Page 35 of Save Me
As the afternoon sun streams through my living room windows, Rosa's breathing evens out in sleep, and Amy settles more comfortably against my shoulder. For the first time in my life, I understand what home really means. It's not this house, as much as I love it. It's not even this town, though it's been good to me.
Home is the woman beside me and the little girl sleeping against my chest. Home is the promise of tomorrow and all the tomorrows after that, filled with ordinary moments that feel extraordinary because we're together.
I close my eyes and let myself sink into the contentment of this moment, knowing that whatever challenges lie ahead, we'll face them together. And that makes all the difference.
EPILOGUE ONE
AMY
Gunner looks hot as fuck standing up there as Ash's best man. Emma was beautiful as she walked down the aisle, but my gaze can't move from Gunner. He looks at me as the two of them say their vows.
His arm is in a sling, but hopefully in two weeks he'll be able to go back to work. I've had a good time taking care of him, and I've been staying with him since we brought him home from the hospital, but with him going back to work, I'm going to have to move back to Eve's so that life can get back to normal.
This is the first time I'm admitting to myself, I don't want that. I want to be with him. To live with him and share our lives together.
The reception is buzzing with laughter and conversation when I finally make it inside the old fire station. The space has been transformed with string lights and white tablecloths.
Gunner's already at our table, looking impossibly handsome in his charcoal gray suit despite the sling. His eyes light up when he sees me, and he stands to pull out my chair with his good hand.
"You clean up nice, firefighter," I murmur as he leans down to kiss my cheek.
"Not too shabby yourself, sweetheart."
The evening flows by in a blur of dinner and toasts, but all I can focus on is the way Gunner's thumb traces circles on my hand where it rests on the table. Every touch sends electricity through me, and the weight of my earlier realization sits heavy in my chest.
When the DJ announces the first dance for the bride and groom, I watch Emma and Ash move together like they were made for each other. The love radiating from them is almost tangible.
"Dance with me?" Gunner's voice is soft in my ear.
I turn to find him standing beside my chair, his good hand extended. "Can you manage it with your arm?"
"I'll manage anything if it means holding you."
The dance floor is already crowded with other couples when we join them. Gunner pulls me close, his injured arm resting gently against my lower back while our joined hands settle near his heart. We move slowly, barely swaying to the music.
"Amy," he says, his voice rough with emotion. "I've been thinking..."
My heart stutters. "About what?"
"About you going back to Eve's when I return to work." He looks down at me, his eyes intense. "Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't go back. Move in with me. Really move in. Not just while I'm recovering, but because you want to be there. Because you want to build something with me."
The words I've been holding back all evening tumble out. "I was hoping you'd ask. I don't want normal anymore, Gunner. I want messy and beautiful and you."
His smile could power the entire town. "Is that a yes?"
"That's a hell yes."
He spins me carefully, mindful of his sling, and I laugh as other couples dodge around us. When he pulls me back against him, his lips brush my temple.
"Good, because I already started clearing out closet space."
"Presumptuous much?"
"Hopeful," he corrects, his voice dropping to that gravelly tone that makes my knees weak.
