Seven Weeks to Forever (Love / Romance)

Epilogue: Chapter Forty-Three

Date night. Seven weeks ago, I was terrified of the d-word and dreading the moment Riley would arrive at my door to take me out for my birthday. Now I find myself happily humming along to the music playing in his car while he navigates the winding curves of Mulholland Drive.

An amused grin crosses across Riley's lips. "You know most of this song has banjos, right?"

He hasn't forgotten our great music debate from my birthday night. I hold a finger up to my mouth. "Shhh. I have a reputation to uphold."

"My lips are sealed." I spot the merry gleam in his eye that tells me this is forever something he's going to tease me about.

"Not too sealed, I hope. I still need to kiss them later." I toss my hair over my shoulder, and my own lips curve up into a flirty smile.

"Later?" His brow crinkles. "What's wrong with now?"

"You're driving on a road I'm pretty sure Mario Kart was inspired by. I think you need to concentrate on that."

He shrugs and signals to pull over to the side of the road. "Problem solved."

"Ridiculous boy," I chide him, but even I know I sound giddy.

He slows the car to a stop, then shifts into park and cuts the engine. I watch him unbuckle his seat belt and expect him to lean over the console to kiss me, but he reaches for the door handle instead.

"Wait." I hold up my hand. "We're getting out of the car for this?"

Riley gives me a mysterious look and opens his door. After getting out, he circles around the front of the vehicle to the passenger side, where he opens my door. I unbuckle my seat belt and take his hand, letting him help me up.

I teeter on the heels of my sandals when I straighten to a stand, and Riley steadies me. Once I've found my balance again, he leads me a few feet up the road, not saying a word. Then I see it. We're at a city lookout.

I realize something then. We're not very far from where I crashed my car as Anna. I drove by this lookout that night, and I haven't been back here since. That was the end of my old life, the shattered pieces of my body a mirror of my shattered existence. Here, decades later and just around the bend, my body, energy, and life are whole and strong.

Twinkling city lights dot the skyline, stretching out as far as I can see. They reflect back to me, shining in Riley's pupils when I turn to face him.

"It's breathtaking," I say.

"It's nothing next to you."

It could have sounded like a cheesy line, but it doesn't. The warmth of Riley's arms around me, the way he looks at me, and the buzz of energy between us all confirm he means every word.

He drops a kiss on the bare skin of my shoulder, then on the side of my neck. I tilt my head, and he accepts the invitation to trace my jawline with his lips. It's the energy rush I feel this time, and not my shoes, that causes me to sway in his arms.

Riley holds me closer, his hips pressed to mine, while he rains kisses back along my neck and up to my earlobe. He pauses there, a soft laugh escaping him when my hands grip his forearms and he hears the catch in my breath. I don't know how he does it, but he makes every nerve ending in my body come alive with the touch of his mouth against my skin.

"Not funny," I murmur.

"No?" His breath tickles my ear.

He runs his fingertip along my lips, which part in anticipation of what's to come. He takes his time, though, focusing his gaze on my mouth and holding his head just an inch or two away from mine. I circle my arms around his neck and rise up on tiptoe to close the space between us.