It's been a year since Elle's accidental meeting with James and the 3 short weeks that followed in which she discovered what love really looks like.
And it happens to take the form of handsome cowboy, James Bridgewater. Her soulmate, twin flame, ot...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
June 3, 2023
"Elle?" James asks as he enters the front door, looking into the dark house. Before he can take another step inside, I flick on the light and everyone jumps up.
"Happy Birthday!" We yell in unison. James eyes widen and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise instantly. As he looks around at everyone a grin spreads across his face, reaching his eyes.
"What the hell," he asks, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Surprise," I sing cheerfully, as Julian comes up to pat James on the shoulder. Everyone shuffles through, saying happy birthday and giving him a hug and then heading to the kitchen for lunch, until it is my turn.
As his eyes find mine, his smile somehow grows. "Do you like it," I ask as he wraps me into a hug.
"I love it," he kisses my head. "Thank you." I smile into him before stepping back and grab his hand, dragging him into the kitchen.
"Alright, everyone! Grab your food and head to the living room for the movie," Lola instructs, as we enter the room.
An assortment of sandwiches, fruit, chips, and drinks are laid across the island. We shuffle through the line, laughing together as we gather our lunch.
"How did you get all of this done?" James whispers as we wait in line.
I turn to look up at him, smiling when I see his sparking brown eyes already on me. "Where there is a will, there is a way," I shrug. "Plus Lola helped a lot."
Once the last people are sitting down on the couch we turn on the movie. We watch quietly, eating our lunch, as the beginning scene of Shutter Island plays. Everyone has already watched this movie a million times so eventually we start talking quietly, still half watching the screen.
"When are you fully moving down here?" Seth asks, while feeding Sierra a bite of apple.
"In 7 days I will be a full time resident of Adler, Montana," I inform. "Tomorrow after Sunday dinner, me and James are flying to New York and staying for the week while we finish packing my apartment and the rest of the days until summer."
"Summer? Already?" Lucas asks, dumbfounded.
I chuckle and nod, "yup. School gets out on the 9th. The district decided it was best with all of the world activities going on currently that they get more summer time," I sigh heavily, just thinking about the chaos of the world today. Everyone nods in agreement.
"I can't wait for my bestie to be here full time! Constant hang out sess's," Lola exclaims. Everyone shushes her at once, still trying to listen to the movie. "Sorry, sorry," she whispers, trying to hold back her laughter.
I stifle my own before I respond. "Me too," I whisper shout, much to everyone's appreciation. I still have friends back in NYC, but I've grown so close to Lola since last summer that she is 100% my bestie.
Preston gets up and returns with beers, each of the guys and Darby taking one. Me and Lola decide not to. Instead, we happily drink our root beer floats.
After putting my plate in the sink and returning, I cuddle into James. Making sure to keep it G with the baby, our family, and friends around. Most everyone goes back for seconds, and some even for thirds.
"What next," Julian jumps to grab the remote, ready to turn on the next movie.
I turn to James, waiting for an answer. "Forrest Gump," he answers, smiling down at me. That was what we watched on our first movie night and James knows it. I kiss him, loving that he remembers such a small thing, before turning to watch the movie.
At some point Sierra ends up in my arms, asleep. As I cradle her and watch her sleeping peacefully, I feel the urge to look at James.
When I turn, I see that he is already staring down at me intently, his eyes so full of love. I smile and turn toward the baby again.
I feel James shift behind me as he leans down to whisper into my ear. "You look good with a baby in your arms. Maybe someday that baby will be ours." Goosebumps rise on my skin as a shiver runs through my body. That is something I would very much like, but not for a few more years.
James kisses my head as he leans back on the couch again, leaving me with my thoughts- full of what our babies would look like, him as a father, the sound of little footsteps running throughout the house. Every single one of those things I would love to experience and every single one of those things I have never thought about before him.
His sparkling brown eyes on the cutest little baby paired with his wavy brown hair on little kids running around the yard and throughout the house. Him running around with them, teaching them how to ride the horses, and tossing a ball back and forth in the backyard. Him helping them wash up as we get ready to eat dinner and all of us sitting happily around the table.
I can picture it all so vividly. That is a future that I crave to see. That is a future that I want so badly. I want everything with him, more than I've wanted anything in my whole life.
