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“Don’t hurt him, or you’ll have to deal with me.”
“I won’t.” I quickly release her and rush out of the front door and hop into her waiting vehicle.
The drive seems as if it takes forever, but it probably doesn’t take longer than a few minutes before the twinkling lights in the trees come into view, shining brightly against the Cumberland Mountains skyline.
I barely get the car into park before I’m climbing out and running toward the house.
Tears blur my vision as I rush toward the front door, wanting nothing more than to see Finn again and tell him how much I love him.
I come to a dead stop a few feet from the front door to catch my breath, my hands shaking as I reach for the door. Suddenly, it swings open, and I see Finn. A bright smile spreads across my face, eyes locked on him and taking in his every feature. His dark hair is tousled perfectly and swaying in the breeze, and my hand itches to run through it.
“You’re here,” I whisper, coming to a stop a few steps away from him.
A mixture of fear and joy fills me as I worry I’m too late. His eyes snap to mine, scanning down my body before a blinding smile spreads across his face as he drops a set of keys from his hand.
“Welcome home.”
“You bought it,” I say reverently as I stare into the house.
“Of course, I did. This is the house where we planned to grow old.” His arm snakes around my waist as he pulls me into the house, kicking the door shut. “It was worse off than I thought, but I managed to hire a contractor to do some basic work to bring it into this century. It’s still a work in progress, but I couldn’t make all the decisions without your input.”
“How did you manage to get all of this done in two weeks?” Tears trickle down my face as I say the first thing that comes to mind.
“Lots of money.” He chuckles, burying his nose in my neck and inhaling deeply.
“I messed up, sugar. I was so worried about scaring you away that I made it worse. I knew from the first moment I saw you again after all those years that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“But you never once called me or even said goodbye. I thought you were never coming back.”
“Oh, you silly woman. I never intended to go back to Texas permanently. I had to sell my place and ship some bigger items to Magnolia, but that was it. My home is where you are.”
“Can we have a do-over?” I ask as he plants gentle kisses up my neck before pulling my ear between his teeth and biting down softly.
“A do-over?”
“Yes. I know I messed up and pushed you away, but I was scared of being hurt again. I didn’t trust you to catch me if I fell or to love me, flaws and all. But I realized something while you were away.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve lived in Magnolia my whole life, searching for the happiness that I lost when I had my heart broken in high school, but I always knew there was something missing.” I wrap my arms around his neck. “You.”
I hold my breath, waiting for him to reject me like I imagined he would. But instead, he pulls me tightly into his chest, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head.
“It feels like I’ve been waiting my entire life for you to say that,” he says as he lowers me to the ground and reaches into his pocket. My hand flies up to my mouth as I notice the black box he’s pulling out of his pocket.
“Breathe, sugar.” He chuckles as I release the breath I didn’t even know I was holding. “This isn’t a wedding ring.”
“Don’t you want to marry me?”
“More than anything in this world, but you said it yourself: You don’t trust me.” He places his finger to my mouth before I can say a word. “You’re getting there, but you don’t completely trust me, and I understand that. This ring is a symbol of the promise I’m about to make to you. I promise to love you until the day I die. To do everything in my power to make you happy. To be the person you can come to when you’re having problems. And I promise to be the rock that keeps you grounded.”
Lifting my chin, he leans down and brushes his lips against mine, and I moan in response. “Do you accept this promise?”
“Yes,” I whisper, leaning into his palm as he caresses the side of my face.
We both smile before he lifts me off the ground, molding his lips to mine. This kiss is everything. All our pain and love wrapped together in one.
“I’m so sorry, Finn.”
