Page 94 of How Our Hearts Break

“Oh.” I took a step back. “Wow.” I bent down and placed my hands on my knees, inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I almost squealed. “Just…” I trailed off and stood up, smiling brighter than I did in the past sixty or so years. “I’m finally with you.” I turned toward her. “It’s really you.” I came closer to her and without waiting for another second to pass, I placed my hands on her cheeks and pulled her to me, pressing my lips to hers. Her arms wrapped around my neck, holding me close to her.

She still smelled the same—like vanilla and cinnamon. She still felt the same—all mine.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I murmured between kisses. “I’ve spent a lifetime missing you.”

“I’ve been waiting for you, you know?” She smiled and pressed her forehead to mine.

“Sorry I’m late. I just had some things I needed to finish.” I laughed. “It just took me a bit longer to get back to you.”

“It really did, but it’s okay.” She took a hold of my hand and pulled me down as she sat on the ground. “I’m glad you had Ember in your life.”

I went down with her and placed my arm around her shoulders. “You saw her?”

“Oh yeah. She looks exactly like—”

“You,” I cut her off. “She looks like a pure replica of you. For a moment, I thought it was you, just in a different life.”

“It almost was, but I wasn’t ready to go. Not without you. Never without you.”

My fingers tangled in her hair felt like the sweetest heaven. “And what now?”

“Now.” She bit her lower lip and leaned into me. “Now we do everything we couldn’t do before. Now we live, Noah. Now we love each other.”

I nodded. “I’m fine with that.” I placed my hand on the back of her neck and pulled her closer. “Always and forever?”

“Always and forever, darling.”

THE END