Well, she does now. I plan for us to get to know each other very well.
It’s weird, this feeling I have. Like somehow or another I’ve known her my whole life. As if she’s always been a part of it, and I just forgot about her. Which is stupid. There’s no way I could ever forget about her.
“Do you want some of my snow cone?”
She holds it out to me, and I grab it and take a big bite before handing it back. We pass it back and forth until it’s gone.
I don’t know who this girl is or where she came from.
I only know that now that I found her, I’m never letting her go.
I don’t fully understand the word that suddenly whispers in my head, but it’s clear as day.
Forevermore.
Extended Epilogue
Some More Time Later
I look up from the box I’m unpacking when Aiden strolls into the kitchen with another box in his hands. He sets it down beside the one still half full of dishes.
“I thought you said there were no more boxes?” I ask, setting the wrapped plate down on the counter and taking stock of the new box. It doesn’t look like one of ours. “Where’d this come from?”
Instead of answering me, he wraps an arm around my waist and tugs me as close as he can with my expanded belly. Smiling up at him, I roll to my toes and meet him halfway for a kiss so sweet it curls my toes. We’ve been together going on ten years, and he still manages to steal my breath away.
Just like always, when we pull away, I’m left in an Aiden-induced fog. He nips the end of my nose, giving me his signature smile, and spins me around to face the new box on the counter. I’d prefer to continue what we were doing and christen the kitchen, one of the only rooms left that we haven’t yet, but his parents are due here any minute. The last thing we need is for them to catch us going at it on the kitchen counter.
He pushes my hair to the side and sets his chin on my shoulder.
“I was putting the Christmas decorations away in the attic when I came across several stacks of boxes. Figured you’d want to take a look inside.”
“Hmm….” I frown as I run my hand over the top and feel a weird since of familiarity. “We didn’t get a chance to look in the attic when we viewed the house. I wonder if they belonged to the previous owners.”
“No clue, but if they do, they’ve been missing them for a while. The house was on the market for years before we put in a bid.”
Which I found very strange when the realtor informed us of that. The house is gorgeous and in really good condition for its age.
“Do you think we should open it, or just contact the realtor?” I ask Aiden, even though I really want to open it and see what’s inside. There’s a strange feeling inside my stomach telling me I need to open it.
He lets me go and grabs the box cutter from the counter, sliding the blade across the tape on the top of the box. “I don’t know about you, but I’m dying to know what’s inside.”
My eyes are glued on the box in anticipation when I ask, “Do you feel it too?”
We both look at each other at the same time.
“You mean that bizarre feeling that we’re supposed to see whatever’s in this box?”
I let out a breath, grateful I’m not the only one. “Yes.”
He leans over and pecks my lips. “Yes. I feel it too.”
He sets the box cutter down, but instead of opening the flaps, he comes back around to stand behind me, his hands settling around my waist.
“Open it,” he says quietly.
With my heart pounding and my hands shaking—why in the world am I so nervous—I open the flaps. I’m surprised when I find the box filled to the brim with books. I pick up the top one. The cover is beautiful and looks hand painted. It’s a light purple and blue sky full of twinkling fireflies.
“Wow,” I breathe. “This is beautiful.”
Aiden’s hand appears and he runs his fingers over the design. “Whoever painted this knew what they were doing.”
Worried the cover may come apart at the seam, I carefully open it. The first page has a woman’s name on it.
Molly Caldwell Bradshaw.
Caldwell has a strike through it, and Bradshaw is underneath.
I flip