Page 43 of Against All Odds (Ember Falls #3)

thirty-two

Everett

I ’m sitting in the coffee shop, watching the phone, willing for it to ring.

This has been the most agonizing two hours of my life.

Violet has a plan, but it hangs on her ex being a decent human being or being selfish enough to take the offer to better himself.

Either way, it’s out of all of our control.

I look up, watching the people pass by, talking, laughing, earbuds in as they listen to music, all while I stare at the building.

The door opens, and I see Dylan first. He puts his glasses on and is ushered into a black SUV. Then I see Violet.

Her beautiful brown hair is pin straight. She’s wearing a light-green dress and a blazer over it.

She looks radiant.

I get up, walking out the door, ready to cross the street when my phone rings and her name appears.

“Hi, how did it go?” I ask, standing fifty feet from her.

Fifty feet too many.

“Good, he ... agreed. He signed the paperwork, and the divorce papers are being refiled now. It’s over. He ...” I see her shoulders slump from relief. “God, he agreed.”

“Oh, baby, I’m so happy. Are you happy?”

I can hear her choking back the tears, and I cross the street this time, needing to pull her into my arms, to hold her so she doesn’t fall apart.

“I’m more than that. I’m coming home. I’m coming back to you, and we can put this all behind us.”

Fifteen feet.

She looks up at the sky, wiping at her cheek.

“I can’t wait to hold you.”

Ten feet.

Five feet.

“I wish you were here now,” Violet says, sniffling a little. “God, I would do anything to have you here with me.”

I can’t wait to have her in my arms.

“Anything?” I ask, as I come to a stop.

“Anything.”

I smile. “Then turn around.”

She does and her jaw drops. “Everett!”

I open my arms and she doesn’t hesitate. Violet closes the remaining distance between us and practically launches herself against me.

“Hi, baby,” I say against her ear as I hold her tight.

“You’re here?”

“I am.”

“How?”

I chuckle. “I took a plane.”

Violet shakes her head, pulling back a little. “I know that, but how are you here? When did you get here? Who is with your mom?”

I love that her initial response is worry for everyone else but her. “My mother is fine. She’s spending a few days with Hazel, Donna, and Marge. I got here very late last night and Ana found me a hotel room, since I wanted to surprise you.”

She touches my cheeks. “You’re here.”

“You needed me.”

“I did, but ... I told you not to come.”

“I will always come for you if you need me. I will always show up,” I vow.

Violet has learned to live with disappointment and people not being there, but that ended the day she walked into that coffee shop. She will never have to walk alone. I’ll always be beside her.

Someone clears their throat, and I turn to see Ana. “As much as this has truly been the most romantic and touching thing I’ve seen, we should get off the street.”

Violet laughs and then pulls out of my embrace. “She’s right. Dylan is going to release a statement, and it’s better if we don’t have any photos prior.”

“Okay.”

“Come on, in the car,” Ana says and ushers us toward a large SUV with tinted windows.

We get in, and as soon as she’s next to me, I take her face in my hands and kiss her. She does the same. It’s been six days, but it’s felt like six years.

I missed her so much, worried nonstop, and when my mother asked why Violet was gone and I explained, I knew I had to be here. So I asked for help for the first time in my life. Violet was worth risking my fears for.

The kiss gentles and Violet leans back, looking at me again as though she can’t believe it.

Something scrapes my cheek and I pull her hand down, and that’s when I see it. She’s wearing the ring.

Her breath catches as I stare at it. “I needed you with me.”

I meet her amber gaze. “Did it help?”

She nods. “I swear, I could feel you near me. I could sense you and ... well, you’re here.”

I spin the ring so it sits with the diamond up. “I can’t wait until this ring sits on the right hand and it’s after I’ve proposed to you.”

“Six days was too long to not be able to see your face.”

Violet pulls back, giving me a good look. “Let’s not do it again, then.”

I grin. “Let’s go home.”