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“I am sorry about that.”
Smiling at him, I say, “And I’m sorry I almost got you killed.”
“Technically, you didn't. Dionne…” He pauses. “I mean Gideon. He would never hurt me.”
“Still… I love you, Rowan. I’ll never doubt us again. No matter what.”
“In that case…” He moves from under me, causing me to whimper with disappointment at the loss of his heat. Taking something from the nightstand, he gives it to me. “I accept your proposal, Mrs. Kane. I will marry you.”
“What?” I sit up, peering at the necklace in my palm. A silver chain with a pendant made of several pieces of glass I recognize. “The butterfly?”
“Axle found some of the pieces in the garage.”
Quickly, I put it on. “I’ll never remove it.”
“All I care about is thatI’malways in your heart.”
“I swear it, Rowan. No matter what, I’ll always be yours. I swear it. I’m yours forever.”
* * *
Thunder rolls through the little church just as the antique grandfather clock chimes the midnight hour.
My chest tightens and I clutch the bouquet made up of white bleeding hearts. I fight back the tears stinging in my eyes and swallow down the lump in my throat.
“Are you sure about this?” Papá asks. “Jou don’t look happy.”
A tear slips down my cheek and I turn to face him. “I’m sure.”
From his pocket, he produces a handkerchief and carefully wipes the moisture from my skin. “Then why are jou crying?”
I swallow again and blow out a breath, trying desperately to control myself. My lips part, but nothing comes out. I shake my head and shrug, saying simply, “I love him.”
How to explain the myriad of emotions filling me at this moment. There are no words that can describe the all-consuming, intense, insane emotions Rowan provokes in me. There’s no saying in any language that can quantify what I feel for him.
I’m head over heels, madly in love with Rowan.
It’s agonizing and wonderful. It’s willingly dying for him, carving out my own heart and handing it to him to do as he wishes, because that’s the only way I can live.
Mom comes to stand at my other side, hooking her arm through mine. “She’s crying because this is true love. All I ever wanted for her.”
“You always knew,” I say to her.
“A mother always does.” She taps my chin. “You look beautiful, my Lulu.”
I peer at the simple knee-length dress that was made from the salvaged pieces of the one my mother gave me the first time I came to this church. It was beautiful then, but now it’s even better. Proof that when you love something, even the most irreparable of circumstances can be overcome.
My dress. My butterfly. My Rowan.
Art and Renzo, dressed in their tailored tuxedoes, open the double doors that lead into the chapel, and from here, I can see Rowan standing at the altar with Axle and Phil by his side.
I’m trembling, nervous as if this is the first time. In a way, it is.
The eighteen-year-old girl inside me has been quiet for a while. I search for her, telling her we’re here. Rowan is ours again. Our entire family is here this time. Everything is better than we could have hoped for.
We have our happily ever after.
But she remains silent and I know why. BecauseI’mthat girl. I never died. I never went anywhere. I love Rowan with the same passion as I did then.
As we walk down the aisle and I see my feelings mirrored in his gaze, I vow before God that I’ll never allow anything to come between us again.
For as long as we both shall live.
* * *
