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“I do,” she whispered, her voice breaking on the words. “I love you so much it scares me sometimes.”
I reached up, cupping her face in my hands. “I’m not immune. It scares me as well but we’ll face the unknown together.”
The kiss we shared then was slow and deep, filled with every promise I couldn’t put into words.
When we pulled apart, her forehead rested against mine, and the world around us felt miles away.
“Okay,” she said finally, her voice steady despite the emotion that lingered. “Okay. Let’s do this. Let’s build that life, Cole.”
My chest swelled, the weight of her words sinking in. She was choosing this—choosing me.
We stayed on the dock for a while longer, talking about everything and nothing.
At one point, I told her about a small property near the boutique, one that could be a perfect little home base for us.
By the time the stars had come out, we were lying side by side on the dock, her head resting on my chest as we stared up at the sky.
The quiet was no longer heavy with fear or doubt but filled with hope and possibility.
“I never thought I’d feel this way again,” she admitted softly, her fingers tracing patterns on my shirt.
“What way?” I asked.
“Safe. Loved. Like I’m enough,” Tori said.
I tilted my head to look at her, my heart aching with the depth of my feelings.
“Tori, you’ve always been enough. More than enough. I just feel lucky that I get to remind you of that every day,” I said.
She tilted her face up toward mine, her smile radiant in the starlight.
“You’re not so bad yourself, Cole,” she said.
We stayed like that until the chill of the night forced us back inside.
In the warmth of the lake house, we curled up on the couch, a shared blanket draped over us.
“This is it,” I said quietly, my arm wrapped around her.
“This is what?”
“This is the beginning. Of us. Of everything we’re going to build.”
She leaned into me, her voice soft and sure. “Then let’s make it a good one.”
And I knew, without a doubt, that we would.
THE END