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The single candle sat in the middle of the round cake, and I stared at the flame as it burned. Wax dripped down the side of it, threatening to mix in with the blue frosting, but I couldn’t stop watching it.
A year. It had been one year since Leo was born, and the time had gone by in a flash. His hair was now a curly mop, which sat on the top of his head, and his blue eyes were the same shade as—
“Ford? Leo is getting antsy out here. He wants cake.” I turned to look at Lola, her small smile flashed my way, but I couldn’t get my mouth to work. Today was more than just Leo’s first birthday. It was the first time we’d been together like this as a family for something happy.
So much had happened that day, so much taken from us. But we were trying to repair the broken bonds.
I picked up the cake and stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. It was full of family. Everyone was here to celebrate Leo’s birthday. I placed the cake on the table in front of Leo, watching his little face light up. “Sing! Sing!” He clapped his hands as everyone sang louder, including me. I sang for both of us because she couldn’t. She couldn’t stand next to her son and wish him happy birthday. She couldn’t sing the words to him for the first time.
He blew out the candle, and everyone cheered.
“Mama?” Leo asked, turning his head left and right, searching for the one person he always wanted.
I crouched down and picked him up. “You can’t see Mama,” I turned to face everyone, and standing there in the middle with a smile on her face was Belle. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. No sound had come out for the last ten months, but that didn’t matter because she was here, with us, celebrating Leo’s life.
She stepped forward and held her arms out for Leo, and I didn’t hesitate to pass him to her. She kissed his cheek and tickled his tummy, and that was all he needed to be satisfied and then wiggle out of her hold.
“You should be in bed recovering,” I said, stepping toward her and wrapping my arms around her waist. Her blue eyes stared up at me, so much love shining in them, and I’d learned over the last ten months that you didn’t need words to tell someone you loved them. A look. An action. That was all it took to show someone how you felt.
Belle smiled up at me, her hand subconsciously moving to her neck and tracing the long, angry scar. And under that was a fresh one from her latest surgery, the last hope we had of the surgeons being able to repair her vocal cords. She’d been told to rest, but she never listened, not when it came to missing things. We’d both learned not to take things for granted, not after what happened.
I moved her hand off her neck and brought it to my mouth, planting a soft kiss on it. “I love you.” I stared into her eyes, showing her how much I meant those three words. It had taken me way too long to admit them to myself and then to tell her how I felt, but I knew now how short life was, and there was no way I wouldn’t tell her at every opportunity.
“I love you, too,” she croaked out, her voice a cracked, broken whisper, and my eyes widened at the sound of it. I hadn’t heard her voice for ten months, and it had felt like a lifetime. But now…she was standing there, telling me the words I’d craved to hear.
I blinked. “You…I…”
She grinned and stepped closer. “It’s not the same,” she said, her voice so low I could only just hear her. “But…I can say it.” She placed her hand on the side of my face. “I love you.”
My stomach dipped, my entire body buzzing at her words.
“I love you so much, Belle Easton.” I placed my forehead against hers and picked her up off the ground. “So goddamn much.”
Her hands gripped my biceps, and she laughed, the sound rough and broken, but I could hear it. I could hear her, and it was as if the angels had looked down upon us and gifted us a miracle.
We’d been to hell and back, but together, we’d come out the other side.
Together, we could conquer anything.
Together, we were strong.
“Marry me,” I blurted out.
“What?” she whispered, her eyes so wide I feared they’d pop out of her head.
“I’ve waited to ask you for ten months, but now that you can physically answer me”—I placed her feet back down on the floor—“I’m not wasting any more time, Baby Belle.” I heaved in a breath, wishing I had the ring on me, but it was hidden away in our bedroom. “Marry me, Belle. Be my wife.”
Tears streamed down her face and dripped down onto her neck as the sounds around us quieted. I’d asked Brody for his permission nearly a year ago, but from the gasp that came from Lola, I was guessing he hadn’t told her. “Yes,” she croaked out, her voice starting to give in with the amount she’d spoken after such a long time of silence. “Yes.”
Cheers rang out, but I wasn’t focused on them. All of my attention was on Belle, the woman who had just promised to become my wife. I slammed my lips down onto hers, taking my fill, and promising to make the most of every second she was by my side.
Our bond was unlike anything else.
Our bond was special.
But most of all…
Our bond was unbreakable.
