I pull at the piece of fabric over my eyes. “Cade, I can’t see a thing underneath this,” I complain. I try to feel around me to find my surroundings, but all I can feel is his warm chest underneath my touch.
“It’s a blindfold, Goldie. That’s the point.”
I let out an aggravated sigh. He’s been hush hush all day about what we’re going to do for my birthday surprise. I’d tried getting it out of him, but the man never faltered.
The door to his truck shuts. I’m left in silence for a few moments. I fight the urge to use the time to my advantage and push the blindfold off my eyes so I can sneak a peek.
Somehow I’m able to resist the urge. Or maybe it’s the fact that Cade doesn’t take long to open the passenger door of his truck. His warm hands slide up my thighs, sending shivers of excitement down my spine.
“You ready for your surprise?” His voice is close. So close that I can feel the tickle of his breath against my cheeks.
“Is that even a question?”
He laughs. It’s low and comes from deep in his chest. It’s almost been a year since Linda left us, and eight months since I moved back to Sutten. I’ve found him laughing more and more. All of us have laughed more, time taking part in healing our wounds.
Cade takes my hand. He tugs on my arm slightly before he lets go. My hand tumbles to my lap as his lips crash against mine. I eagerly kiss him back, despite him catching me by surprise.
My thighs rub together, loving the feel of his strong fingers digging into the soft skin. I moan into his mouth when they dance against my inner thigh.
“Fuck,” Cade growls. “We may have to use this blindfold again, baby. I have so many ideas of what I could do to you while you wear this…”
I arch my back into him, already turned on by the idea of letting him have his way with me while I couldn’t see a thing.
Cade groans, laying one last chaste kiss against my lips before he pulls away. I miss his warmth immediately. “As much as I love the idea of you naked underneath me, wearing nothing but the blindfold, I have big plans for you tonight, Goldie.”
My bottom lip juts out. “It’s my birthday, what if I want that as my birthday gift?”
He chuckles. “That can be your gift later, baby. I’ve got other plans first.”
His strong arms wrap around me and pull me out of the front passenger seat. Then, he helps me plant my feet on the ground. There’s concrete underneath my boots, but there’s not many sounds around us. We can’t be somewhere too public or too busy or I’d be able to hear more.
When I breathe in, I’m hit with the smell of fresh, mountain air.
Cade interlocks our fingers, tugging on my hand a little to get me to walk. I step forward, letting him guide me wherever he wants.
It’s silent, the only sound is our boots scuffing against pavement as he guides us. I fix my purse strap on my shoulder, wondering if bringing it was even necessary. It may be my birthday, but I have one little surprise for Cade as well.
Finally, we stop. Cade’s hands find my shoulders. He massages the tender muscles at my neck for a moment. I lean into it, my muscles sore from spending days in front of my laptop plotting a new book.
“You ready?” Cade asks, his lips right next to my ear.
I nod, goosebumps popping up on my bare arms from the excitement.
Cade’s fingers brush against the back of my head as he unties the blindfold. He slips it off. I blink a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the sight in front of me.
My hands come to my mouth as I stare at the house in front of me.
Our home.
It’s finished.
I turn to him, tears welling in my eyes. “You said there was a hold up with the flooring?”
Cade shrugs, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me into his chest. “I may have told a little lie. The contractor’s guys have been working real hard to have everything completed by your birthday.”
I shake my head in disbelief. We’ve been doing our best at getting the house built, but there’s been delay after delay since I moved back. It hasn’t bothered me too much, but I’ve been eagerly waiting for Cade and me to finally finish the house we’ve dreamt about since I was a teenager.
“I can’t believe this,” I whisper, staring at the finished house. It looks so different from the last time we were up here. I’ve been trying to get Cade to bring me to the house for over a month now, but he kept saying nothing has changed.
Turns out, everything has changed since then. There’s now landscaping in the front. Our front porch has two brand new rockers facing where the sun will set every night. It’s so perfect.
It’s ours.
I rise to my tiptoes, pressing a kiss to Cade’s lips. “It’s perfect,” I whisper.
His hands find my cheeks. He cups them tenderly. “This isn’t the end of the surprise.”
I wrap my fingers around his wrists, holding his hands in place. “There’s more?”
“Much more. Follow me?”
He leads us through the front door and into the house. I’m stunned speechless when I look at the completed house. It’s empty, no furniture or decor in the house yet, but it already feels like home.
Cade lets me look around for a moment before he cocks his head toward the kitchen. The patio doors are open, candles lining a walkway out the door.
Before I can ask what’s happening, Cade takes my hand and guides me toward the candles. When we step back into the evening air, I gasp.
There’s a trail of candles in glass jars all the way to the start of the marigold field. My feet stop. I’m in too much shock to even remember how to walk.
Cade stops with me, letting me soak in the moment.
It’s the most stunning view I’ve ever seen. The sky’s the perfect orange color, matching the blooming field of marigolds. It’s summer, meaning the marigolds and the sky are both showing off for the night. All of the lit candles add to the magical ambience.
Cade gently nudges me forward. We walk down the pathway until Cade stops us in front of a mass of candles. They’re arranged in a semi-circle, with us standing right in the middle of them.
There’s a quilt laid out—one made by Linda. On top of the quilt there’s a picnic basket and additional candles.
“What is this?” I ask breathlessly. I don’t know where to look, what to focus on.
I turn to focus on him. His eyes crinkle at the sides in adoration as he gestures for me to sit. I’m left with no choice but to do as I’m told. I’m too stunned to think for myself.
“This is your birthday gift.”
Cade lends me a hand as we both lower to the quilt. I smooth my hand over the familiar stitches, remembering the nights Linda sat by the fire stitching it together.
“I can’t believe you did all of this for my birthday.”
“I’ve always loved celebrating birthdays with you.”
Emotion swells through me from the memory of us nine years ago. I thought it was the best thing in the world, to spend my sixteenth birthday with Cade Jennings. If only I’d known how many more I’d get to spend loving him—with him loving me.
I look at my surroundings, taking in the beauty of what he’s laid out. “This must’ve taken forever to set up.”
Cade smirks. “I had some help.”
It’s silent for a moment as we both look out at the setting sun. I don’t know if he realizes he does it, but Cade reaches out and grabs my hand. He places it in his lap, brushing his fingers along my palm.
His amber eyes focus on me, and I have an overwhelming sense of gratitude knowing he’s mine.
“Hey, Goldie?” Cade asks, letting go of my hand to reach for something in his pocket.
My heartbeat speeds up. His voice is hoarse and vulnerable. Something about the moment feels different. It feels special.
“Yes?” I whisper.
“I know it’s not midnight, but I was hoping we could break the rules and have you make a wish now?” He pulls out a black lighter. One that looks exactly like the one from all those years ago.
He flicks it on, the flame illuminating the space between us. “Make a wish.”
My eyes flutter shut as I pretend to make a wish. There isn’t anything I could wish for that I don’t already have. Year after year, I wished for Cade Jennings. All I wanted was for him to love me. And now I have that. I’ve never been happier. He completes me in a way that I thought was only meant for romance novels.
He’s my everything. My every wish. My dream come true. The only wish I could make was for things to stay like this forever.
When I open my eyes, I find Cade staring back at me. The flame reflects off the gold flecks in his eyes.
“Did you make your wish?” he whispers.
“My wish came true. I have you.” I lean forward and blow out the flame, missing seeing the reflection of the dancing flame on his cheeks.
Cade slides the lighter back into his pocket, but he doesn’t come out empty handed.
Between us he holds a red velvet box.
“Cade,” I whisper, wondering if I’m seeing things correctly.
Cade moves, shifting his body onto one knee in front of me.
A choked sob comes from my throat as I figure out what’s happening.
I’ve dreamt of this day since I was a little girl. He’s on one knee in front of me, looking at me with so much love.
He opens the box. I gasp at the brilliant, beautiful solitaire ring nestled safely in the box. “Nine years ago you made a wish, and I desperately wanted to know what you’d wished for. I wanted it to be for me—for us. I want to spend every birthday with you, be your every birthday wish, Goldie. Because you’ll always be mine. I want to be your forever. There isn’t a version of my future that doesn’t have you in it.” He taps his chest, hitting against his heart. “You’re my entire heart. My entire world. I love you so much that it feels like I live and breathe you. Marry me, Goldie? Make me the luckiest man in the world and become my wife?”
I blink through the stream of tears falling from my eyes. Everything is blurry and it feels like my throat is clogged with too much emotion. All I can do is nod. My body falls forward as I wrap my arms around his neck.
“Yes,” I say against his skin. “Yes. A million times yes.”
“God, I’m so fucking happy to hear that.”
I laugh, letting go of him enough to meet his eyes. “Of course I’d say yes. I love you.”
We kiss, lost in the touch and taste of one another.
I can’t believe I’m going to be his wife.
He grabs my left hand. Both of our hands shake as he tries to slide the ring onto my finger. We’re both so shaky he has to line it up a few times before it works.
The moment he slides the ring down my finger, an overpowering sense of peace washes over me. Cade sucks a breath in at the same time as me, like we both feel it.
The wind picks up, caressing my cheeks.
In the same way I can always sense him, I can sense her. I can sense them.
My eyes flutter shut as the wind delicately caresses my cheeks.
Hi Mom. Hi Linda.
In the middle of the marigolds, with Cade clinging to me, I know that Mom and Linda somehow, some way are here with us. They’re sharing the most special moment of my life with me. With both of us. Mom kept true to her promise. I may not be able to see her, but I feel her.
And I know that in this breeze, in the middle of the mountains surrounded by marigolds, she’s giving her approval.
A sob ricochets through my body. They’re here. They’re with us.
Cade and I soak in the moment. Then, I remember the surprise I brought for him.
I part from him only long enough to reach into my bag. My fingers wrap around the book softly. I pull it out, setting it down between us. The wind picks up again, rustling the marigolds around us.
I turn the book so Cade can read the title. He traces it with his finger. “Rewrite Our Story. I love it.” I look at his forearm, at the ink permanently etched on his skin. A line from Linda’s letter to me.
“It’s the first official copy of it,” I tell him. “I can’t believe it will be released later this year.”
Cade pulls me against his chest. My back presses to his front as he positions us to look out at the setting sun. “I’m so proud of you, Goldie.”
“I love you. I can’t wait to be your wife.”
Cade lets out a satisfied sigh. “Marigold Jennings sounds perfect.”
I nod. There was a time that I thought I’d never get the man I love back. But I did. And as we stare out in front of us, the marigolds blowing in the wind, I think about everything that happened to lead us to this moment.
Our story is nowhere near perfect. We had bumps and bruises along the way that took ages to heal. But the imperfections make it ours. And to me, it’s the best love story that’s ever been told.
And as the man who I love holds me tight to his chest, his ring on my finger, I have this overwhelming feeling that it wasn’t fate that brought me back home. It was my mom and Linda who helped Cade and me rewrite our story.
