“Oh, sunshine,” he rasps against my neck as he spins me around and holds me close. “You came back.”
“I missed you,” I cry, holding him as tight as I can. “I’m sorry I ran.”
“It’s OK, baby. You’re here now. You’re home. That’s all that matters.” He pulls back from me and our eyes meet, both drenched in tears.
“Home. With you.” I cup his face in my hands and pull him in for a long, deep kiss that quickly increases in intensity and heats me up all over. Everything feels right in the world again, now that I’m back in his arms.
When we break apart, he brushes the tears from my cheeks and I let out a laugh, feeling happy and silly and turned on and a bunch of swirling emotions. “God, I missed seeing this face,” he whispers, setting me back on my feet so he can look at me properly. “And I’m sorry I didn’t explain those clippings before you found them. It’s just…that was the worst day of my life—”
“I get it,” I say quickly, placing my hand on his bearded cheek. “My brother, Wes—the cop—he pulled your file for me and I found out all about it. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
Swallowing hard, he nods. “I’d give anything to change that day. But the only thing I can do is live with what I’ve done as best I can.”
“I understand, and I’m sorry if I made your life harder.”
“You didn’t, sunshine. You’ve only ever made my days brighter. I love you, and I always will. You own my heart.”
“And you own me. Body, mind, and soul. I love you, Dylan. I’ll never leave you again.”
“Never, huh? Well, in that case, I’m gonna have to do something drastic to make sure I keep you.”
Pulling back slightly, I look up into his mirthful eyes as he slides his hands around my waist. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Well, I’ve built you a house.” His eyes travel in a full circle around the room. “So that shouldhelpto keep you here. But if I really want to make sure you feel like you fully belong, it might help if you had a new surname. Somethin’ like…Valentine, perhaps?”
A massive grin tugs at my mouth. “You’re right about the house,” I say, a note of teasing in my voice. “It’s a great start—which Ilove,by the way—and as for the surname change, I think I’m going to need a little something else to go along with that.”
Chuckling roughly, he releases his grip on me and shocks me when he drops to his knees. “Will a proposal help?” I open my mouth, but before I can even respond, he continues, “No. That won’t do. But a proposal with a ring…”
I gasp as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small yellow box. Opening it, it contains a beautiful gold sunflower ring with a diamond in the center of the petals.
“What on earth? You’ve been carrying this in your pocket the whole time?”
He bounces a shoulder. “I ordered it not long after you got here on a crazy whim one night, and once it got here, I kept it in my pocket, knowin’—well,hopin’—you’d come back to me and I’d get the chance to use it.”
“It’s beautiful.”
He grins. “But that doesn’t answer the question.”
“You haven’t asked one yet,” I say, biting the inside of my lip.
The smile from his lips drops as his expression morphs into one of absolute seriousness. “Millie, my sunshine, and the one true light in my life—will you marry me?”
“Yes!” I practically yell, wrapping my arms around his neck and squealing with excitement when he lifts me back up and spins me around again.
He kisses me long and hard, and when we come up for air, he slides the ring on my finger. “I’m gonna make you so damn happy, sunshine,” he whispers, seconds before a cheer erupts from outside the window, alerting us to his family’s presence.
“The soulwink wins again!” Jade whoops.
“All right, you lot,” Dylan says with a chuckle. “Thanks for your help, but I’ve got this from here.” It’s then that he reaches out and shuts the window, pulling down the shades and completely blocking their view before he returns his attention to me.
“First day of the rest of our life?” I ask, grinning wildly as I look up at him.
“Yeah, baby. This is the start of our bright and sunshiny forever.”
Epilogue 1
MILLIE
