“I keep looking at all the versions of life I’ve tried to build,” I continued. “Levi. The inn. The restaurant. I thought if I could just get one thing right, everything else would settle.” The breeze stirred the leaves above us, a low rustling sound that felt like it was listening too. “But my time with you? That’s the only thing that’s ever made me feel . . . alive.” Her breath hitched and fuck it, I was too exhausted to keep denying it. “I love you,” I said.
