Page 127 of Not Until I Found You

“I’m moving to Covewood. I’ve already decided.” My smile grows as emotion rises into my throat, tears blurring my vision. “No matter what happens between us, that’s where I want to be.”

He stares at me like he can hardly process what I’m saying, until his mouth quirks up in a small grin. My pulse flutters, and my skin grows hot as Zane’s hand slips from mine so he can grab me around the waist and pull me fully across the porch swing into his lap.

A startled giggle escapes me as his arms wrap tightly around me.

“You’re really moving to Covewood?” he asks against my hair, sounding almost disbelieving.

I smile into his shoulder, my arms circling around his neck, relief coursing through me from being in his embrace again. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

His grip tightens as if he still can’t quite believe this is real.

“There’s no sense in you leaving your home, Zane,” I add softly as I pull back enough to lock my gaze with his. “I would never ask you to do that, but I appreciate that you were willing to. I’m ready to make Covewood my home.”

The smile that breaks across his face is so full of relief and love that it nearly undoes me.

“My home,” he says softly, brushing his forehead against mine, “will always be wherever you are.” His hand comes up to cup my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone. “I love you.”

Tears blur my vision as his words trickle over my skin like warm summer raindrops.

“I love you too,” I whisper, and my pulse stumbles over itself as his hand slides into my hair before his mouth covers mine hungrily.

The kiss crashes into me with all the desperation and certainty we’ve been dancing around. My fingers grip the front of his shirt, while the porch swing sways gently beneath us, chains creaking softly overhead. His hands move into my hair, tilting my head back, and the sound he makes low in his throat when I kiss him back harder sends heat rushing all the way down to my fingertips.

His grip tightens at my waist like he never wants to let me go again. Every fear between us dissolves right here. When we finally pull apart, we’re both breathless, foreheads resting together as the swing rocks beneath us. My gaze catalogs the sharp line of his jaw and the fullness of his lower lip. I’m overwhelmed with the thought that I get to love this man. That he chose to open his heart up to me and trusts me with it.

“We’re going to build a beautiful life together,” he says, his words a promise.

“I can’t wait to get started.”

We both smile softly, our breaths intertwining together. His thumb touches lightly at my chin, tipping my face to his. As I stare up at the man God led me to, I finally feel ready to step into the life that was waiting for me in Covewood all along.

Epilogue

Maxinne

One year later

Ismile every time the little bell above the front door rings. It chimes again as another person filters into the shop, and the sound blends with the low hum of conversation already filling the space. Sunlight streams through the front windows, spilling across the old hardwood floors. It reflects on the rows of amber glass tincture bottles that are lined neatly along the shelves that Zane built by hand. Hanging plants drape from ceiling hooks near the windows, vines curling lazily toward the light, while bundles of rosemary and chamomile dry from exposed wooden beams overhead.

“Well…that’s not good.”

“What’s not good?” I ask, spinning around so fast the eucalyptus hanging near the doorway smacks me in the forehead. “Ah!”

Wren’s head snaps up, her eyes widening as she watches me rub against my forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” I wave her off. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Wren stands frozen beside the refreshment table, holding up an empty glass drink dispenser. “We’re out of your elderberry lemonade.”

A laugh bursts out of me, halfway between panic and exhaustion. “How are we already out? We’ve not even been open for an hour.”

“Because,” Ryland says as he strolls toward us with Annabelle by his side, “the entire town showed up thirty minutes early.”

“Which has already been an amazing turnout,” Raine adds, her hand settling over the curve of her stomach as she steps beside Ryland. She’s glowing in that effortless way pregnant women somehow manage to do. “Ryland’s already tried to steal your thunder by sharing the news that we’re having a girl.”

Ryland adjusts the bow clipped to Annabelle’s curls. “What’s wrong with adding to the already special day?”

Luke snorts from across the shop while Olivia hides a laugh behind her coffee cup. The diamond on her finger catches in the sunlight pouring through the front windows. Sven sprawls dramatically near them, and every time someone bends down to pet him, he soaks up the attention shamelessly.