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—Simone—
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The decade-old sheet of paper crinkled in my hand, caught by the outside breeze, as I walked across the deck. Two weeks later, and I knew I’d made the right decision by finally trusting my heart, not my head.
Banks glanced my way and squinted against the early morning sun. “What ya got there, babe?”
“My list,” I said casually, despite how hard my heart raced.
He sat forward, instantly alert. “I thought we were done with the list?”
I sat beside him when he moved his legs to make room. “I was until today.”
Confusion tugged his expression. “So, why are you making me nervous?”
“I added something. One last thing to check off to make it complete.”
His eyebrows arched high. “Oh yeah?”
Smiling while nerves rippled through my stomach, I offered it his way. “Number fifty-one. I just added it and checked it.”
“Already?” Banks murmured as his eyes fell directly to the last addition. They skipped across each word, then flicked up to meet my gaze.
His smirk spread into a cocky smile. “So, we’re list official now, huh?”
I climbed up his body and kissed him. “The list doesn’t lie.”
“Neither do I, baby,” he stated against my lips, holding my face so I couldn’t pull away.
“Mm, I could get used to kissing you.”
My laughter danced across his smile. “You already kiss me—a lot.”
“Still not bored of it. Never will be. C’mere.”
As I lay along the length of his body, the breeze caught the single leaflet of paper. It fluttered to the deck close by, landing face up.
Not only had I settled into life with Banks and Pepin, but I’d also started therapy sessions with Peter. He’d validated my feelings and my actions, plus given me healthy tools to complete the grieving process. I also hadn’t picked up my little knife since the day the final snippet of truth unraveled around us.
I had Banks to thank to eternity and back for not giving up on me when it would have been so easy to walk away. His stupid adventure week had taught me that I didn’t need a list to experience life to the fullest... All I had to do was trust.
Banks Gatlin of Gatlin Falls; tall, handsome, annoyingly persistent... and mine.
There, in fifty-first place with a giant blue checkmark displayed proudly for all the world to see, sat the final entry on my list.
The one that allowed me to close the previous chapter of my life once and for all, while looking forward to the next one with the new love of my life.
#51—Get my happily ever after.
~The End~
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