Page 41 of Paper Flowers (Stonebrook #1)

“Juliette would play it for her when she was sad or not feeling well. It really does help her. I’ve only had to play it once since moving here. So when I heard it playing in your office before I saw Sadie in your arms my heart cracked.”

When Sadie said “our song” I knew she was talking about the specific song that said “sweetheart” which is the name her mother would call her. I wrap my arms around the lower part of Luke’s back. I begin to melt into his embrace.

“I don’t want her to believe a single word of what he said. Luke, I love her. With all my heart. She means the world to me, and I would never want her to doubt that. I want to be in her life, for as long as she’ll have me.”

My voice cracks at the end.

“Hey, Baby, shhh…I know you love her. She loves you too.” Luke says as he pushes my hair behind my ear.

With somber eyes, he says “She’s terrified of losing you.” He then tells me it took a whole two hours to get her to calm down. She was frantically crying about not wanting to lose anyone else in her life. He said he had to explain to her that things are out of our control and accidents happen.

“What happened after we left?”

“Morgan sent Dean home for the day and she’s bringing in another psychologist from Stonebrook High for Sadie.”

“Has he tried talking to you?”

“No. He won’t. He is too much of a coward.” I say truthfully. Luke nods his head and runs his hands through his hair.

“I am so thankful you were there for her today.” He says as he kisses my cheek. I stood there feeling the pit of my stomach grow.

Standing on the porch, Luke takes my hand and we sit on the porch swing.

We sway as the swing finds its rhythm. The air is crisp and with Luke’s arm across my shoulders, I rest my head on his chest. I hear light footsteps walking towards us and I see Sadie’s puffy eyes.

My heart aches at the sight before me. She smiles slightly and I wave her over to us.

She hands Luke’s phone to him and he picks her up. The three of us are sitting on the swing.

“Hey Sadie?”

“Yeah?”

“What Mr. Carter said today isn’t true. I know things have been really hard, and I need you to hear me— really hear me.

You are so, so loved. I’m not here to take your mommy’s place but I do want to be here for you.

I want to be part of your life, for as long as you’ll have me.

You are special to me Sweet Girl, and nothing will ever change that.

I love you, and I always will.” I say holding her hand .

“I love you too, Dayna. To the World Series and back.”

Just then we hear her tummy rumble. “Let’s get some food in your belly and watch a movie.

” Luke says as he stands to his feet holding his daughter in his arms. He leads us into the house and I watch the two of them walk in front of me.

Luke looks down at Sadie and then over his shoulder at me.

He reaches for my hand and I take his hand.

He brings it up to his lips and kisses the back of my hand softly.

After dinner we each took our showers for the night.

Sadie and I are seated on the sofa as Luke brings us blankets from upstairs.

Sitting on the other side of Sadie he gently covers us in a cozy knit throw blanket.

Getting situated in a comfy position, Sadie rests her head on my lap.

Soaking in this moment, I begin brushing through the strands of her hair with my fingers.

We finally settled on a movie to watch, she picked The Little Mermaid .

Sadie let out a small chuckle. Knowing she called me Ariel before makes me laugh too.

With the movie half way through, Sadie has fallen asleep.

It has been an emotional day for her and I looked down at her sleeping face.

Her eyelids are fluttering as if she’s dreaming.

It pains me that she had to deal with this today.

I move a strand of hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

I love this little girl with my entire soul.

I gently kiss the top of her head and tuck the blanket around her, making sure she isn’t cold.

I feel Luke’s eyes on me and I look up at him. At that moment, something changed, the energy around us shifted. The wells of his eyes are filled with tears and he smiles at me. My heart is beating against my rib cage. I see his Adam’s apple bobble up and down, jaw clenching.

“I never thought I could breathe again but here you are. You are helping me through the most painful time of my life. You have shown me that I can live again.” He gets up and sits beside me and pulls my hands into his.

“From the very beginning, I told you— I’ll never stop loving Juliette.

You accepted that without hesitation. But that doesn’t mean I love you any less.

Not for one second. I see the way you are with Sadie.

From the first moment you spent with her, she had her sparkle back.

You’ve held her through her tears, let her feel every emotion without judgement, and given her the kind of love that feels safe, steady— like home .

In doing that, you gave me something, too— strength, hope…

the belief that I could be loved again.”

“I love you, Dayna Mae. Completely. I hope you know just how much this second chance with you means to me.” With tears in my eyes, I sit up and kiss his lips so tenderly.

“Oh, Luke…I know I can never replace Juliette. I wouldn’t even try.

But if I could take her place— if it meant you and Sadie never had to go through this pain— I would do it without hesitation.

In a single breath. But I can’t. What I can do for you is love you.

Love Sadie. Be here, for both of you, in any way that I can.

I don’t want to take her place— I just want to be someone you lean on, someone you can count on.

Because…I love you, Luke Theodore. With everything in me. ”

The tears fall down my face, Luke swipes them away with the pad of his thumb. He leans in and gives me a chaste kiss. He stands up to pick Sadie up from my lap. “Come on, Baby, let’s put our girl to bed.”

He turns to me and leads us upstairs. We reach her room and tuck her in as she begins to stir. She opens her eyes for a second. Luke is sitting on the side of her bed, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

“Good night, Sadie Girl, I love you.” Luke says, making his way to her bedroom door.

“Good night, sleep tight Sweet Girl, I love you.” I take a seat on the other side of her and lean in to give her a kiss on her forehead. She wraps her arms around my neck for a hug and whispers in the sweetest sleepy voice I’ve ever heard.

“I can’t wait to see you in the morning. I love you and Daddy so much.”

I walk out of her room and Luke is leaning against the doorway. I reach for his hand and he closes her bedroom door behind us.