He places his lips to the top of my head, his breath warm as he speaks. “I’m sorry I ever hurt you. You are the one person that doesn’t deserve to feel
anything but loved. Velyn, I love you. I’ve always loved you. I’m sorry I let you believe differently.”
“You didn’t.” I murmur.
He lifts his head then grips my chin tilting it up to look into my eyes. “What do you mean?”
I wipe my tears, clearing my throat. “I never stopped believing that you loved me, Dylan. I just wasn’t sure if you would let yourself believe that you did.”
His hands grip tightly on my hips, his thumbs caressing my sides the same way they always do when he’s thinking. A tear falls to my cheek, but I know it’s not mine this time, and when I look up, he just nods.
“I will always love you,” he declares. “Will you be able to love me still?”
I’m done fighting. I’m done hurting. I’m done living without him in my life.
I bring my hand to the back of his neck, pulling his mouth to mine so that our lips just barely touch. “I could never stop loving you.”
Dylan and I spent the next few hours talking and curled in one another’s arms, getting out a lot that needed to be said, but it wasn’t an argument. It was
an honest discussion of expectations and how we were going to heal together now.
“You know I’m poor now,” he declares.
I look to him earnestly, knowing that his status within society was a big part of his life. “How does that make you feel?”
He looks to me, confident and reassured. “Free.” He pulls me in tighter. “Although I may need to crash on your couch for a while until I can figure some things out.”
“My sofa is tu sofa,” I reply.
He snickers. “Your Spanish needs some work, but what about mi cama es tu cama?”
“If you’re asking about my bed, you still have a little more groveling to do, buddy?”
He kisses my forehead, and I can feel the smile on his face as he lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Very well, the couch it is. But it’s going to be crowded with both of us sleeping on it.”
I laugh. “Fine, we can sleep in my bed, but I’m the little spoon.”
He smiles. “You’re always the little spoon.”
“You could sleep by yourself with no spoon companion at all,” I add.
He tightens his hold again. “Woman, you can be the damn ladle for all I care. You’re never leaving my side again.”
I give him a soft kiss on the lips. “Just the place I forever want to be.”
Epilogue Dylan
Four Years Later
“Twenty-minutes, babe. We have to get moving, or you’re going to be late.”
Velyn scurries past the doorway to the living room, then back again. If she were a chicken, she would definitely be looking for her head.
“Dylan, I can’t find my speech. Do you have it? Please tell me you have it.”
I let out a chuckle. She has left that speech laying out all over the apartment the past few days, so I figured I’d put it away for safekeeping.
“Nope, I guess you’re just going to have to wing it.”
Velyn appears back in the doorway. “Dylan, don’t even joke. Please tell me you have it.”
I let out another chuckle. “Yes, I have it. Now hurry, I wasn’t kidding when I said we only have twenty minutes. Babe, it would look horrible if the Valedictorian was late to her own graduation ceremony.”
Jetting off, then back again with her coat and purse in hand, Velyn takes a deep breath. “Okay, let’s get going.”
“Do you have everything you need?” I check one last time.
She nods. “I sure hope so.”
We make our way out of the apartment toward the elevators. Standing at the doors, Velyn gasps. “Crap, Dylan, my dad. I forgot to call him and remind him to get going.”
I take her under my arm, squeezing her. “Relax, he called earlier when you were just getting out of the shower. He’ll meet us at the ceremony. He’s just putting the finishing touches on the lunch.”
She exhales. “Okay.” Then another sharp intake of breath. “What about—”
“Vel, babe, I swear you’re going to give yourself a panic attack. Relax. Everyone and everything are on schedule and where they should be...except you.”
She groans. “Fine. I really did try to be on time. But everything I tried on either didn’t fit or looked like I was wearing a potato sack.”
“I told you to buy a new dress.”
She sighs. “I know, but it just seemed like a waste of money when it would just be covered with a big gown anyway.”
I give her another squeeze. “Well, if it helps, I think you look completely doable.”
Velyn looks up to me, her lips pursed. “No, it doesn’t.”
I shrug. “I tried.”
The door to the elevator opens, and we step inside, with Velyn then looking to me. “I’m so nervous.”
“Babe, you got this. I’ll be right there in the audience, just look at me and forget about everyone else,” I encourage.
“Easy for you to say, you love being the center of attention.”
A smile crosses my face. “I do, that I won’t deny. But you are my queen and deserve to shine in that same light. Now, take a deep breath, shoulders back and chin up because you are Velyn Dandridge and if anyone can command a crowd, it’s my wife.”
She inhales deep, letting it out slowly. “You’re right. I got this.” The door to the elevator opens, and Velyn confidently waddles out, looking over her shoulder with a smile. “Now, let's just hope your daughter
