Page 75 of Hope and Country

A song Riley wrote for me.

I blinked again.

My heart cartwheeled in my chest.

My palms turned moist.

Once I registered every word Carter spoke, I pivoted to face the man I loved.

“You did that?” I asked, my voice quivering with a storm of unleashed emotions.

He shrugged. “Already told you I can’t sing. But wanted you to have your own love song. Nobody better than Carter Hills to deliver one.”

“You wrote me a song?”

I cupped my heart with both hands, begging it to not leave my chest cavity.

“I tried. Carter helped me. I’d never done this before. Please be indulgent. But know it comes from my heart. And that I love you. More every single day.”

I jumped into his arms, my feet not touching the floor when he lifted me higher, our bodies fusing together.

“Ohmygod, you wrote me a song. And you got Carter to sing it. Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”

“Babe, it’s happening. You deserve the best. Told you a thousand times. I love you, Devon.”

My mouth crashed on his, letting it do the talking, unable to translate in words everything my heart felt.

Ooooh, you caught my eyes that night

Wearing a dress that made you look divine

Soon (too soon) you disappeared into the night

A river streamed down my face. I couldn’t believe our love story was now a song.

Our song.

Carter winked in our direction, and I formed a heart with my hands over my head. His smile doubled in size.

“You like it?” Riley asked, his arms locked around me.

“Are you kidding? It’s the most thoughtful and amazing thing someone ever did for me. After giving me shelter the night I landed on their doorsteps covered in blood and with nowhere to go.”

Riley kissed my temple, and the melody of the song rocked the foundation of me.

Love, my heart wouldn’t be full without you

Love, you are my dreams come true

Love, I’ll love you with everything that I am

Ooooh, I love you

Ooooh, I love you forever

I angled my upper body to kiss this wonderful man. “I love you forever too,” I whispered against his lips.

“Great. Because that’s just the beginning of our story.”

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