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To the girls who taught themselves what love feels like… You turned broken pieces into armor and scars into stories.
“Ollie, what am I going to do? It feels like the sky is falling.” “If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.” I didn’t know how, but I’d find a way. Surely, for her, I would.
“I am always going to be here for you.” I tipped up her chin, my eyes boring into hers. “Not just for the summers, Cuddlebug. If you need me to transfer schools and come live here in Switzerland, I’ll do it. I’ll do anything for you. There’s no mountain too high, no ocean too deep, no planet too far for me to reach you. This is my oath to you. You will always have me. You will never, ever lose me.”
Instead of answering me with her words, she answered me with her body. Smushed my cheeks and pulled me into a kiss. This time, it was different. Virginal, and hesitant, and beautiful. So damn beautiful. Her lips skimmed mine, and we both traced the edges of each other’s mouths, quivering, like gravity might fail us at any moment. And in that kiss, she sealed my fate. I could never love another. Briar Rose was it for me.
My dick high-fived my zipper with unmatched enthusiasm. Couldn’t blame him. He had a head but no eyes. How else would he be able to read the situation?
😂
I didn’t need people around me because I didn’t have time for Briar. I had all the time in the world. I needed them to stop me from making a mistake. Because Zach was right. Doctor Cohen just entrusted the cat with the cream. She was temptation. And me? I was the perfect sinner.
In the words of Eliza and Angelica Hamilton, maybe it was time to take a break.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day.” “Our wedding is in a few months.” I forced myself to tear my eyes away from the elegant curve of her neck as she secured her bun with the band. “Unless we’re going to surgically implant Lin Manuel Miranda and Mariah Carey’s vocal cords into our throats by then…” “I mean, is the option completely off the table? You are filthy rich.”
I rubbed away a tear with my thumb. “Who did this to you?” Whoever it was—I’d kill them. Even if that person was Sebastian.
“I know I’m still drunk off my ass, and this is probably taking the sting out of this impending love declaration, but fuck, I love you.” He closed his eyes, breathing heavy. “I love you so damn much, Briar. Sometimes, it’s hard to fucking breathe when you’re gone.”
Motherfucker. She made Dee Dee Blanchard look like a competent mother.
“If I don’t marry you—and that’s a big fucking if—I’ll make the worst husband in the entire world. Because I’ll spend every second of every minute thinking about you. When I make her laugh, it’s your giggles I’ll hear. When I kiss her, it’s your lips I’ll feel. And when I slide deep inside her, it’s your pussy I’ll imagine, dripping wet around my cock. You’ve ruined me, Briar. Completely and utterly destroyed me for every other woman on this planet. It’s you or nothing.”
“The moment you became my daughter, you inked yourself into my soul. Not for one day, or one year, or even one decade. Forever. That’s what being a parent is. A lifetime commitment. That paternity test? It’s just a fancy piece of paper. It doesn’t tell the real story.” “And that is?” “Family has nothing to do with blood. It’s about the people who enter your life and fill up empty spaces you didn’t know existed until you can’t imagine life without them.”
“For the past fifteen years, I never imagined what happiness would look like. I never dared to. But the second you showed up, I couldn’t not think about it. Then, I found myself wanting it. Craving it. You make me want to be happy, Briar. You make me feel like…like maybe it’s okay if I’m happy.”
The words trudged up my throat like rusted gears, forcing themselves to turn after years of neglect. It would take some time getting used to this mindset, but the sentiment remained. I could be happy again. I could be happy again, and the sun would still rise, and the sky wouldn’t fall, and Sebastian would keep talking to me, and the world would not cease to exist.
I didn’t fall for you. I crash-landed without a parachute.”
