CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

WILLOW

“Willow, walk to the garden with me?” Even in the darkness, I see the intensity shining in his emerald eyes. He doesn’t realize it, but his question is riddled with more questions. Questions that I’m not sure I know the answer to.

Nodding, I walk alongside him, holding my breath as he leads me down the stone path to the garden. To the willow trees beside the water. To our place. And I know that there will be no more running. No more hiding.

When we reach the steps, he holds out his palm for me to take. Ever the gentleman. On instinct, I reach for him before drawing back. Confusion clouds his features at my hesitation as I study him. Standing on the edge between holding back and losing myself in him.

Wendy would be pleased that he grew into such a fine man. She is responsible for that, after all. I think of the elvish boy who befriended me in this garden. The roguish young man who kissed away my tears on these very steps. The patient man who made love to me under the stars, making my first time unforgettable.

I smell the sweet fragrances of the cabbage roses and hear the chirp of the crickets. If I close my eyes, I can see us playing hide and seek within these stones and hedges. I remember planning adventures, sharing dreams and making promises.

That was before. Before secrets invaded these hallowed stone walls, and lies choked out the innocence and beauty of the blooms. Before there was no one left to kiss away the tears. Before enough tears flowed to carry me an ocean away.

For so long, this place was tainted in my mind. The picture I painted in my memories became blurred from the anger and the sadness that I held onto like a lifeline. But seeing it tonight, in the moonlight...this small corner of the estate that was once the center of our universe...it’s as if I’m seeing for the first time, free from the weight of our secrets.

I feel the magic once more. I’m pulled towards him, the way the moon pulls the ocean. But like the tide, my heart goes back and forth. I want him more than ever, yet I’m still afraid.

The memories, both good and bad, come flooding back. Every day that we spend at Everlend, my walls crumble just a little more.

And just now, he looks at me like he did all those years ago. With patience, respect and love written plainly on his face and the remains of what hold me back crumble to the ground. And so, I do what I did all those years ago; I place my shaky palm in his steady grasp. I trust him.

He takes my hand, and in that moment, it’s more than skin touching skin, deeper than a simple gesture. It’s a whisper of a promise exchanged with our finger tips. I know that this time there will be no letting go as he wraps my hand tightly in his and leads me the rest of the way down the stone steps.

He’s had my body, he owns my heart, and it’s time for my mind to come to terms with the truth.

When we reach the bottom, I look around, my breath catching as I see hundreds of twinkling lights hanging in the trees, and lanterns of flickering candles light our path down to the massive willow tree, the one with our initials carved into rugged bark.

“Oh, Piers.” I turn to look at him, trying to find the right words. Before I can speak, he pulls me into his arms, and it feels like I’m finally home...in every sense of the word.

His lips find mine, and my mind stops searching for the right thing to say and focuses on the way his mouth feels, soft and gentle. His tongue sweeps across the seam of my lips, tangling with my own as my head angles upward. I focus on his taste, peppermint and whiskey. His steady hands hold me in place as the kiss deepens, and my mouth parts in submission to him, telling him what my voice cannot. I focus on the smell of his cologne, a dark, masculine ocean scent that I’ve come to recognize as him. I focus on the sound of his moan, and it heightens my own longing, our bodies pressing closer together, arms holding tighter, afraid this moment may slip through our fingers.

Breathless, our mouths break apart, and I struggle to fill my lungs with air as he draws in ragged breaths. Our foreheads touching, lips mere inches apart and eyes locked on one another.

“Willow,” he rasps out as his hands move to cradle my face. “I need you. I can’t live without you. I tried and I failed, miserably. I won’t do it again, ever.”

Tears prick the corners of my eyes as he continues, “All I ever wanted was a family. When we were younger, you were looking for an adventure and I, Willow, I just wanted to belong. To have a friend, a family, a home. And, we’ve had many adventures...I had friends, Wendy, the boys, but with you it was more. So much more. You were my family, and when you left—”

A sob tears through me at hearing the words I knew. Words I feared. My head falls forward before his hands bring it back up, and he kisses away my doubt once more before releasing my face.

“Willow, what I’m trying to say is that you loved me when I was nothing. You believed in me and trusted me, and now I’m asking for you to trust me once more,” he pleads, not knowing he already holds my heart in his hands.

He drops to one knee, and through my tears, I see the brave boy I loved. I see the broken young man I fell in love with and the strong, stubborn man that I’ve always loved. I see the father of my child, and I know without a doubt I’m meant to be with him, regardless of time and distance; it’s always been him.

“All I have is yours. I lay it at your feet. Just say you’ll share my life? That you’ll share yours, no more secrets, no more running? We will raise our son together, as a family?” His voice falters a bit on the last word as his eyes remain locked on mine.

I know that no matter where I go...as long as my heart beats, it will belong to him. It always has. It always will.

“Piers.” I reach for him, relieved he feels the same but heartbroken over the time we wasted. His arms find my waist, holding me tight, and his head lays against my stomach. “I know we can’t undo the past, I wish—”

“Shhhh.” He stands, drawing me close. “We can’t undo the past. We both made mistakes, but that doesn’t define our future, Willow. We write our own destiny. You and Drew are mine. Say you’ll let me be yours?”

I cling to him, my hands holding onto his body while my heart holds on to his words. “Yes,” I whisper against his chest.

Strong hands gently lift my chin, deep green eyes searching my own as I nod, tears falling. “Yes. Yes, I’ll be yours. I always have been. Your friend, your family, and now your wife.”

“You promise?” he asks as he picks me up and spins me around. Every star in every sky couldn’t compare to the lightness I feel in my heart in this moment.

“Forever and always,” I remind him, pressing my thumb to his when we stop spinning.

Smiling down at our joined hands, he takes something out of his pocket and slips it onto my finger. “Forever and always,” he vows.

“Oh, Piers!” I look at the ring on my finger. An emerald cut stone, set in a gold band adorned with tiny emeralds. I’m speechless as it catches the lights twinkling around us. “It’s—”

“The diamond I picked out, the band was Wendy’s, or parts of it were,” he explains, holding my hand in his as fresh tears start to fall.

“The emerald from Peter? But how?” My voice quivers as I study one of Aunt Wendy’s most prized possessions, something I thought had been destroyed a long time ago.

“James smashed the stone, but he didn’t destroy it.” His profound explanation applies to more than just precious gems it would seem. “She saved the pieces, and when she was sick, gave them to me. She knew Willow. Somehow, Wendy knew we would find our way back. She wanted you to have them.”

“So I took the broken pieces, fragments of a shattered past, and had something beautiful and meaningful created from them.” My breath catches at his choice of words.

“That sounds like Wendy; even from the grave, she is still orchestrating everything.” Smiling, I lean into his embrace, tears lingering. “I’m so thankful to have a piece of her with me. With us. It couldn’t be more perfect. Thank you.”

My lips find his, and it’s like everything clicks into place; the stars are aligned, and now is our moment. It’s finally our time. I was looking for an adventure, and it seems, good and bad, I found more than I dreamed possible. But the greatest adventures are still to come.

The Beginning