Page 96 of Some Sort of Love (Happy Crazy Love 3)
To feel free to love her and accept her love, without guilt, without reservation, without end.
To make promises.
“Spend forever with me,” I whispered, buried deep inside her. “I’ll make you happy.”
“Yes.” She held my head in her hands, her eyes shiny in the dark. “Yes.”
Looking down at her, our bodies joined, I felt a euphoria beyond measure, something so much more than merely physical—something boundless and timeless and fathomless, something that made the room spin and my eyes water and my heart pound. Something that made all the pieces of me come together in perfect, blissful harmony.
For the first time in my life, I felt complete.
“He’s so beautiful, you guys. Congratulations.” I leaned over to kiss Natalie on the cheek, and then hugged Miles, who stood by her side, dazed and beaming. At eight last night, right in the middle of my engagement dinner, Natalie had gone into labor. Twelve hours later, she’d delivered a healthy baby boy without any complications, despite being two weeks early.
“Thanks. You ever going to give him back, Mom?” Natalie called to our mother, who sat in the window seat cradling the baby, our dad right next to her.
“Never.” She didn’t even look up from the baby’s sweet little face. “Oh God, he just sighed and opened his eyes. He’s brilliant.”
Natalie and I exchanged a look, and then she grabbed my hand. “Jillian, I’m so sorry about the party. I feel like we stole your thunder.”
“Don’t be silly! You made it more memorable. Levi and I are thrilled.”
She looked like she didn’t believe me. “Are you sure?”
I squeezed her hand. “Positive. He’s downstairs right now getting some coffee.”
“Tell him to come up!” she said.
“Are you sure? We have Scotty with us, and Levi wasn’t sure if you’d want a bunch of people in here.”
She flapped her hands. “It’s all family. Plus I need to hear about how it went. Let me see your ring again.”
I laughed. “You’ve seen it,” I said, but I held my hand out for her anyway.
She sighed and fanned her face, tears welling. “Sorry. I’m emotional right now. But it’s so beautiful. I’m so happy for you guys.”
“Thanks. I’m happy too.” After I texted Levi the room number, I looked at the ring again too, dazzled by its sparkle and luster, but even more by what it represented—a future with Levi. He’d surprised me with the proposal last weekend, which he and I had spent curled up in a romantic cabin in the woods with every intention of skiing, but never quite making it outside our cozy little place (that was the point of the pinky swear anyway, right?).
On our first night there, in front of a roaring fire, between sips of whiskey, and after round one of hair-pulling, toe-tingling, cabin-shaking sex, Levi had knelt before me with the ring and asked me to be his wife.
He said he didn’t expect me to be Scotty’s mother, but would be honored and grateful to have my help in raising him alongside any children we had. I’d nodded and cried, my heart too full to speak as he slipped the ring on my finger.
Later, when we were lying in bed, gaining our strength back after round two, he showed me a letter that Scotty had written for me. It was printed in pencil on lined paper, and there were a few holes in it where he’d erased mistakes too vehemently. Dear Jillian, it read. I hope you say yes. You make Daddy smile. I like you. It was signed, Scotty Brooks.
I put a hand over my heart, choked up again. “Oh my God, he’s so sweet. So he knows about this?”
Levi nodded. “He does. And he understands that means we will all live together and maybe at some point buy a bigger house.”
“So we’ll live in your house first?”
“I hope you will. And I hope you’ll move in right away…the past few months with you have been the happiest of my life, Jill. The days when I don’t see you are always…lesser, somehow.” He brushed my hair off my face. “That day you crashed into me at your sister’s wedding was the luckiest day of my life.”
I’d blubbered some more and agreed to move in as soon as I could, and when we got back, I’d called my realtor about putting my condo up for sale.
“Can we come in?” Skylar appeared in the hospital room doorway, Sebastian, Levi, and Scotty behind her.
“Sure,” said Natalie, motioning everyone in. “It’s a big room.”
Miles went over to shake hands with the guys, including Scotty. “Thanks for coming,” he said.
