Page 107 of When Forever Falls Apart

A single tear falls down my cheek. “Show me the stupid ring.”

Elliot opens the box with a relaxed smile. I stare in confusion, expecting a ring to be sparkling in all its glory—but inside sits a key.

“I’m not here to make any more mistakes, and the last thing I want is for you to feel pressured into marriage again. I love you, and want to spend every night with you beside me. For now, it’s a key to a small house I’m renting near the lake, but what I’m truly asking, Madelina, is for forever. This is just the beginning.”

My hand instinctively wipes the tears from my cheeks. “This is the most romantic non- proposal for marriage, and I read a lot of romance. But it’s not just me, you know. If I say yes to moving in, you’re committing to me and Douglas.”

Elliot stands and presses his forehead against mine. “I want all of you, but also, it’s not just me. You’d be committing to Margaret Anne, too.”

I pull back slightly, already feeling the loss of his touch. “Where’s Ronald?”

“He passed,” Elliot mentions faintly. “Thankfully, he went peacefully. It was his dying wish for me to adopt her. There was no chance I was going to say no. She’s family.”

And with our cards all laid out again, but our hearts firmly in sync this time, Elliot closes the gap between us and gently kisses my lips. An electric jolt startles me, but as thetaste of him spreads over my entire body, I know my lifecan’tgo on without him.

Without the four of us.

“So, I guess this means…” I trail off with this sudden wave of excitement flushing through me.

“Forever, here.”

“But you hate Cinnamon Springs,” I remind him.

“I don’t hate it,” he tells me with a reassuring smile. “Besides, if I hated it, why would I have bought the vacant land next to Aston and Eva so we can build our dream home? You know, Margaret Anne and Douglas will need space to run around. This little standoff of theirs is rather unsettling.”

I glance at both of them, laughter breaking free from my lips.

“It’s like Douglas thinks he can take on the queen. Honestly, it’s so sausage dog syndrome.”

“So…?” Elliot asks with hopeful eyes.

I wrap my arms around him. “Welcome home, baby.”

He picks me up and spins me around, our laughter filling the air.

“I love you, Madelina Beaumont.”

“Hey,” I interject, frowning. “One day it’ll be Mrs. Woods, unless you want to get complicated and do all that hyphenated BS.”

Elliot’s smile leaves me breathless. “Kiss me, Bugs.”

And just like that, we’ve found each other, after a long journey of learning to find ourselves.

Life, as I know it, is perfect.

All I needed was my best friend’s older brother.

My second-chance romance.

Elliot Woods.

CHAPTER 29Elliot

My arms wrap tightly around Madelina as I watch her sleep peacefully.

The last six months have been purehell.

I threw myself into work, pushing myself to numb the pain. The harder I worked, the more it paid off career-wise. Billionaires were flying me out to their castles for private events, some on their yachts. Any and every celebrity party, they wanted me to manage. Jacques was so impressed that he planned an expansion because the world was at his feet.