When Jilly stepped back from hugging them both, she tripped over someone’s foot. Levi was right there, catching her in his arms. She wrapped hers around him and closed her eyes as his breath warmed the shell of her ear.
“I’ve got you, Jilly,” he whispered into her ear, his hand moving up to her shoulders and squeezing. “Always.”
When she gazed into his eyes, she both saw and felt the truth of it.
“Same,” she whispered.
Hugging him tight, Jillian tried to commit the happiness she felt to memory. It would remind her, in hard times, that he was someone she could believe in. They were in this together. For good.
Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
Jillian curled up on the couch in the living room, a cup of hot chocolate warming her hands as the lights of the Christmas tree warmed the room. Bing Crosby played softly through the Bluetooth and she smiled at the memory of learning, when moving in his record collection, that Levi had a soft spot for the classics. For his birthday in October, Ollie had insisted they get him a new retro-style turntable, and he’d loved it.
For Jilly, it felt sort of surreal to listen to music her mom had loved, in the house her parents raised her in, while dancing around the living room with her own daughter and the man she’d loved for the better part of her life. The past and the present had done a lot of merging in the months that followed their making up.
Levi came down the hallway, his gaze and smile competing for brightness against the backdrop of the tree.
“Ollie’s asleep. I don’t know why she wanted me to read’Twas the Night Before Christmas. She had the entire thing memorized,” he said with a laugh, sitting down next to her, careful of her hot drink.
Jillian leaned her head on his shoulder. “It’s a family favorite.”
Slipping his hand over her thigh, he sat with her listening to the music, the softness of the lights and the crackle of the fire adding an air of romance to the mood. Or maybe that was Levi. Everything felt more romantic, moreright,now that he was in her life.
“Will it be strange for you if your parents don’t come up first thing in the morning?” Levi asked.
Jillian set her mug on the coffee table she and Levi had debated over for far longer than they should have needed to. Turned out, no matter how compatible a couple was, they could still have entirely different furniture tastes when redecorating.
They’d chosen the style he wanted—wide planked with barn-style doors on each side—in the color she wanted—a faded, somewhat distressed-looking blue.
Turning into him, she smiled when his arm came around her, pulling her closer.
“I want us to start our own traditions. Waking up with just you and Ollie is new and I want to enjoy that. They’ll be up for brunch, and everyone else will join then, too.”
Levi tapped her nose with his finger, then kissed her. “I know the plan. I made it with you. I asked if it’ll be strange for you.”
She shrugged. “I guess. Different, for sure. Just like it will be for you. How many years has it been since you had Christmas dinner with your parents?”
His fingers trailed over the sensitive skin of her neck. “Too many. I’m looking forward to it. They really adore Ollie. And you.”
“Believe it or not, your dad really adores you, too. I overheard him telling Ollie about when you were a kid at Christmas. I can’t imagine, as a mom, what it would be like to have Ollie move so far away. When we’re doing it ourselves, like you, me, Beckett, and Grayson did, it feels natural, like that’s how it’s supposed to be. It’sstrange to be on this side of it now, knowing Ollie may live her adult life far away. It would definitely be hard to wrap my head around.”
Things weren’t always smooth between Levi and his dad, but for the most part, they’d both let go of whatever expectations they’d had of each other and started to accept who the other was in the here and now. As for her parents, Levi’s dad had done a wonderful job with the suite downstairs. They had their own entrance around the back, making it feel like two completely separate homes.
“You never know, she could go and then come home and move in with you again.”
Jillian laughed. “Let’s hope not. I love her, but something tells me she might get bossier. She’ll need her own space to be in charge of. It’s hard enough compromising with you.”
He stretched his foot out to tap the coffee table. “You love this thing. You know you do.”
She’d wanted one with no storage underneath so they weren’t tempted to just collect things they didn’t need. Levi insisted having storage would make her less irritated by the number of food magazines he purchased because then they’d have a place to hide.
“I love you. I know that.” She tipped her head back and looked at him. She really did. More each day, and what truly made her wake up every day in awe was knowing, in her heart and her mind, that he loved her back. The words were powerful and she cherished them but, with Levi, it was more about what he did; how heshowedhis love.
Levi leaned in, kissing her soft and slow, drowning her in gentleness. She was sinking into it, her bones melting with the sensuousness of his mouth moving against hers, when that admirable patience of his seemed to snap. As he pulled her onto his lap, his kisses grew rougher, like he couldn’t fight his need for herand like it still surprised him. Jillian loved that; loved knowing he craved her touch, her nearness, the same way she did his. It was one thing to love, but being loved back was something she’d never take for granted. She’d never understood the magic of knowing how much she mattered to someone who mattered so much to her.
His fingers were buried in her hair, her legs on either side of his waist, when he leaned away, his head against the back of the couch. “Superbolts.”
