Page 93 of Make You Stay

“You did?”

Aidan nods, wrapping an arm around me. “When you were gone. I realized even though I could muddle through this world without you, I sure as hell didn’t want to. You’re my best friend and the love of my life.”

“One of, anyway,” I reply, more than happy to share that title. “Ditto for you.”

“I have a request,” Enid interjects, grasping my hand to steal a look at my ring.

“Anything.” I mean it, too. I’d move mountains to see Enid smile.

“Make the wedding soon. And please, knock her up already.”

“I’m trying,” Aidan argues, but his smile never falters.

“I’m sure it’s so difficult for you, Aidan,” Enid remarks with a wry grin.

“Never said that,” he counters, pressing another kiss to my cheek.

Now Enid turns her full attention to me. “I plan on being here for all of it, so get a move on, huh?”

Pulling her into a hug, I let the tears roll down my cheeks. “You’re my maid of honor. Kind of have to be there.”

Somehow, I know she will be.

A slow song plays over the jukebox, and I turn to my new fiancée, shooting him a cheeky grin as he pulls me into the circle of his arms.

“Is this a practice run?”

“Another day with the only woman I want to spend all my days with,” Aidan replies, earning a kiss of approval.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Making me stay.”

Epilogue

Aidan

“Love is the thread, woven through us all, that ties us together forever. It can’t be broken by time, distance, or death, but rather strengthened through the memories that first sewed it together.”

These are the words my new wife speaks during our wedding ceremony, and I know there isn’t a dry eye in the place.

Chloe is magnificent, beautiful in every facet of the word. But words alone will never do this woman justice.

Her house, or should I say,ourhouse, came off the market the day after I dropped to one knee and begged Chloe to be mine. I never asked her to put my name on the deed, but she insisted, claiming if we were building a life together, it would happentogether.

Then, we made a decision that was as offbeat as the rest of our lives, but somehow, we knew it would work.

The plan was simple. Enid and Jeff would move into my house since the stairs in the condo would be a problem at some point. Besides, this puts Enid near us all day, every day. If she needs anything, we are right there.

As for the girls and me, we moved into Betsey’s house, and the girls absolutely adore the fact that it’s nowtheirhome.

It truly feels like home now, and I know it would thrill Betsey that her daughter and friend found love in each other’s arms.

We marry in the backyard, on a brisk but bright spring day, beneath a pergola I constructed to celebrate the start of our new life.

Good to her word, Enid is the maid of honor, and thankfully, the treatments seem to be holding the devil at bay. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll get far more than a year.

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