Page 89 of Stained Hearts
I narrowed my gaze, and she laughed as Dad pulled her to the elevator.
“Fuck, and I liked that coat.” I turned to Aiden. “Are you ready to go home?”
He sighed. “Home takes on a whole new meaning now.”
It did. We would be moving Mom and Dad’s stuff over the next few weeks, and at the same time, we’d be bringing ours in. I had a twinge of sadness for letting go of the old house, but Brian was right. I needed to look to the future I was building with Aiden, instead of trying to hold on to the past. The only thing I asked Aiden for was if we could keep Brian’s urn in the house. He said it would be an honor to have the man who brought us together enshrined in our new home.
After we got our coats, we went out to the car, with Aiden listing to one side. He was obviously exhausted from spending so much time with the walker. If I had to guess, I figured he would probably need to use the chair for the next few days to gather his strength again.
“Tired?”
He nodded. “Doesn’t mean we can’t get busy when we get home.”
I snickered, because after standing all that time with Noel, then drinking a few glasses of champagne with his dinner, I knew damn good and well I’d be carrying Aiden into the house, then putting him to bed. That was okay, though.
“Did you have a good time?”
He yawned. “Yeah, it was great. I’ve only been to a couple of weddings, but I liked them a lot. All the pomp and circumstance that goes into them? It’s just… I don’t know, beautiful.”
With those words, he rested his head against the window, and within minutes he was asleep. I was glad to hear he liked weddings and hoped that in the morning when he woke, he would find the small box I’d stashed under his pillow. I wanted Aiden as my lover, my partner, and, hopefully, my husband.
I once more sent up a silent thank-you to Brian, a man who saw that bringing together two stained hearts could have them beating in time as they found love.
Epilogue
One Year Later
THERE ISa moment, just as twilight gives way to total darkness, when everything over the lake is still. It’s like the world is holding its breath, waiting to see what’s going to happen. It’s during this one singular moment when I can look over at my husband and smile as I recall the journey that brought us to this point in our lives.
“I love you.”
A bird called out as it flew overhead, and the creatures in the night sang a song in their unique voices just for us. In the distance, we could see a young buck raise his majestic head and turn it in our direction, then bound off into the forest.
Aiden grinned. “Love you too.” He took a sip of his hot chocolate and gave a contented sigh. “I love it here.”
“Me too.” I slipped my arm over his shoulder. “In fact, I could live here.”
“That would be nice, but everyone is coming for Christmas, and we haven’t decorated the house yet.”
Now it was my turn to sigh. It was a great dream, even if the practicalities weren’t fully there. I glanced over at Aiden, who sat staring up at the Milky Way.
“This place is so peaceful. I can see why you like it up here.”
The real reason was the man sitting by my side. When we bought the cabin, he was dubious, but after his first night sleeping there, he never wanted to go back to the city.
“What do you want for Christmas?”
He held up his left hand, showing off the gold band that I’d slipped on his finger six months ago. We’d held our wedding in the park across from the diner, which made Noel insanely happy because he’d dreamed of it.
“This is the only thing I need.”
He’d been so beautiful, his arm draped over Olivia’s shoulder as she stood with him on the stage. We gave our vows, and there wasn’t a dry eye among our guests.
When we were at the cabin, Aiden pointed out a particularly bright star, I took that as a sign that Brian was watching over us. It wasn’t logical, but it’s what I felt in my heart.
“So, what do you want?”
“I just told you, I have everything I need.”
