Chapter 1
Six long months had passed since Aiden and Josh’s Halloween wedding. Old friendships better left in the past had finally burned out. Annie looked around her new apartment, a beautiful three-bedroom unit with floor-to-ceiling windows and a kitchen that could make a high-class chef jealous. It was perfect, but it didn’t feel like hers yet, despite the modifications made before she moved in. Still, Annie smiled; it was hers now- no rent, no mortgage to worry about- her sanctuary, or at least it would be once the boxes were unpacked and everything found its place.
A small smile graced Annie’s lips; her emerald eyes lit up when she saw her longtime admirer’s reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding boxes of his own and a bouquet of roses hooked under his muscular arm. They’d been dating for six months; their second date was the Halloween wedding at Shadowmore Castle, but they’d known each other for years. Jackson Balor was his name; he was Annie’s best friend’s older brother, or one of them, at least. Taller than most, he was a semi-famous fitness influencer who didn’t care about the fame his six-foot-seven frame so often brought. Instead, he focused on helping strangers get into shape, and on family and friends who still meant the world to him.
“You’re gonna put that home gym to good use, right?” asked Annie. A sweet giggle escaped her seconds later as she brushed some dark auburn hair to the side. “Be a shame to see it go to waste,” she commented with an innocent glint in her eye. Still, a flash of confusion briefly passed over her face as she looked around in fear. She didn’t recognize the apartment, didn’t understand how she was there, nor why Jackson had chosen her as a partner when he could have anyone. “Is this real?” Annie asked, uncertainty and fear glimmering in her eyes. “Why did you choose me?”
“Why wouldn’t I choose you?” asked Jackson, unsure what to do, but following the sequence he’d observed both Echo and Finnick do when Annie’s mind played cruel tricks. Carefully, Jackson put the box he carried down, the bouquet of roses on top of it, before taking slow, steady steps toward Annie, his sweet angel. He kept his hands visible, showing her she could trust him. He’d earn it as Echo and Finnick had years ago. “You’re beautiful, strong, and kind, with a big heart and a bright smile despite everything you’ve been through. You’re not broken, Annie; you never were. You’re unique in all the best ways.”
Annie looked at Jackson for a second, her emerald eyes wide, still filled with uncertainty. Before a gentle laugh left her lips. Jackson looked confused for a second before Annie motioned between them, the height difference making her laugh. Annie’s average five-foot-four frame against Jackson’s massive 6-foot-7. He was over a foot taller than her; still, he was a gentle giant even if he didn’t look like it. Jackson soon began to chuckle, recalling that Evie and Ace were the only other two with a significant height difference.
They also had a fifteen-inch height difference. Evie was five feet of fury; Ace was six-foot-three of real estate knowledge. Yet somehow the childhood sweethearts were perfect for each other. They laughed at the height difference, made jokes at their own expense, and often showed others what true love meant. Deep down, Jackson hoped he’d get the chance to have that with Annie. Despite what it looked like from the outside, despite what Annie’s broken mind so often conjured to confuse her, he did love her, had for years, long before the car accident that had literally turned her world upside down and stripped everything she once knew and loved away.
“What did Echo say to you?” asked Annie, her words so soft Jackson barely heard them, despite the only sound in the apartment being the fridge freezer lightly humming. Still, there was no suspicion in her eyes now, just acceptance, as she glanced around the large open living, dining, and kitchen area with a generous-sized breakfast bar and granite countertops. “I know she’s been playing gothic cupid again,” she added in the same soft tone.
A smile soon graced Annie’s lips again, a comforting smile, one of true happiness. Echo had played gothic cupid several times over the years, mostly with her brothers. Cassian, the eldest of the Balor brothers, already happily married to the world’s clumsiest woman and a little boy of his own, often helped Echo with her matchmaking schemes. He loved watching the chaos and his sister’s talent for bringing people together, even if she was apparently blind to the idea of love for herself, afraid of it even.
“Reminded me I’ve sent you a bouquet of Will Scarlett roses and a box of your favorite chocolates every Valentine’s Day for six years as your secret admirer,” admitted Jackson, seeing the realization dawn on Annie. Her mystery admirer, who left kind, thoughtful words in cards for her every year, had been none other than him. Trying to do something so she could see people would and could see past her mental struggles, could see her for the beautiful angel she still was. “Said it was about time I put on my big boy pants and reached out for what I wanted. She said you’re stronger than I realized.”
“Huh,” hummed Annie, her attention turning to the view of the city the large floor-to-ceiling windows offered. A soft laugh escaped her lips again upon hearing her footsteps echo against the oak floors running throughout the apartment. She still couldn’t believe it was hers, or understand what had prompted Jovi to give it to her rather than sell it. “She reminded me of something I said when we first started college. Before the stupid accident,” she added, grimacing as she remembered the horrific accident.
Echo’s scars were physical, something she now displayed with pride; battle scars, she called them. Annie’s were mental scars no one could see unless she struggled. Her mind had shattered, made worse when her family had left with the excuse that they couldn’t handle her need for constant care. Friends had left too. Echo, despite struggling with her own injuries, had stayed, refused to leave. Finnick was the same. Together, they showed her she was still worthy of love, becoming the reality anchors that grounded her even when her broken mind made it hard to tell the difference between reality and her mind playing cruel tricks on her. They became her family, the people she trusted above everything and everyone else.
“She reminded me, I once said you were my idea of a Prince Charming,” Annie admitted with an embarrassed giggle and blushed cheeks, picking up the carrot cushion Finnick had gotten her for her birthday last year. One that displayed her quirky style and his understanding and acceptance of her. Jackson didn’t say anything, just smiled small, processing the new information with a pang of pride. He wondered if Seth would react like that if he ever had the confidence to finally reach out for what he truly wanted rather than settling for an unbreakable friendship.
For a moment, Jackson’s attention diverted to the box sitting on the kitchen island, the one labeled “odds and sods” he’d brought in earlier, one of the first boxes he’d brought up. He remembered six months earlier when he’d finally asked Annie out on a date, a simple coffee date, during a quiet time at Costa Coffee most people forgot about. He’d smiled brighter than Annie that day; not only had she agreed, taking a leap of faith she’d refused countless times before, but she’d worn the charm bracelet he’d gifted her for her birthday the year before, the one he’d recruited Jena to help find.
He also remembered the conversation last month, when Annie mentioned moving to a new apartment in a building with a doorman, security, and a two-car spot in the garage. She’d taken a leap of faith then too, when she casually asked him to move in with her, their first milestone as a couple, a sign of her trust in him. Jackson agreed, and the conversation shifted to the future and what they both wanted. Annie had mentioned she’d started hoping for more since Josh and Aiden’s wedding. She wanted to experience that kind of love and happiness, and now she was thinking about it; she wanted to be a mom one day.
Jackson, too, had been on the hopeful hunt for the love of his life, one terrible date after another, most women barely seen past his semi-famous status. Others had been ruder than Mackenzi when she tried to act like she knew respect and manners were. None of them, however, were Annie, the sweet florist shop owner with an eye for nature’s beauty and a love for walking trails. None of them were his sweet, innocent flower.
Eventually, Jackson accepted the truth. His mind searched for the love of his life; his heart had found her years ago, when Echo brought her home for a play date in junior school. Now he knew there was no point wasting time; life was too short. He’d seen it with both Echo and Qimir the night Ivan’s nightmare reached its climax. He’d almost lost his older brother and younger sister that night. Felt the dread, still felt the fear of losing someone he loved without telling them he loved them.
“Marry me, Annie,” whispered Jackson, squeezing his cobalt eyes shut, awaiting the rejection he was sure would come. Instead, there was silence, not awkward, just a warm, comfortable silence. He refused to turn to face her until he felt her gentle hand pull at his wrist. Her emerald eyes searched his cobalt ones, as if looking for a truth her heart already knew but her mind questioned to protect her. Quietly, he reached into the box for the black velvet ring box hidden among the things in there. He opened it to reveal an old ring, a rose quartz stone set into a white gold band and lined with glittering diamonds.
“It’s beautiful,” Annie said softly, admiring the ring. She recognized it. Valentine Balor had once stated it was Alysanne Odair’s wedding ring, Alyssa, Jackson’s mother’s heirloom. She’d left each child an heirloom before she passed away, not just the ornate frames reserved for the special someone. Pieces of jewelry, too, passed down from one generation to the next. “More beautiful than I remember.”
“I love you, Annie Love,” began Jackson with a sudden burst of confidence. “I have since we first met, before I knew what love was,” he added, gripping the velvet ring box tightly. He’d promised his mother, as a sixteen-year-old, that he’d take good care of Grandma Alysanne’s ring, and that he’d only give it to the person he could see himself spending a lifetime with. “If you’ll let me spend my lifetime loving you, I’d be truly grateful for the gift and the honor of being able to call you my wife.”
“Are you serious?” asked Annie, eyes wide once more, pupils blown as if she was determining if it was real or just another trick her mind was playing on her, a vivid delusion. “Is this real?” she asked, her emerald eyes finding his cobalt ones again, seeing the honesty there that grounded her in the same way Finnick and Echo’s presence could, their voices could. From that alone, she knew the reality was true; his confessions were too, and so was his question, filled with hopeful words and a promise of forever. “Okay,” whispered Annie, trying to regain her confidence. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
Gently, Jackson took the ring that once symbolized almost fifty years of happy marriage, a life well lived. Slowly, he slid it onto Annie’s ring finger with hope and a mental note to get the ring resized. It suited her, he thought, just like the idea and adventure of being a bride did. Still, there was only one word that echoed through his mind now. Forever. The word he hoped would describe him and Annie in years to come. In the life he hoped they could build together—a lifetime of love and respect.
