A fresh start.
That’s what today was.
That’s how Keegan always looked at the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. It didn’t matter what mistakes you’d made in the past because you could toss them away and start fresh. This was her chance to begin again. And that’s what she was doing. She was starting fresh. With Sammi.
Of course, Sammi probably didn’t know that yet, had zero idea. But Keegan did. She’d known that moment in the middle of the night when Sammi’s eyes had filled with unshed tears. She’d kept them under control, hadn’t let them fall, but the fact that they’d shown up at all was the only thing Keegan needed to understand exactly how Sammi felt about her.
It was the same way Keegan felt about Sammi.
She loved her.
As if those unshed tears had unlocked some kind of gate, it swung open, and the feelings for Sammi she’d been burying, fighting, denying all came rushing out like her kindergarteners when the dismissal bell released them into the sunlight.
She stood now in Sammi’s kitchen, watching out the window as Beckett bounded through the snow, sticking his nose in it, then tossing his head so the snow flew through the air. He was having the time of his doggie life, and she couldn’t help but smile at him. Bringing him home to Sammi was probably one of the most enjoyable things she’d ever done in her life. Watching Sammi’s face light up and her eyes fill with love for the dog that Keegan had known the very first time she’d seen them together was a dog made for Sammi was one of the most gorgeous, joyful moments she’d ever experienced.
Beckett had woken bright and early, and Keegan knew that Sammi had been awake much of the night—well, so had she, but Sammi had been awake longer—so she was letting her sleep a bit. She’d quietly snuck out of the bedroom with Beckett by her side and closed the door behind them.
The coffee was strong and rich this morning. Maybe because of that whole fresh start thing? She smiled at the silliness of the thought as she opened the back door to let Beckett in. He was still pretty full of energy and she didn’t want him to wake up Sammi yet, so she got one of his tug toys out and sat on the living room floor with it.
Beckett was not a small dog, and he was decidedly strong, but he seemed to go easy on her.
“Are you letting me win?” she asked him as she tugged on the rope with both hands. “Pretty sure you could drag me across the room.”
Beckett’s nubby tail kept wagging and he held the rope firmly in his teeth. Every few seconds, he’d stop and rest—still holding the rope—and then he’d pull some more.
“So, Becks,” she said to him as they played. “What should I do? I could use some advice.”
The dog didn’t let go of the rope, but he stopped tugging and stared at her with his sweet brown eyes as if he was listening and saying Go on.
“So, here’s the thing…” She swallowed hard, because this subject was scary enough just being in her head. And yes, she was talking to a dog, but she was still saying these things out loud, and that made them even scarier. “I think I love your mom.” She blew out a short breath of relief. “I mean, I know I love her. Everybody does. How could you not, right? She’s amazing. But…” And here, she took another moment or two to brace herself before saying, very quietly, “I think I’m in love with her.”
Beckett continued to watch her, his eye contact almost intimidatingly intense.
“And I don’t know if I should tell her. ’Cause it’s fast. Really fast. The last time we were together—this was before we knew you—I hurt her pretty badly. So I’m not sure if she feels the same way for me any longer. You know? I mean, I think she does…” She sighed and looked at the floor, remembering her thoughts from earlier and that moment last night when Sammi had nearly cried. “No. I know she does.”
“She absolutely does.”
Keegan gasped and spun herself on the floor to see Sammi standing in the doorway from the steps. Beckett abandoned the game of tug and ran to his person, so happy to see her. He jumped up and put his front paws on Sammi’s hip, and Sammi petted his head, but her eyes never left Keegan’s.
“She absolutely does,” she said again.
It was Keegan’s turn to have her eyes well up, but she wasn’t able to keep the tears from spilling over. “Yeah?”
“Oh, don’t cry. Come here.” Sammi opened her arms so Keegan could stand up and walk into them, which was exactly what she did. Sammi smelled like warmth and sleep and love, and Keegan inhaled deeply as she buried her face in that spot where Sammi’s neck met her shoulder. “I have loved you from the minute we had our first date, and I never stopped loving you throughout the past year.”
Keegan looked up at her with surprise. “Seriously?”
Sammi nodded and said, “Even when you were dating Jules.” She pretended to choke on the name, which made Keegan laugh and broke any tension that had filtered into the room. They held each other for another moment and Sammi said, “I want to ask you how you didn’t notice, but I think I did a commendable job of hiding it. Kinda.”
“You did. Kinda.” She squeezed Sammi tightly.
“Is this where we have the what-happens-now discussion?”
“We probably should.” Keegan looked up at her. “What happens now?”
“Wait, no.” Sammi shook her head as she whined. “I was gonna ask that.”
“Yeah, but I asked first,” Keegan deadpanned, then laughed.
Sammi kept an arm around her as they moved into the living room and sat down on the couch.
“Seriously, though,” Keegan said, “what happens now?”
Sammi blew out a long, slow breath. “I mean, I think we…live. Right? It’s the perfect day to start our life together, you and me.”
“And Beckett.”
“And Beckett.”
“And Cocoa and Bean.”
“And Cocoa and Bean.”
“And your mom and grandma.”
Sammi groaned and covered her eyes. “My grandma is never going to let me live this down.”
“Nor should she,” Keegan said with a laugh. “She’s a very subtle and very good matchmaker.”
“God, don’t tell her that. And she’s hardly subtle. She’ll be pairing up people all over town.”
“Hey, the world is a mess. Everybody could use a little more love.”
“You are not wrong, my friend.” Sammi petted Beckett’s big square head.
“I love you, Sammi,” Keegan said quietly.
Sammi met her eyes and smiled that gorgeous smile of hers. “I love you, too.”
“Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year, baby.” Sammi leaned in, and Keegan pressed her lips to the ones she wanted to kiss forever.