Page 129 of Somehow You Knew

I sit up again so I can see his eyes. “Did you know that she was friends with my Dad?”

His brows furrow. “No.”

I stand from the bed in search of my purse, grabbing the two letters I received yesterday from my mom and bringing them back to the bed. “My dad wrote me a letter.”

Gage sits up in the bed, resting against the headboard. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah…”

“My aunt wrote me one too.”

My eyes widen. “Really?”

It’s Gage’s turn to leave the bed and come back with a letter. When he settles back in, he hands his to me. “I want you to read it.”

I hand him mine from my dad. “I want you to read mine too.”

I lean my back against his chest as we both grow silent, taking in the words on the pages that summarize every moment that led to us ending up right where we are. By the time we’re done reading, both of us are crying again.

“Fuck.” Gage tosses the letters to the side and wraps his arms around me, the wetness of his cheek hitting my shoulder. “Somehow they knew…they knew before we ever did.”

“It’s so crazy.”

“It is, but I’m so fucking grateful, Hazel. I’m grateful that my aunt was looking out for me, and I’m grateful to your dad for raising you, for knowing the person you are and how you could impact my life.”

I turn my head so I can see his face. “You’ve changed my life too, Gage. You made me believe in love again.”

“I never believed in it until I met you.”

Gage leans forward and kisses me, and my body begins to melt all over again.

“You know, my mom was the one delivering the letters.”

Gage huffs out a laugh. “That makes sense. Dallas is the one who gave me mine, though.”

“Really?”

“He brought my bike to the hospital.”

“What?” I shout.

Gage presses a finger to my lips. “Don’t be mad at him. He knew I needed some space, but he told me that if I didn’t plan on coming back, to be honest with you because he knew you’d wait for me.”

“I would have.”

“I know, Spitfire.” He kisses me softly. “But I knew the second I got back to Florida that it wasn’t home anymore. Home is here with you, in this apartment, in Carrington Cove.”

I reach for the other letter. “Then we’d better make sure we finish what your aunt started,” I say, handing him the paper. He reads the next task, smiling the entire time. “You only get one life, Gage. You’re the one that gets to choose how you live it, but I know what my choice would be.” His eyes meet mine. “I don’t want to only choose three photos to summarize our relationship, to look back on and remember. I want one thousand photos, Gage. I want every good and bad memory, even if that means our time is cut short. I’d rather have that time with you than none at all.”

He reaches for his phone, flips the camera to face us, and holds it up above us. “Then I need more memories to choose from, Hazel. What we had isn’t enough and I don’t think it ever will be.”

***

“Nice to meet you.” I reach out to shake Dr. Miranda’s hand before taking a seat in one of the chairs opposite her desk. Gage sits down in the chair beside me, reaching for my hand.

“The pleasure is all mine, truly. I’m glad that Gage has someone now in all of this.”

I turn to look at him. “Me too.” When I twist back to face Dr. Miranda again, I say, “But I have some questions.”