Page 54 of Silver Linings

One Year Later—

“The only reason you got me out of bed this early on the Lord’s Day is because you bribed me with donuts,” I grumble around a mouthful of fluffy, maple bacon greatness.

“Suddenly religious?” Hendrix chuckles.

“When you interrupt a very good dream to insist we go on a walk at ungodly hours, yes.” This time, I reach into the box from Mimi’s and pull out a white chocolate glazed with matcha cream filling. I take a too big bite and moan at the sweet, slightly herbal flavor.

“A very good dream, huh?” Hendrix leans down, whispering in my ear. “What was I doing to you in this dream?”

“Who says you were even there?” I tease and then jump when he pinches my side.

I dart out of his grasp before he can do it again, but he chases after me, grabbing me by the waist and lifting me in the air. “Hey! Donuts! Precious cargo here. Have some respect,” I would slap at his arms, but my hands are currently occupied by fried dough.

Hendrix slowly settles me onto the ground, chuckling in my ear in a way that still makes my body flush with heat, even a year later. He hasn’t let go of me yet; instead, he grips me tighter, burying his face into the crook of my neck and placing a gentle kiss there.

“So soft and warm,” he sighs into me.

“You’re the one who insisted we go on a walk on the coldest day of the week,” I say, snuggling back into him. “Even Central Park is empty.”

We arrived at the park twenty minutes ago after we took the train uptown to pick up Mimi’s and coffee. It’s become a monthly ritual whenever I take a Sunday off from the store, and it’s one of my favorite things we do together. It’s like we’re reliving our first date over and over.

The day I found Hendrix at Silver Linings, we spent so much time talking long into the evening, nothing holding us back.

It’s the closest I’ve ever felt to someone in my life.

And when we FaceTimed with Laurel to check in on her, she practically launched out of her hospital bed in excitement.

Since then, she and I have become thick as thieves, much to Hendrix’s dismay.

There’s something to be said for finding your person, the one who compliments your life, who makes everything about it fuller and brighter.

I used to never think this kind of love was possible for me, too scarred from my past to consider it.

I never believed I deserved it, not until Hendrix showed me his love didn’t have to be earned—that it was freely given unconditionally.

Understanding that has created a domino effect of sorts, spilling over into all my other relationships.

“Yeah, but if it was warm, you wouldn’t let me hold you like I am now,” Hendrix says, pulling me out of my internal musing.

He’s not wrong. I hate the heat; the last thing I want is to cuddle when it’s ninety-five degrees out. Air conditioning remains, to this day, the world’s greatest achievement, and you can’t convince me otherwise.

We walk the winding path through The Rambles, a densely wooded area within the park, spotting various birds as we walk south.

By the time we exit, the sun has peeked out from behind the clouds, and the light layer of frost over all the grass has melted.

We spot a few tourists on pedi-cab rides, some early morning runners, but it’s otherwise still pretty empty for a weekend morning.

We’re looping around the southern half of the park when Hendrix stops me. “Why don’t we sit down so you can finish your donuts?”

“This is why I love you.” I plop down on the bench he ushers me toward, facing a small pond and bridge with skyscrapers peeking over the treetops at our backs, setting the box of confections in my lap and flipping open the lid.

“Maybe one day, you’ll look at me the way you look at a box of donuts.” He sounds exasperated, but when I look up, he’s smiling at me fondly.

“Let’s not get our hopes up.” I pat his thigh in a placating gesture, and he tosses his head back on a laugh. “Do you want any?” I point at the baked goods.

How I ended up with a man who doesn’t like sweets is beyond me, but he doesn’t decline like I think he will.

Instead, he leans forward and hooks his knuckles under my chin, bringing my face up to meet him in a kiss.

His tongue coaxes my lips open, and I moan into his mouth as his tongue tangles with mine.

He pulls back slightly, breaking the kiss, eyes dark, staring down at my swollen mouth. “Delicious.”

“I think I’ve been a bad influence on you,” I mutter, turning slightly to face him.

“Mhmm, probably.”

I scoff in mock affront and playfully swat at his arm. He stops me before I make contact, wrapping his hand around my wrist, bringing it to his mouth, and placing a kiss there.

“This one looks new,” Hendrix notes.

“Hmmm?” I hum in question, having just taken a sip of my coffee.

“This plaque… It looks new.”

He always reads them with me now, knowing how much they’ve meant to me over the years.

I turn to read the one attached to the bench we’re sitting on.

Twenty questions will never be enough for us, Sunshine. How about a lifetime?

Tears well in my eyes, and when I turn to look at Hendrix, he’s in front of me, down on one knee.

“Oh my God.” I bring a hand to my mouth.

“Silver James, from the moment you barreled into me like a bat out of hell, spilling coffee on my shoes, I knew I was done for,” I choke around a laugh.

“You have shown me the sun and brought me back to life when I didn’t realize I was withering away in the dark.

You are the most miraculous, resilient, outrageous person I’ve ever met, and I’ve loved you from the moment I saw your eyes light up at a store called Get Nailed .

You make every room brighter and every day with you is an adventure I want to go on for the rest of my life.

People write about the love I feel for you, the type of love I hope I show you every day. ”

A silent tear tracks down his face, and I brush it away with my thumb.

“I’ve called you a lot of names over the past year, but the one I dream of calling you is wife.

” He reaches into his coat now, pulling out a small, pink velvet box, opening it to reveal the most ethereal ring I’ve ever seen.

“Will you marry me? Spend the rest of our lives writing the best love story of all?”

I launch myself off the bench, throwing my donuts to the pigeons, and wrap my arms around Hendrix. I start peppering him with kisses—so many, he probably can’t breathe. In between each one, there’s a word: yes, yes, yes .

I’m sitting on his bent knee when I pull back, staring into eyes that look like the sun breaking through redwood trees.

I cup his jaw in my palm. “I never dared to dream for you. I thought love had abandoned me a long time ago, but you made me hope. I grew up thinking love was a burden, too heavy for me to want to carry, but loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.

So, yes. In every lifetime, in every universe, yes. ”

I don’t know who moves first, him or me, but our lips connect in a soul melding kiss. It’s not wild or fervent. It’s ineffable. It’s devotion, raw and beautiful and us.

We pull apart, only an inch of space remaining between us as Hendrix slips the ring onto my finger, a perfect fit.

“You launched your precious donuts to the sky, Sunshine,” he laughs, grabbing my hand and settling us back on the bench.

I look at where they connect, the ring sparkling on my finger bracketed by his, and sigh a breath of pure contentment at the rightness of this moment, of us.

“That’s okay. We can get more the next time we come to sit on our bench.”