Page 91 of Uniquely in Love

God, I wanted to kiss him.

But I resisted.

He reached over, petting the puppy, who was now snuggled up in my lap, satisfied from licking my face a few times. “We could name her Daisy.”

I scrunched up my nose. “Afterme? No.”

Playing with her soft, floppy ears, I studied her golden coat. “Sunshine.”

Owen burst out laughing. “That’s awful, Ellie baby.”

Sticking my tongue out at him, I shrugged. “It’s better than Cookie.”

He chuckled. “Okay. I’ve got one. And hear me out beforeyou say no.” I arched an eyebrow, and he continued on. “We both grew up on the ice, right? You know, Hockey Boy and Skater Girl?”

“If you’re about to suggest we name our baby girl something stupid like Puck or Skate?—”

“Zamboni.” Owen smirked, and the puppy stirred and yipped at him, like she was agreeing. “See? She likes it.” He reached out his hand, scratching her head, and she had her mouth open like she was smiling as he petted her.

“We can’t call a puppyZamboni, babe.” The endearment slipped out, and I hoped he didn’t notice.

“Why not? I think it’s cute.”

“What’s her nickname going to be? Zambi?” I rolled my eyes. Even though it was kind of adorable, I had to give it to him.

He just grinned. “Yeah. Why not.”

“Okay.” I leaned my head against his shoulder, trying not to disturb the puppy, who seemed content where she was.

“Really?” He perked up, looking like a dog who was wagging his tail himself. It should have been a crime, how adorable he was.

I reached up, running my hair through his soft, blond strands. “Really. Zamboni is kinda growing on me.” I scrunched my nose. “What does this mean for us?”

“What do you mean?” He wrapped an arm around my back, tugging me closer to him.

Furrowing my brow, I turned to look at him. “I mean, there is anus,right?”

He grinned. “I thought that was already decided when you told me you were mine yesterday.”

My cheeks were warm, and I turned to bury my face against his shirt. “I thought that was just something we were saying, you know. In the heat of the moment.”

Owen’s thumb ran under my chin before he tilted my head up to his, his lips pressing tenderly against mine. “No. Imeant it, El. I’ve always been yours.” His brown eyes were so warm, full of emotions I couldn’t even describe. “And you’ve always been mine. From the first moment, Ellie. It’s always been you.”

Eyes flooding with tears, I just shook my head. What could I say?

“But the five years we were broken up…” I’d broken his heart.

He sighed, but there was no frustration in it. He gave me a hesitant smile as he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Didn’t we already clear this up, baby? I’m not mad at you for ending things. I don’t really understandwhyyou did,but everything worked out in the end. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“We lost so much time,” I said, shaking my head. “We can’t get that back.”

“We have so much ahead of us,” he promised.

“Maybe.” I bit my lip. But what if everything came crashing down again? Sure, we were together now, but that didn’t mean we had the rest of our lives together.

His lips brushed over my forehead. “You’ll see. Everything that’s meant to be always works out in the end.”

I hoped he was right.

---