Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“I’d love to. Thank you, ma’am,” she said and fucking destroyed me again. I could not love this girl more if I tried. Mom and Dad had given me space while I settled into college. But I wanted them at my first game. And I really wanted them to finally meet the girl who’d saved me.
To think I’d resisted Leo and Mia’s trip all those months ago. Fought it with all I was. But the universe had set me on a journey to heal. And it had brought me to my girl, to the other half of my heart, my soulmate. I would strive every day to make her happy, to make her proud. And we’d walk through life holding each other’s hands, with our siblings walking beside us, their hands on our shoulders showing us the way.
And we’d be happy.
We’d be together.
And we’d forever live in honor of those we have lost.
EPILOGUE
Under Stars and Forever Skies
Savannah
The Lake District, England
Eight years later …
“IT LOOKS DIFFERENT IN THE SUMMERTIME,” I SAID TO CAEL AS WE WALKED hand in hand along a familiar shoreline. Lake Windermere spread out before us, a sparkling pool of diamonds. Night was closing in, England’s summer-light nights giving the lake an ethereal glow.
Cael squeezed my hand, and I peered up at him and smiled. He was so handsome. Not a day went by that I didn’t thank the stars for bringing him to my life. Especially of late. In true fashion, life had thrown another loss into our path.
Rune.
Living the life he’d always dreamed, as a photographer. He had been in a war zone, capturing the conflict on film, when a stray missile had hit his hotel, taking him from us too. Cael had held me through the pain of losing another loved one. But this time, although it hurt, I didn’t crumble. Because I knew Rune was back with Poppy, reunited with his soulmate in their blossom grove, happy once again. It was the biggest comfort to think of them that way. No longer separated by life but together, where they always should have been.
I cuddled into Cael’s arm as he led us to a familiar-looking jetty. Only instead of a rowing boat nearby, a small boat with a motor awaited. I laughed as Cael offered his hand. “Miss Litchfield,” he said, all prim and proper, which made me laugh harder. He was so playful. Humorous in his own quiet way.
“I remember this,” I said, and Cael lifted me up by my waist. Before he placed me in the boat, he kissed me first. I sat down, Cael quickly climbing in behind me and turning on the engine.
“It’s where it all began, Peaches,” he said, a knowing glint in his eyes. It all seemed so long ago. That fated trip around the world. I had just finished med school and was moving onto my residency training. I was ever closer to becoming the doctor I always wanted to be. And I loved it. It was hard, and often emotional, but I came home to the safety of Cael, and he made everything better. On the days I would break, he was there to hold me.
Cael had stayed at Harvard only two years before entering the NHL draft. He now played for the Bruins, made the All-Stars each season, and was the standout player of Team USA. He was exceptional, and I loved nothing more than watching him play—it was like seeing true freedom.
Our life was in Boston, and I couldn’t be happier. We visited Georgia often. Ida was living her own life, happy and still as gregarious as always. My family adored Cael and, of course, I had to go back to see Poppy … and now Rune, who lay beside her in their blossom grove.
“It feels strange to not have the others waiting in the hostel back on shore,” I said, and Cael nodded. We had kept our promise. Our group from the trip met up once a year. They were some of our very best friends. Especially Travis and Dylan, who had found their way to one another’s arms in the years that followed. Lili and Jade were married to amazing men. Lili was now pregnant with her first child.
I couldn’t have been prouder of everyone.
“We’ll invite them next time,” Cael said, and I watched as his silver-blue eyes matched the hue of the full moon that hung above us. The years had only been kind to Cael. He was broader through hockey, and still covered with tattoos, my favorite being the peach tree that now lay over his heart. And the kintsugi-style golden line that ran over the broken-heart tattoo on his hand—a heart that was no longer broken.
I closed my eyes and smiled as the warm breeze washed over me. This place was magical to us both. It was where we had begun to fall in love. When we were heartbroken and weak, this place had been the genesis of us and our journey to strength.