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I’m turned away from the stage, looking for our waitress, when an angelic voice singing the first lines of “Hopelessly Devoted to You” stops me cold, and I turn my head to the stage.
And there’s my girl, standing at the mic, singing and staring straight at me.
I glance over at Sara, Eli, and Wyatt, who are all grinning.
I swallow and look back to the stage.
I’m so stunned that all I can do is watch her while she puts her all into the song. She hits every note just right, as though she’s channeling another Olivia.
The world around me falls away until it’s just the two of us in the room.
Jesus, how is it she looks more beautiful than the last time I saw her?
Her dark hair falls down her back in waves, and a cherry-red sweater and black jeans hug her curves. She’s gorgeous, classy, and if the lyrics she’s singing are true, she’s mine.
All mine.
Her eyes hold my gaze, and I know that every word she sings is meant for me.
When she gets to the last chorus of the song, she takes the mic off the stand and sits on the edge of the stage, never missing a beat, her eyes never leaving mine. Like a man in a trance, I get up and walk over to her until I’m standing between her legs.
She reaches out and cups my cheek as she holds the last word of the song.
You.
Before the last note fades, our mouths crash together. Her arms come around my neck, and my arms go around her torso, bringing her body flush against mine.
We kiss until we realize that the bar has broken out into hoots and hollers.
I press my forehead to hers and smile. “God, I’ve missed you.”
She lifts her gaze to mine. “I love you, Caleb. I always have and I always will. And I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you before. I was scared because I didn’t want to lose you. You’re everything to me.”
Peace settles in my soul, and I push her hair back behind her ear. “And you’re everything to me too. And I’m sorry if I sprang something so big on you that you weren’t ready for.”
She lays a finger over my mouth. “But I am ready for it. I’ve been ready since your eyes met mine at the clinic all those years ago.”
A flush of adrenaline makes my body tingle. “Are you serious?”
She nods, her smile shy.
I blow out a breath. “We’ve been chasing each other for years and never knew it. But Livvie, it’s always been you. It will always be you that I love.”
Her fingers thread through the hair at the back of my neck and she smiles at me, her eyes bright.
“Say you’re mine, Livvie.”
“I’m yours, Caleb.”
In the middle of the crowded bar, I kiss my best friend. My heart, my soul, the woman who is my forever.
And I’m never letting her go.
Epilogue
OLIVIA
TWO WEEKS LATER
