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“How do you feel?” I ask, my mouth like sandpaper as I try and settle the nerves settling deep in my bones.
“Kace, when you told me you were falling in love with me, I panicked. My fear and uncertainty clouded every rational thought at that moment, and I ran because that’s all I know how to do.”
“Ash stop. You had every right to run that night. Everything I said came out of left field and I didn't give you a lot of time to process everything.” Ashley nods, her eyes flicking between me and the ground.
“What I should have said that night was that I was falling in love with you too.” Her eyes connect with mine as my breathing ceases, the air stilling as I wait for her to continue. “I should have told you that I was just scared. Scared that I would give up everything only for you to leave me. I was scared that you would be with me only to realize you could have a better life without me, like my parents did, and I couldn’t handle that. I couldn’t handle that kind of rejection twice in my lifetime.” That’s it. That’s all I can take standing on the other side of the room. I erase the space between us, pulling her into my arms as she melts into my chest, the feeling of belonging washing over both of us.
“Baby no, I would never leave you,” I whisper against her temple. The scent of her shampoo invades my space and I breathe her in. “I know my track record tells you otherwise but the only future I see is you.” Her head pulls itself off my chest as I cup the side of her face, brushing away a stray tear as her eyes connect with mine. “I love you.” I won't mince words this time. I can't. She's here, she's with me and in my arms and I will not mince my words. “I love you more than I love anything else in this world.”
“Even tattooing?” she teases, that glimmer in her eyes causing the tension in my stomach to ease just a bit.
“Even tattooing,” I admit, the words feeling right as they leave my mouth. When I started this business I was obsessed with making something of myself. I wanted my name to be synonymous with high-class art and I did that. But looking into Ashley’s eyes, seeing a very different future laid out for me, I know my dreams have changed.
“But you’ve worked so hard…” she begins but I stop her with my thumb on her bottom lip, my body aching to taste her but I know there is more to be said.
“I love this shop, I love the life I’ve created for myself and I’m proud of the person I’ve become but baby, nothing compares to the way you make me feel. Nothing compares to the contentment I feel when you walk into a room, the way my heart beats faster when I know you're around, or the way my mind settles when you're next to me. You do all of that, not this shop. You.” I expect her to smile, I expect her to say that she feels the same but what I don't expect is for her to reach up, wrap her around my neck, and pull my lips to hers.
“I love you too,” she whispers against my lips, her mouth opening as I take what I’ve been dreaming about for months. I know we still have a lot to talk about, a lot to work through, but right now all I want is to feel her against me and know that she's mine and I am never letting her go.
EPILOGUE
ASHLEY
Three Years Later
“Where are we going?” I ask Kelsey as she drives further and further away from where I was supposed to meet Kacey for lunch. My best friend peers over at me as she shakes her head and continues to drive away from the French Quarter and toward the lake, somewhere we never go together.
I moved to New Orleans about six months after Kacey and I got back together. We tried the long-distance thing and it worked for a while, but the time difference and our competing schedules made it really hard, so I decided to quit my job and move. Kacey offered to do the same, but I knew me leaving California would be a hell of a lot easier than him leaving New Orleans. If I'm being honest, once I spent a few weeks here, I knew it was my home and so packing up my life seemed easy, and it was the best decision I have ever made.
“Would you just sit there and be quiet for a second? We’ll be there in like twenty minutes.” She's been acting strange all day, taking me to get my nails done, going shopping in some of my favorite stores, and then all of a sudden she tells me she needs to go somewhere, and she can't drop me off at my place until after. The further away from the French Quarter we get, the faster my heart beats and my mind begins to spin at the possibilities.
Kacey and I have talked about marriage, we've even gone ring shopping together as a joke but the longer I sit in this car, the more it hits me that this could become a reality in a matter of minutes.
The second we pull up to the familiar entrance to Couturie Forest my heart begins to race and my hands start to shake. This is the place Kacey took me the first night I was here, the night we both confessed our love for each other. He told me that when we were apart all those years he would come into this forest, sit by the water, and dream of the life he wanted, the life he knew we both deserved. A woman once told him that if he wished it enough, the forest would give him what he wanted. The night I flew in he brought me here, told me everything he wanted for us, and I sat there wondering why I ever questioned him. He was so sure, so determined to show me just how much his love could carry us, and I fell headfirst right then and there. I knew after that night that I would do anything to make sure he was in my life, and I haven't stopped since.
“Kelsey, what are we doing here?” I ask, my voice breaking as she takes my hand and leads me down the narrow path that leads to the exact spot I know Kacey is waiting. The second I see the clearing, the sound of rushing water filling my ears, the tears begin to form, blurring my vision as I take in the man before me.
Kacey is standing underneath a willow tree, strings of lights fall all around him as plastic candles litter the ground. Kelsey squeezes my hand as I peer over my shoulder, her wink enough to propel me forward as my feet take me to the man I love more than anything in this world.
“Kace, what are you doing?” I whisper, my eyes struggling to take everything in as Kacey takes a deep breath and gets down on one knee.
“Ashley you have been a constant in my life since we were kids. Your laughter, your compassion, and your ability to make everyone fall in love with you are just some of the reasons I’m the luckiest man on the planet. You have shown me these last few years what true happiness feels like, and I hope I can do the same for you for many years to come.” My entire body is shaking, the sight of Kacey on one knee is enough for my legs to give out but I hold steady, not wanting to ruin the moment. “When I first brought you here I told you about the woman who explained what this forest can do, that it can grant wishes to those that want it enough.” I nod, remembering. “What I didn't tell you that night was that I wished for this moment, right here. I wished for you to become my wife, to spend your life being loved by me and me being loved by you. I wanted our lives to be forever intertwined and in the spirit of this forest and the forces that brought us together will you, Ashley Elizabeth, do me the honor of being my wife and making me the happiest man on the face of this earth?” The tears are falling freely now as I sink to my knees, wrap my arms around his neck, and hold on for dear life.
“Is this real?” I whisper, disbelief lacing every word.
“It's very real baby,” Kacey says as he takes my face in his hands and brings his lips to mine. “Does that mean you say yes?” he teases, that wink enough to break the trance as I nod, feeling like I’m floating on air as he slips on the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen in my life.
“I love you,” I say before kissing him with everything I have, knowing for the first time in my life that I’m happy, settled, and loved more than I ever thought possible.
“I love you too baby, so much.”
