within a month and a half, the paperwork was done. Sage had managed a kind of temporary truce with Ronin. David, meanwhile, was unusually eager about the move. The reason surfaced soon enough—there was a girl on the football team, Kira, who also lived in the new neighbourhood. She kicked his arse at football, and he was in love. Her name kept floating up in conversations with the lads, and every time it did, David went scarlet, his ears on fire. Sage, biting back her smile, would shoot him a sly expression.
It was finally moving day after weeks of estate agents and lawyers, and she was taping up yet another cardboard box when a knock rattled the door. She wiped her hands on her jeans, her hair in a messy bun, and pulled it open.
Euan stood at her doorstep.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to go silent. Her eyes widened as her heart beat like there were a thousand butterflies trapped in her chest. His gaze was fixed on her, blue and intense, as though he'd walked all the way from Scotland on nothing but sheer will.
"Sage," he whispered.
She was barely able to speak, the name she returned sounding more like a penny dropped in a wishing well. "Euan."
Her eyes blurred with sudden tears, and before she could blink them away, he had closed the distance. His arms swept her up against his solid chest, her feet leaving the ground as if she weighed nothing. She buried her face in him, in the smell of him she had forgotten in those months apart and now remembered.
Then his mouth was crushing against hers, all hunger and relief, a thousand unsent words pressed into one. She matched him, clutching his shoulders, tasting salt and desperation. Then, slowly, the urgency softened. His lips gentled, turning coaxing and lingering. His hand cupped her jaw gently but firmly, as if he wanted her to feel how much he meant it.
By the time they drew apart, she could feel the rapid beat of his heart against hers and the unmistakable way his body betrayed just how glad he was to see her. He was handsome as ever with his full beard and moustache, wearing a sweater which stretched over his massive chest and faded jeans.
He pressed his forehead to hers, still catching his breath. "Is David here?"
Sage nodded, her pulse still racing.
"Are you...alright to introduce me?" he asked carefully. "Or should I come back later? I just moved things quickly because I wanted to help you today."
She shook her head, smiling through damp lashes. "No. Come in. Just...give me a minute to tell David you're here."
She climbed the stairs, her knees trembling. In his room, David was bent over a cardboard box, stacking his books with exaggerated care. When he straightened, Sage caught the faint shadow in his eyes as he glanced out the window, but quickly masked when he saw her.
"David," she said gently, hesitantly. "Euan's here. He wants to meet you. Did you know he was coming?"
One day, a couple of weeks ago, she had sat David down and talked about how she had met Euan. With her face betraying her nervousness, she asked him how he felt about it. David had been thoughtful and had asked for time to think about it. One week later, he had asked to meet him, and they met over a video call. She had never known Euan to be nervous, but there was a first time for everything. She needn't have worried because an hour later, they were on the Xbox playingFortnite.
David was quiet for a long moment, chewing the inside of his cheek. Then he nodded. "Yeah. But he wanted it to be a surprise."
They walked down together, Sage's hand brushing his shoulder as if to protect him.
Euan straightened when they appeared. He was a towering presence in the hallway, but his expression softened as he looked at David. He extended a hand. "You are taller than I thought, lad. Let's do this right. My name's Euan. And I...like your mum."
David blinked, his mouth twitching. "This is a weird conversation," he muttered, suddenly shy.
Euan chuckled, his big hand still held out, waiting. "Aye, lad, it is. But we'll figure it out."
