Ryan's Love - C.A. Harms Page 0,59

and forget what truly matters. Life’s not about the money you have or the car you drive. It’s about the people you spend even the dullest moments with and the memories you create that hold you together, even when you feel like you’re crumbling inside.

I never told Claire the things I should have. Yes, she knew I loved her, or at least I thought she did, but I can’t honestly say now that I knew that for sure at the time. I grew into a pattern where I just let life happen, and I never took the time to stop and enjoy the small things.

I should have told Claire daily that I loved her. I should have thanked her for all the little things she did for me without a second thought or asking for thanks, even though she deserved it. I should have thanked her for giving me the greatest gift of all—unconditional love, even on the hardest of days. She was an amazing woman, and the best friend I ever had.

Not making sure she knew how much I loved her is a regret I will always live with.

And a mistake I never plan on repeating.

I stood in my dark kitchen, looking out the back door while silently taking in my future. Olivia and Amber were lying in the hammock, pointing up at the stars. Their laughter warmed me to my soul. It sounded almost musical and was one of the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard.

Amber had no idea what Olivia and I had planned for her tonight. The idea was to get her over here for dinner, and when she least expected it, I would swoop in and change everything.

I slid open the door as quietly as possible, then stepped outside and gently closed it behind me. I could see the tops of their heads as they lay side by side, still pointing up at the sky.

“Look at that cluster right there,” Amber said. “It sort of looks like a slice of pizza.”

“Pizza?” Olivia giggled. “Are you hungry or something? Because that doesn’t even slightly resemble a slice of pizza.”

Amber lay quiet for a few seconds before I heard her whisper, “Well, I think it looks like pizza, or maybe pie.”

“Okay, Am, I guess if you insist,” Olivia sarcastically responded.

They had grown closer than I ever imagined. Olivia looked forward to Amber being here with us. On the days when I worked a late shift, she would beg me to stay at Amber’s place. Amber made it clear she loved having Olivia over, so it had become a recurring event. The two of them had really come a long way. I could feel the love they shared for each other, which in turn made mine even stronger.

I walked around the side of the hammock closest to Amber and held my hand out toward her. She arched a brow and looked up at me, questioning me with her eyes.

“Olivia and I thought we would take a walk down by the lake,” I answered her silent question.

She placed her hand in mine, and I gently tugged. When she stood before me, gazing up at me with her beautiful brown eyes, I couldn’t resist kissing her before I gripped her around the waist and pulled her toward me. The moment my lips touched Amber’s, her body melted against mine. A moan in the back of her throat made me grin against her lips.

Olivia cleared her throat, and I pulled back and rested my forehead against Amber’s.

“Let’s take that walk,” she whispered.

I nodded and stepped back, allowing her to move around me as I held out my hand, indicating that Olivia should follow her. When our gazes connected, Olivia was giving me that knowing smile. She too knew our lives were about to change, and we were both okay with that.

The moment I stepped off the deck, Amber linked her fingers with mine, and I placed my arm over Liv’s shoulders and pulled her close. I had talked over what I was about to do with Olivia in great detail. I wanted to be sure she was willing to share our lives with Amber just as much as I was. In the end, we both knew we were in this together as always, and Amber was the one we had chosen to have by our sides.

Amber loved the lake. Each time we walked along it, she looked out at the water with such a peaceful expression upon her face. Just