“Hey, Spaceman!” I turn quickly to see my little brother, who’d used the nickname he’d stolen from Shea.
“Mascot! Get over here!” He jumps over the rope and jogs toward me. He looks like California in his board shorts, tank top, toned muscles and natural tan. I give him a tight hug. “It’s been too long, buddy.”
“You’re looking good, Max,” Shea says.
“You, too. Don’t know what you’re doing with this guy. You need a haircut, Will.”
“I just got one…”
He cringes and shakes his head in disapproval. I look at Shea. “I love it. I like your hair a little longer.”
“As long as she’s happy,” I tell my brother. “How the hell are you?”
“I’m great. School’s good. California’s amazing.”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“A little… here and there.”
“Good.” I smile, hugging him again. When I saw him at Christmas, he was still hurt over his break up with Callen and wasn’t even considering dating anyone else. Even though they’re only an hour away from each other at school, they don’t see each other at all–by Max’s choosing.
“Zany! Trey!” he yells in my ear when he catches sight of his best friends. “Hey, we’ll talk after.”
“Sure thing.”
When I turn around, I see Damon and Tavo approaching. They’re flanking a black woman in sunglasses and long, braided hair.
I subtly glance down at Shea out of the corner of my eyes, waiting for her to see them. She squints when she finally does. “Tavo’s lost weight,” she comments.
“He has,” I say, finding it funny that she’s focusing on him.
“Hi, Shea!” Damon calls across the patio.
“Hey, there,” she flirts with him and waves, still oblivious to the third person that’s with them. “Who’s that woman with Damon?” she finally asks.
“She look familiar?” I ask.
“She’s a dead ringer for my sister, don’t you think?”
“You know, I only met her that one time,” I say indifferently, trying to hide my smile.
“That’s not her,” she says, trying to convince herself. “Is it?”
“Why don’t you get closer?”
“Is it?!”
“How do you not recognize your own damn sister?”
“Sarah?!”
The woman with Damon bursts out laughing and takes off her shades, walking quickly to meet Shea half-way. My family murmurs in surprise, wondering why she’s here all the way from Nigeria.
“You know something about this, Will?” Peron asks me. “That’s Shea’s sister, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Pretty special… having here here, huh?”
“Well, I guess it might be, Per… did you practice that new sheet music I sent you?”
“I’m ready.”
“Good.”
Damon and Tavo welcome me with handshakes as we watch Shea and Sarah. “Thanks for picking her up this morning,” I tell Damon.
“If ever there has been a woman that’s out of my league, it’s that one.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t meant to be a set up,” I inform him. “Simply a favor…”
“Right, right,” he says, playing it cool.
“Tavo, you working out?”
“We’ve both been running,” he informs me.
“It shows.”
“You feeling good?” my best friend asks me.
“I’m nervous about the singing. That’s all. Totally confident about the rest of it.”
“What’s going on?” Peron asks.
“Yeah?” Tavo adds on as Bradley finally joins the rest of us with a speaker and a mic.
“You’ll see… everyone’s here, so let’s get this thing started.”
Already, people in the street are starting to take notice of Damon Littlefield. They’re pointing out Jack Holland and Livvy and the babies. Phones are coming out and cameras are beginning to record. A small crowd is forming around the roped-off area. I see two security guards come out from inside the restaurant, hired at my urging.
Damon takes the microphone, testing it to adjust the volume. People squeal at that. “Hey, New York! It’s good to be back for a bit… and I’m here to congratulate our guitarist, Will, on getting his PhD in Physics. Such a freakin’ brainiac, this one.” The invited guests give me a standing ovation. I look at everyone, happy to see all the people I love here. All the people who have helped to make me into the man I am. I smile at my mother, at the Hollands, at Jon and Livvy, then at Max. I wave at Sarah, who I spoke to this morning when she landed, and I try to silently communicate my gratefulness to Shea for everything she’s done for me. Everything she’s been through while I’ve focused relentlessly on my thesis and dissertation for the past two years. “I’m going to hand it over to Will Scott now.”
I put my guitar back on and lean against the barstool, getting ready for my next song that no one’s ever heard in its entirety. “First of all, thank you to everyone for being here, and for your support over the past few years–hell, over my entire life. I wouldn’t be here without the help of so many of you. And especially one person specifically… I wrote a song… and I’m going to do my best to sing the whole thing, but Damon’s here to take over in case of an emergency.”
Everyone laughs while I set the microphone in the stand and begin playing, then eventually singing:
Another month passes
I see you in my mind's eye
My thoughts a million miles away
A galaxy between us
Or so it seems
You couldn't be farther from me.
I stare out at the ocean
Looking in the wrong direction
Grounded, my toes buried in the sand
But I'm free-falling
Lost without you
Among the hot dark matter, I reel.
In my heliocentric world,
I'm a satellite to your sol
Your love keeps me tethered in orbit
When I'm lacking all self-control
No matter the distance I've strayed
I'm coming back home, my dear,
My arc draws closer; slower
Breaches your atmosphere
All I am, I give to you.
Please, my–
“Just a second,” I say, stopping the song and clearing the lump from my throat. My nerves are getting the best of me, and Shea’s already teary-eyed, not even knowing what’s coming. I’m not sure I can sing the rest. I cover the mic, pushing it away from me and leaning into Damon’s ear. “After this line, you have to take over the vocals.”
He sees my eyes water and pats me on the back, smiling at me. “I got you.”
I clear my throat once more before starting the line over again.
All I am, I give to you.
Please, my Sol, tell me "I do."
My voice cracks a little as I sing it, but the words still come out audibly. I’m pretty sure everyone in the crowd gasps. Shea grabs a hold of her sister’s hand with one of hers, and covers her mouth with the other. I meet her eyes as tears stream down from them, then look around to see Jon and Livvy, my mother, Max, and other people. I don’t think they’re certain that it’s a proposal. They all look anxious with anticipation.
Damon continues singing my part while I keep playing. I move my focus back to Shea, now delivering an assuring smile as I let myself give in to the overwhelming emotions, too. That must clue everyone else in, because, in no time, quite a few people are crying with us.
Billions of light years
In this universe we know
So many thousands of years
Have we existed
Yet we met.
What are the chances?
And how lucky am I
That I get to hold yours close
Out of all the heavenly bodies I've seen?
Warm and radiant
Against all others
You shimmer; your spirit dances.
In my heliocentric world,
I'm a satellite to your sol
Your love keeps me tethered in orbit
When I'm lacking all self-control
No matter the distance I've strayed
I'm coming back home, my dear,
My arc draws closer; slower
Breaches your atmosphere
All I am, I give to you.
Please, my Sol, tell me "I do."
I'm the moon to your earth
The earth to your sun
Constellation of reasons
Why you're the one
You're the light to my shadows
The warmth for my shiver
Your touch radiates
Makes my whole body quiver.
My whole world, this one and beyond
Will you marry him? Now's the time to respond.
“That’s…” I stop the song and look over at Damon. My cheeks must be as red as the diamond-surrounded garnet on the ring in my pocket. “That’s not how it goes…”
“I’ll sing it the right way, but I think now’s a good time… she’s crying, Will,” he whispers the obvious fact to me. “Get over there before I do it for you!”
Bradley’s already sitting next to me, waiting to take my guitar. I pick up the barstool and carry it over to Shea since it looks like she’s using her sister to hold her upright at this point.
“I’m good,” she says, turning away the offer to sit down.
“Mind if I, uh… take a knee?” I ask. She shakes her head quickly as a few people clap in the crowd. I take her left hand in my right one.
“Go, Will!” I hear Livvy shout.
“Go, Will!” Edie repeats, causing everyone to laugh. The crowd beyond the patio is cheering, too, and I have to wait for them to quiet down to continue.
“So, I wrote all that,” I tell Shea, “while I was on the beach in Abu Dhabi, missing you like I never had before. People always say they miss someone so bad it hurts, and that’s what I was feeling. It hurt.” I sigh. “I love you, Shea. I think that’s one of the few things I didn’t spell out in the song, but I say it often, and I think you know. I’ll probably say it a million more times in my lifetime. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she says softly.
“I don’t want to hurt anymore. I don’t want to miss you. I don’t want to be without you. I want to know you’ll always be my home base, wherever I may go. But I promise you, I’ll never be gone like that again–for months, without seeing you. Without giving you the attention you deserve.”
“I always know where you are, and that you’re coming back, Will. I trust you. I support you pursuing the things you love. I always will.”
“You’re the thing I love most, though. And I want to marry you, Shea Livingston.”
“I want to marry you, Will Scott.” I slide the ring on her finger, but before she even takes a second to look at it, she’s pulling me to my feet to kiss me; to steal my breath once more. She breaks away and whispers in my ear. “In a ceremony, this time.” I grin. “So we can tell everyone. No more lies…”
“I’ve always been a musician. You’ve known this.” She laughs and swipes at her tears. “This is the real deal.”
Because we’re already married, legally.
We had to be, and three other people in this world know about it and were sworn to secrecy: Jon, Livvy and the judge who performed the ceremony.
While we continue to kiss, Damon finishes out the song with Bradley filling in on guitar.
My whole world, I give to you.
Please, my Sol, tell me "I do."
In my heliocentric world,
I'm a satellite to your sol
Your love keeps me tethered in orbit
When I'm lacking all self-control
No matter the distance I've strayed
I'm coming back home, my dear,
My arc draws closer; slower
Breaches your atmosphere
All I am, I give to you.
Please, my Sol, tell me "I do."
There are laws in Abu Dhabi against unmarried men and women staying together. I’d been coached to lie and wasn’t worried, but once Shea found out, she was terrified beyond reason and insisted on rooming with a female classmate of mine when she came to visit.
Before I went back for my second stint, it was the only practical solution to our problem. I knew I couldn’t come home for eight months, and we both knew we couldn’t be apart for that long. Because it wasn’t the way either of us wanted to get married, there was no fanfare for the ceremony here and we only acknowledged the marriage overseas. Jon bought us cheap rings online to wear in Abu Dhabi. Both times she visited, though, I knew with all my heart that I’d picked the right wife.
As Sarah engulfs her sister in a big hug, Livvy and Jon ascend upon me first with their congratulatory wishes, but they’re the first in a line of many. My brother and sister-in-law lie with ease, too, not letting on at all that they are aware of our other arrangement.
“This may be the happiest day of my life,” my mother tells me.
“Oh, Mom,” I say as Shea joins me. “Not one of our births? Or maybe Edie’s? Or Willow’s?”
“I never thought this day would come,” she says as I hold her close to me. “I didn’t ruin you,” she says softly. “Now I know for sure.”
“I thought we cleared that up a few years ago…”
“I just wanted to know that the two of you would stay together. With how much time you’ve spent apart, I know it’s been a unique situation. This has been something I’ve prayed very hard for,” she explains. “I’ve always wanted you to have the greatest kind of love in your life, Will. And I think you’ve definitely found it.”
She releases me to welcome Shea with a warm embrace. “Thank you, Margie,” she says.
“You’ve been a part of this family since the day I met you. I want you to know that,” my mother tells her. “The easiest person to get to know and to fall in love with. Thanks for making it easy for Will, too. He didn’t need a difficult path to happiness once he found you.”
“It’s never felt like work for either of us.”
I shake my head. “No.” I’ve never really thought about it, but it’s an astute observation by my mother. I have been fortunate. I’ve never once had to question if our relationship was worth the stress. I’ve never wondered if there was someone better.
Because once there was Shea, there was love.
Once there was love, there was Will.
A Will I’d not yet met, but the one I was destined to be. The new Will. The one I’d set out to find when I stepped foot on that bus two summers ago. I just didn’t know I’d need to find her first.
Had it not been for that snowstorm, I think I’d still be out there, my heart as cold and still as the ice that kept us from leaving that night. I’d still be lost, meeting new people every few nights like a band on tour.
The snowstorm. Weather. Caused by variances in the sun’s energy. I don’t see it as a coincidence, either. I’m powered by the sun. All my life, I’ve felt that it’s been my biggest ally, so it’s no surprise to me it’s what brought us together.
The sun delivered to me love, an honorable life, and a soul I thought I’d lost forever in the most beautiful woman I’d ever met.
I kiss Shea softly, then hold her close, feeling the warmth of her body.
Basking in the luminous sunshine.
Thanking the heavens for all I have.
Eyes to the sky.
Books by Lori L. Otto
Lost and Found - Emi Lost & Found series : Book One
Never Look Back - Emi Lost & Found series : Book Three
Not Today, But Someday – the prequel to the Emi Lost & Found series
Number Seven (novella) – the prequel to Steven War & Peace
Contessa - Choisie series : Book One
&n
bsp; Olivia - Choisie series : Book Two
Dear Jon - Choisie series : Book Three
Livvy - Choisie series : Book Four
Crossroads (novella) – the prequel to Love Will
Love Like We Do (Side A) - Love Like We Do : Book One
Love Like We Do (Side B) - Love Like We Do : Book Two
Love Will
Special Thanks To
Angela Meyer
Nikki Fucking Haw
Muna Chiesa
Daniela Conde
Christi Allen Curtis (& Andy)
Julie Deaton
Ramsey Pool
Amber Run
City and Colour
Nothing But Thieves
Jaymes Young
Aquilo
About the Author
Inspired by popular fiction and encouraged by close friends, Lori L. Otto returned to writing in the winter of 2008. After a sixteen-year hiatus, she rediscovered her passion for fiction and began writing what would soon become her first series: Emi Lost & Found. Although the books of Nate, Emi and Jack have concluded, other characters from the books continued their own journeys, demanding their stories be told.
Love Will is Lori’s thirteenth published work.
Website: http://www.loriotto.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lori_otto
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LoriLOtto
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/lori_otto
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18