Hendrix is curled up beside me, her head resting on my shoulder, her breathing deep and even. She’s exhausted, and rightfully so. The past few days have been a storm—of emotions, of truths, of figuring out what the hell we mean to each other outside of the lies and contracts and carefully drawn lines that we’ve both managed to cross over and over again.

I glance down at her and my chest tightens.

She loves me.

I feel lighter. Like the weight I’ve carried for years is easing and it’s safe to love someone.

I reach for the notepad in front of me, my fingers tracing over the creases on the page. I read and reread the scribbled words and half-written lines of the song that has tormented me for months. A song I could never finish, because I never knew how it ended.

Until now.

Until her.

Now, I finally know.

I adjust slightly, careful not to wake her, and pick up my pen. It’s time to finish the song. I fill in the missing lyrics, hearing the melody in my head as satisfaction settles deep in my bones.

Sweet surrender, I’m falling now

No more running, no more doubt

Take my heart, don’t let me go

I’m yours forever, body and soul

Your touch rewrites my history

Tearing down what’s left of me

Every scar, every pain

Fades away when you say my name

I fought too long, now I finally see

Love’s not a cage, it sets me free

This isn’t just any song.

This is her.

This is us.

This is ours.

Hendrix stirs beside me, her lashes fluttering as she shifts against my chest. She sighs, then snuggles in closer to me. Warming me. Invigorating me. Making me feel whole for the first time in as long as I can remember.

I study her, reaching out to brush away a stray piece of hair from her face. The sleep-drugged, satisfied sound she murmurs has my heart squeezing.

God, I love her.

And for the first time in my life, I’m not afraid to say it.

Not afraid to feel it.

I glance back down at the song, at the words that once felt impossible, and I realize something.

I finally finished it.

Because I finally know what it means to belong to someone.

And I’m never letting her go.

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

Gizmo

Eighteen Months Later

The sun isn’t even up yet, but sleep is impossible right now on today of all days.

The anticipation feels like the moment before the beat drops in a song. You know it’s coming and yet when it hits, you feel it in every part of you.

The fireplace flickers in front of us, casting soft shadows over the massive living room in our house—our house.