Page 133 of Live for Me

“Three years ago, Mags found me in the middle of the field where I’d proposed to you with a loaded pistol and an empty bottle of Jack,” he explained, his voice gentle.

My heart jumped into my throat. “Beau, I don’t want—”

“It would’ve been for nothing, you know,” he whispered.

Slowly, I rose to my feet, shoving my blanket aside. I said nothing as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. He let me kiss him softly for a few moments, letting me savor him before his hands on my waist gently eased me back, setting his forehead against mine.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m sorry you were in that much pain.”

“What have I told you about apologizing, dammit?” he bit out, shaking his head.

“For the last six years, I’ve had nothing to live for,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes now.

He jerked his head back, his brows coming together. “What? What do you mean you had nothing to live for?”

“My career was a success, yes, but I came home to an empty house. Whenever I would paint, I would only think of you, how I hurt you, how I destroyed us. I knew I would never move on with someone else. There was no sense in trying, because you were—are—the only man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. It was work, home, paint, sleep. Painting was the only thing that made me feel human. Then, you showed up on my doorstep in the rain, and…” I trailed off, unable to find the words.

“What are you trying to say, Abbie?”

I chewed on my lip, looking at our feet for a second. When I lifted my head back up, the answer was clear. “All I want, is to live for you, Beau.”

He stared at me, frozen.

“And I want you to live for me,” I rasped, tears falling down my cheeks now. “I never want us to be in pain like that again. I know we have so much to work out, but I don’t want to go back to a life that doesn’t have you in it.”

My chin was in his grasp then, his eyes scanning mine. “Are you saying you want be here at Hallow Ranch with—”

“—yes.”

His lips were against mine then, kissing me slowly, like we had all the time in the world.

We did.

We absolutely did.

That was the thing about happy endings, they were only new beginnings. We had the rest of our lives to figure out all the rest.

As long as we were together, everything would fall into place.

“If you live for me, Wildflower, I’ll live for you,” he said against my lips.

I smiled, holding onto him tighter. “Deal.”

The End.