Six months later…

I stood in front of Amy’s grave and stared at the words carved into the marble headstone. Beloved daughter, sister, and wife. It was the first time I’d been to the cemetery since her funeral. I laid a bouquet of daisies, her favorite flowers, on the green grass at the foot of the headstone. Bronte stood a few feet away, shivering in the cold afternoon breeze. We’d come to Ohio so she could meet my parents. It was her idea to stop at the cemetery before we left.

“I’m sorry about the way things turned out,” I said to Amy, my throat thickening. Our marriage had been fraught with unpleasantness and, in the end, became unbearable. No matter what had transpired between us, she hadn’t deserved to die so young. She’d only been twenty-four. “I hope you’ve found peace. I forgive you.” I touched her name. The simple act of forgiveness lightened my heart in a way I never expected. The anger, the guilt, the resentment—they floated away into the clear blue sky.

I’d fallen in love with Amy over a keg of beer at a frat party. She’d been my first love, but she wasn’t my last. My future stood next to a flowering dogwood, wearing a print dress and cowboy boots, counting God-knew-what while she waited for me. I didn’t have to look to know she was there, that she’d never leave me. Because that was the kind of girl she was—the kind who kept her promises and didn’t have the ability to lie.

“Ready?” I asked, extending my hand toward her.

“Hang on.” To my surprise, her blue eyes were brimming with tears. She faced Amy’s grave and touched the headstone, the same way I had. The thoughtfulness of her gesture caused my chest to constrict. “I’ll take good care of him,” Bronte said. “I promise.”

“We need to get home before sundown,” I said, circling her waist with an arm as we walked back to the car. The heat of her body tingled down my side. She leaned her head on my shoulder. The scent of her shampoo wafted in front of my nose. I drew in a deep lungful of her scent, aware of the crazy things it did to my insides, the quickening of my pulse, the stir of my cock.

“If we leave now, it should take five hours and forty-two minutes,” she said. “That’s factoring in three bathroom breaks at eight minutes apiece and one stop for lunch at a drive-thru. I made a schedule.” She held up her phone and pointed to the itinerary typed into her notepad.

“How very precise of you, Dr. Hollander.” A smile stretched the muscles in my face, one I couldn’t control. We were heading into uncharted territory together. This was Bronte’s first real relationship. It wasn’t going to be easy for either of us, but I wouldn’t give up. I knew, in my heart of hearts, that this was it for me. Bronte was The One.

“Well, there is an eleven-minute margin of error in either direction, depending on traffic and weather,” she said, her tone serious. “If you think I made a mistake, I could recalculate.”

I laughed, enjoying the brightness of the sun, happier than I’d been in years. “No. You won’t. We’re going to take our time, maybe stop for a picnic along the way.” My eyes locked onto her full bottom lip, pink from my kisses earlier in the day. “Did you factor sex into your itinerary, angel?”

Her blush caused my cock to harden. “No.”

“If you’re going to be my girl, you’re going to have to get used to a few impromptu changes here and there. Especially where sex is involved.”

“I can do that.” She slipped her hand into my coat pocket. I liked the way she relied on me for warmth and shelter. “But you’ve got to honor the chore schedule I outlined on the fridge in our apartment.” We’d chosen a new place together, one convenient to our work and free from any traces of Freya or Amy.

I lifted an eyebrow in mock surprise. “Are you negotiating with me?”

“Yes, am I not doing it right?” Her genuine concern brought another burst of laughter from me.

“As far as I’m concerned, you can’t do anything wrong.” I opened the car door for her. She paused long enough to plant a kiss on my cheek. “What’s that for?”

“For loving me the way I am,” she replied, giving me the biggest smile, and the greatest reward I’d ever had.

--THE END