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“Is this for my party?” Addy asked him, resting her cheek on his shoulder.
“It’s for everyone.”
The next display was an open book held on either side by nutcrackers. “What is this?” I asked, just as words popped onto the pages. The words I Love You shone clearly.
“What’s this from?” I asked, confused. We’d seen a Santa display, nursery rhymes, and reindeer jumping, but I couldn’t place this one.
“This one’s for you,” Knox said cryptically.
“I don’t understand.”
Emmett appeared next to the carriage, and Knox handed Addy down to him. They wandered off, with Addy talking a mile a minute to him about the kids who lived in the boot we’d passed.
“Knox?” I asked when their voices disappeared into the night behind us.
“This is for you.” He nodded toward the page, where more words were added. Always and Forever.
“You love me?” I asked cautiously, almost too afraid to let it sink in completely without some confirmation from the man himself.
He took my hands in his. “I love you. And I’m sorry I let the weight of my family’s responsibility come between us. I made promises to you, and I broke them. I broke your trust in me. I’m not sure if you can ever forgive me.”
“What happened?” I asked him, needing to know everything, even as my heart soared with the sweet declaration of his love for me.
“I let the guilt and shame from my father’s death overcome me when my mom was in the hospital. I thought I had to be alone to be there for them.”
“You know you can have a family and a life of your own, right?”
He squeezed my hands. “I know that now. Everyone talked to me until I got it. I was thick-headed.”
“How do I know that it won’t happen again?” I asked, my heart leaping, even as my brain urged caution.
“Because I’m aware of my thoughts and feelings, and when those thoughts pop in, I’ll counter them with different ones. I can have you and Addy and my family in my life at once. I’m not doing anyone a disservice by adding more love to it.”
My eyes filled with tears because I believed him.
He squeezed my hand. “And you’ll be there by my side to gently remind me when I’m being an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot. You meant well. You wanted to be there, and you felt guilty when you weren’t.”
“But my brothers were there. I’m not the only one who can care for my mother. I’m lucky enough to have a bunch of brothers and Ireland. We’re not alone in this.”
“You have me and Addy, too,” I gently reminded him.
His face filled with regret. “That, too. I’m so sorry I pushed you away.”
“I wanted to be there for you.” The memory of how he hadn’t let him be there for him seared into my heart as fresh as the day it happened.
“I know you did, and it would have helped. I was stubborn and shortsighted, and I hope to make better decisions in the future. And when I don’t, I’ll have you, my brothers, my mom, and Ireland to set me straight.”
I laughed, part in relief and part in excitement, because he was right. We were all there for him, and we wouldn’t let him spiral into the guilt and shame like last time. We’d be aware of it.
“I love you, Sarah. Will you give me another chance to show you how much?”
I nodded through the tears that blurred my vision as he pressed his lips to mine. “If you trust me with your heart, I’ll protect it and care for it this time.”
“I believe you.”
He sighed, and his entire body relaxed. Then he gathered me in his arms until the only thing I could see was the book where he declared his love for me.
