Page 44 of Forever & Again
“I was home barely a week before I got word that she was gone. The illness had settled into her lungs, and there was nothing the physician could do for her.”
Oliver swallowed the lump in his throat, letting the silence stretch between them. He could feel Grace’s presence steady beside him.
She had not said a word, but she had not yet walked away. When he dared to look at her, her eyes were wide, glimmering with empathy and unshed tears. Her hand was still firmlyclasping his as if her touch could keep him anchored in this moment with her.
“I blamed myself,” he admitted, his voice hoarse. “For running away, and for thinking I knew better than the whole world. I forced her into that journey, and I left her when she begged me to stay. I wasn’t there when she needed me.” His gaze dropped to the water, the reflection distorted by ripples moving across the surface. “I failed her, Grace. Every single promise I made her, I broke.”
He finally forced himself to look at her fully, searching her eyes for some sign that not all hope was lost. “And now I am here, with you, wondering if I even deserve a chance at a future again.”
Grace stepped closer, a single tear trailing down her cheek. “You know what it is to love and to lose, and you still had the strength to open your heart again,” she said softly. “That doesn’t make you broken, Ollie. It made you someone that I could fall in love with.”
The tears he had been holding back blurred his vision. He let out a sob disguised as a laugh, “I love you, Grace.”
Every mask Oliver had ever hidden behind shattered with his admission. No more charming façades to keep his heart from breaking; no more pretending he was shallow because it hurt too much to let people see the depths of him. The moment he allowed Grace to see his brokenness, he felt his heart begin to mend.
“The very first time I laid eyes on you, I envied the joy and peace that you radiated so effortlessly. When I saw you again this summer, it was your strength and your fire that had me utterly entranced.”
Grace laughed, her tears, “I was miserable.”
“You were captivating,” he said simply. “The way you hold yourself in the face of adversity, the way you guarded your ownheart while still trying to protect those you care about, the way you speak truth without pretense.”
Oliver lifted a hand to her cheek, his thumb wiping away a tear. “The truth is, Grace, it isyouwho healedme. You have made me brave enough to want things that I had stopped believing in.”
Grace closed her eyes, as she leaned into his touch. “I love you,” she whispered. “I love how you light up a room just by being in it, and how you can turn anything into a competition. I love how you are secretly the kindest man I have ever known, and the only thing you seek to gain is to make those around you happy.” She placed her hand over his. “You made me feel alive again, even when I did not want to be.”
Oliver smiled, letting his hand slowly slide down to cradle the back of her neck, fighting every urge to lower his lips to hers. “You said that you remember everything that happened in the study.” He said, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Grace tilted her head, her lips curving to match his teasing smile. “I do.”
“So,” he murmured, a low chuckle vibrating in his chest. “Is there something you would like to ask me?”
Grace laughed as she shook her head, “You truly are insufferable.”
Oliver wrapped both of his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest. Her hands pressed against his coat as she looked into his eyes, shining as bright as he had ever seen them.
“Ollie…” she whispered. “Please kiss me.”
He needed no further invitation. Her breath mingled with his, and he felt the rise and fall of her chest against his as he closed the distance between them.
Oliver had once overheard a young woman declare that a first kiss was one of the most magical moments one could experience, something to be cherished and remembered. ButOliver couldn’t imagine anything more magical than this—the kind of kiss that only came when you’d lived enough to know what was at stake. The kind that carried every heartbreak, every ache, and every broken dream, and left you with the hope of a future. It wasn’t his first kiss, but it was the only one he would ever need.
Grace’s fingers curled around his coat, pulling him closer. Her lips moved perfectly in sync with his, deepening their kiss until the world completely dissolved around them. Oliver’s hands moved to frame her face, softly stroking her cheek, letting everything else melt away—the sounds of the pond, the feel of the wind, the weight of the past—there was only Grace.
When they broke apart, Grace leaned her forehead against his with a breathy laugh.
“Will you kiss me again?” She asked, a soft flush spreading across her cheeks.
Oliver nodded, lifting her chin to whisper softly against her lips, “I will kiss you forever, my love.”
And he did. Again. And again.
Chapter Twenty
Grace tugged gently at Oliver’s sleeve, pulling him away from the breakfast room door as exasperation danced behind her calm exterior. “You can not just barge in there until we come to an agreement on what to tell them.”
Oliver crossed his arms over his chest as he casually leaned against the wall, the twinkle in his eye coaxing the butterflies in her stomach to take flight. She wasn’t sure how they had managed to keep their composure through dinner the night before, but the moment she had descended the stairs that morning, Oliver had informed her that he had no intention of going another day without letting everyone they came in contact with know how hopelessly in love with her he was.
“I am planning on telling them the truth.” He smiled, silently challenging her to doubt that he would shout it from the rooftops if given the chance.
