Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Fuck, her words cause my chest to crack wide open. “I’m sorry,” I breathe. “I pushed you both away. Everyone I ever let close to me left me. Then Violet…” I say my voice trailing off. “I let that rejection sink deep inside me, and if it were not for Eden, it would still be there, festering just beneath the surface.”
“Thank you, Eden. Thank you for bringing our boy back to us,” Nathan says, his voice gravelly.
Eden turns to look at me, our eyes meeting. Hers are glassy with emotion. “He brought himself back. All I did was love him.”
I don’t care that Nathan and Hope are watching us. I don’t give a single fuck who sees me love this woman. Leaning in, I press my lips to hers. “I love you.”
Her smile is radiant. “I love you, too.”
I turn back to Nathan and Hope. “Thank you for never giving up on me. I’m sorry for all the heartache I caused and for pushing you away. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate you. Love you,” I say quietly. “I was afraid of losing you, too.”
“That won’t happen, son,” Nathan says. “We chose you, Foster. We’ll never stop choosing you.”
“Oh my,” Hope says, fanning her face as more tears fall.
“Right?” Eden says, her voice raspy.
“I’ll stop.” I smile at the two most important women in my life. “But there’s one more thing.” I make sure I have the undivided attention of all three of them. “I want you in my life. I want more visits like this. You have an open invitation. My home is open to you, tickets to games, whatever you want. I want to provide it. I want holidays, and when I convince this woman to marry me, I want you to be there. I want you both there for all of it.”
Eden gasps.
Hope cheers.
Nathan chuckles.
Just like that, everything in my world is brighter. Lighter. Happier.
For so long, I let fear guide me. Fear of my past, of being rejected, of losing someone I love. Eden helped me see that. She loved me through all of it, and I let her. It’s because of her that I had the confidence to change the play.
Epilogue Foster
Foster
* * *
I never thought I’d be doing this for a second time. I was certain I’d never let my heart lead me again. Never give it the power to wreck me the way it once had. I told myself I was stronger for it, smarter. More guarded. Never again would I feel that sting of rejection. Yet here I am, standing in the foyer of our new home, my pulse hammering so loudly, I swear it echoes off the walls.
The house smells faintly of roses and vanilla. There’s a warmth to the scent that makes this feel like home. Rose petals trail across the floor like they’re guiding me forward, leading me toward a moment I’ve replayed a hundred times in my head and still feel wildly unprepared for. Candles are everywhere, their flames flickering softly, casting shadows that dance along the walls. It feels surreal. Like I’ve stepped into a memory that hasn’t happened yet.
My right hand is buried deep in my pocket, fingers curled tightly around the ring I picked out just for her. I can feel the shape as it bites into my palm. The cool weight of it grounds me. I think about how long it took me to choose it, how nothing ever felt good enough. How no diamond seemed capable of carrying the meaning of what she’s done to me. How she’s healed me and given me back something I thought I’d lost forever.
Hope.
Love.
Eden didn’t just make me fall in love again. She made me believe in it.
I swallow hard and glance around, my chest tightening as I take it all in. This house—our house—we closed on it yesterday, and I made excuses that I was with the guys to pull this off. The walls are bare, causing the rooms to echo just a little, but it already feels lived in because we chose it together. We’re going to live here together, raise our family, and make memories that will last us a lifetime. I can picture it all clearly, and the thought doesn’t terrify me. It excites me. This is our next chapter.
The proposal? That’s the part that scares me.
The last time I stood on the edge of a promise like this, I was naïve. I thought I knew what love was.
I was wrong.
I didn’t understand how fragile trust could be, how devastating it is when it shatters. The rejection stayed with me, and I swore I’d never put myself in a position to lose this much again. I built walls so high, I convinced myself they were permanent.
And then Eden came along and, without force or pressure, made them irrelevant. She barely had to push, and everything I was keeping locked inside crumbled like a house of cards.