Page 53 of How You See Me (You and Me Duology #2)

Three Months Later

Josie

W hen we pull into the driveway at Hayes’s childhood home in Northern Virginia, it feels like stepping into a memory I was never part of but somehow always meant to have.

The porch light glows through the dusk—a quiet welcome home.

I can almost feel Ava’s excitement pulsing behind the door, waiting to burst out the second she hears us.

“Ready?” Hayes asks, brushing his thumb along the back of my hand, a touch that still sends a rush through my entire body.

“Always,” I say and mean it. With him, there’s nothing I wouldn’t say yes to.

He knocks once, and the door swings open. Ava barrels straight into our arms with a squeal that fills every empty corner of my chest. I adore this sweet girl the same as if she’s always been mine to love .

“Sprinkles! Josie!”

She smells of crayons, cotton candy, and the promise of a childhood she’s supposed to have. Her arms around my waist feel strong—not only in body, but in spirit. She still has a long road ahead of her, but she’s made enough progress to continue her fight comfortably at home with her family.

“I missed you so much,” she murmurs into my shirt.

“I missed you more.” It’s only been a week, but she brings something out in me that I didn’t realize I needed. My protective big sister instincts? My motherly side? My need to nurture? Either way, she’s not just Hayes’ little sister anymore. She’s family. Ours.

Since we got back from Las Vegas—another successful show behind me, another dream crossed off the list—I’ve been here more than at my own place.

At first, it was to help his mom while she worked or took Ava to appointments, but now I don’t need a reason.

This place fills something in me that even my art can’t touch.

“I have a surprise for you,” Ava says, wiggling with anticipation. “But Mom said we have to eat first. She made lasagna—my favorite.”

“Mine, too.”

“I know! Don’t worry,” she says to Hayes. “We have steak too.”

“That’s more like it.”

Hayes scoops her up, and we’re drawn into the kind of home that doesn’t need to be perfect for love to shine.

His mom hugs me like I’m one of her own.

Kayla and Victoria, home from college, wave from the kitchen island where they cut vegetables and sing along to something playing on the radio in the living room.

Raidyn strolls in from the living room, a toddler on her hip, and hugs us both.

His dad greets me with a friendly smile and hug, though he and Hayes only exchange nods. It’s not peace yet, but a seed has been planted. An opening where healing can sprout, and sometimes, that’s enough.

Dinner is a beautiful kind of chaos—stories tangled together, second helpings handed down the table, laughter layered over the clatter of silverware.

Ava rules the room with her animated stories, and Hayes keeps glancing at me like he still can’t believe I’m here.

My heart overflows—more than it ever did under gallery lights with my name on the walls.

“Josie, did you hear from that gallery in Los Angeles yet?” his mom asks, hope lifting her voice. She was with me when Grant called two weeks ago about the possibility.

He didn't speak to me for days after I left Vegas without warning. Claimed I broke his heart and our collective rhythm. He threatened to revoke my best friend status, but the sold-out show made up for it. Now, he’s back to basking in the spotlight, making calls, and fielding offers. Exactly where he belongs.

“I did,” I say, watching Hayes.

He shifts, sensing what’s coming.

“I was saving it so we could celebrate together. Up for another road trip?”

“You got the show?” His voice brims with pride .

“I got it.”

Before I can say another word, his lips are on mine.

The room erupts in cheers, but I’m lost in the revolution of this moment, his love, and the joy pinwheeling in my chest. It’s been five days and thirteen hours since we last parted, his work commitments on base leaving little time for visits, and this kiss makes up for every minute we missed.

“I have news, too,” he announces when he finally lets me breathe and catches my hand. “Starting next month, I’ll have a new title.”

“You got a promotion?” his mom asks, confusion mixing with hope. She knows he submitted his retirement papers the week we got back.

“Yep.”

“Well? Don’t keep us in suspense.”

“As of October first, I’ll become chief . . . chauffeur, bodyguard, and restroom escort for my favorite artist. Even though she doesn’t need me. Best retirement plan I could ask for.”

“Your discharge was approved?” I ask, not letting myself believe it yet.

“Signed and filed. Just tying up loose ends. Dr. Keller says he’s proud of me.” He chuckles, but I can’t speak.

I can’t speak. I’m too mesmerized by the sparkle in his eyes and knowing that soon, nothing will keep us apart again.

We spend the rest of the night wrapped up in dreams—talks of house hunting, family get-togethers, and summer road trips.

After the dishes are cleared and the celebratory wine bottle emptied, Ava whispers something to Victoria. She runs upstairs and comes back with a large square box cradled tight in her arms.

“Ava made this for you,” she says, placing it in front of Hayes and me. “We all helped a little, but it was her idea and creativity.” Victoria smiles at her baby sister, stealing my heart.

I adore how this family loves and supports each other. It reminds me of my own when Jordan and I were young.

Hayes is just as surprised.

“You didn’t know about this?”

He shakes his head.

The room hushes, waves of anticipation pulsing in the air. We lift the lid to reveal a large scrapbook with glittery letters, spelling out A Forever Adventure, across the cover.

My fingers tremble as I trace the words, then lift the cover. Page after page, our trip blooms again in front of me—photos, scribbled notes, pressed flowers, stickers, and maps. Memories preserved as if Ava had bottled the best parts and laid them across the pages.

It’s perfect and I can’t see it all fast enough.

The first page spills out memories of Dollywood. Me snapping pictures of flowers and riding the bear through the forest. Hayes bracing for the rollercoaster. Tiny train car stickers run along the bottom.

On the next page, we relive the honky tonk and country concert in Nashville, laughing and telling the others our favorite parts.

Mine was Hayes in the kid cowboy hat and getting a real, fall-worthy smile out of him.

Hayes says his favorite was watching me get lost in the music and points to a photo of me dancing, arms flung to the sky on the page.

I didn’t know he’d taken it, but I’m so glad he captured the moment.

I felt so free, happy. Music notes and little cowboy boots decorate the open spaces around it.

Our waterfall hike, fossil dig in Arizona, hot air balloon ride, and go-karts are beautifully represented on the following pages. Horseback riding in the Grand Canyon and a beach sunset painted with watercolors follows. Every detail we lived is here, stitched together by Ava’s careful hands.

“How—?” My voice breaks.

“Haysie told me about them when he came home,” Ava says shyly. “And when I couldn’t sleep, he’d tell me stories on the phone.”

“And she wanted a photo from every stop. It was one of her rules. Now I know why.” He squeezes her hand, their love filling the room and soaking into the rest of us.

“She worked on it the whole time you were gone and added more from your stories,” his mom says, brushing at tears she doesn’t bother to hide. “It gave her something positive to focus on. I will forever believe that it and you saved her.”

“Mom,” Hayes tries to protest, but she waves him off and dabbing at fresh tears.

“Go on, sweetie,” she tells Ava.

“There’s more.” Ava points at the scrapbook. “And Haysie helped me finish it. ”

Suspicious, I turn to him, and both his hands fly up in defense. “I thought you didn’t know anything about this.”

“I didn’t know about the book. Or that our project got added to it.” He gives Ava a look I can’t figure out, making her giggle.

Curious, I flip the page and freeze. A photo of Hayes in a casino with a pile of chips stares back at me. Hearing him tell the story had been bad enough. Seeing his sad, disconnected eyes is far more damaging.

“He won $750,” Ava pipes in, but my attention is caught on the weary pain on his face and remembering how broken I felt that night, terrified to lose him. “Keep going.”

I lift the page to find three large photos, spanning across the two pages—Hayes sprinting toward the Pacific Ocean, diving in, and strolling out soaked beneath a pink sky. He’s stunning in each one.

“Again!” Ava bounces in her seat.

Following instructions, I move to the final page, and the room falls silent. Time slows as I take in every detail of the drawing.

It’s Hayes wearing a big, toothy smile and a cowboy hat, holding a sign that says:

Will you marry me?

Heart slamming into my ribs, I find him kneeling, his chair pushed away. A diamond ring catches the light between his fingers, but it's his steady love that pins me in place. There’s no fear, no doubt. Just definite, endless devotion .

“Everything about you takes up space in my heart, my thoughts, my world,” he says, voice rough with everything he’s never needed to hide from me.

“What we have is constant. It’s the one thing that’s never felt uncertain.

You make me better and set me free. I’ll forever want you, need you, care for you. Will you let me? Marry me, Josie.”

The air in my chest tangles and surges with contrasting emotions. Old fears flicker—every goodbye I’ve ever survived, every broken promise I once believed—then drown under the roar of his love.

He’s looking at me like I’m his salvation wrapped up in this messy, beautiful life we stumbled into together. I want to laugh, cry, scream from the rooftops.

But I settle on the only conceivable response. “Yes,” I whisper, falling to my knees. “Yes, Hayes. Of course, yes!”

He slides the most stunning square cut diamond onto my finger, and I crash into him.

“I knew she’d say yes!” Ava yells loud enough for the neighbors to hear. “I’m going to be a flower girl!”

Laughter spills out of me, but it’s smothered by Hayes

sealing his promise against my lips.

And I believe him with everything in me.

Because love like ours doesn’t just happen. You meet it halfway.

Through waterfalls and neon lights, hospital rooms and late-night drives.

Through fear and forgiveness and choosing the stay.

Through every mile and every heartbeat.

I finally found home—not in a place, but in this man.

Our forever awaits on the horizon, and I’ve never been more ready for the adventure.