I felt torn. I loved Jaxson and Jordan more than anything, and I knew Ma did too. Because of them, I would endure seeing Jude over and over again. I just hoped it didn’t do more harm than good when it came to his feelings for me.

He had made his choice and I had made mine. I loved Dylan and I wouldn’t hide it, nor would I pretend everything was okay with Jude when it wasn’t. Finally over him, I had moved on and found a light in my darkness. It may only be temporary, but I was going to hold on with everything, I had until Dylan’s last breath.

I only hoped Jude would someday find the same thing. Someone to love and cherish him, to give him the love he too deserved.

“Hey, sugar, where’d you go?” Dylan’s query broke through my thoughts like the sun after a thunderstorm.

I gave him a warm smile. “Just thinking about my family.” A look of sadness swept across Dylan’s face, but he recovered and quirked his lip up at me. “Your family is pretty amazing, Haven. You are very blessed to have this many people who love and care about you.” He nodded to my cousins as they walked by, chatting idly about what games they saw or something of the sort. “Your grandma,” he shook his head, “Abuela, sorry. She’s probably my favorite person ever. And not a bad kisser either.” I let out a full-on belly laugh with his proclamation, grabbing my stomach and leaning forward to emphasize the reaction.

“What?” He looked surprised. “I’m serious, I bet she was a man-eater in her day!” I couldn’t help it, my laughter rang out through the yard and everyone seemed to stop in their tracks, watching the spectacle I was making of myself.

When I could finally catch my breath, I shooed everyone away and turned toward my man. “You are something else. I love you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

“Oh, she’s got nothing on you, sugar,” Dylan murmured, his forehead resting against mine. He kissed me again, melding his mouth with mine, our tongues dancing and swirling with an affectionate passion that I’d come to know and expect when he kissed me.

It was my lift-off into bliss. That soaring feeling I got whenever he touched me. That affliction I’d come to crave from him. With him. Dylan replaced the dark with light and the only thing I couldn’t get enough of was him.

“What do you say we get out of here so I can love you properly without your family as an audience?” Dylan wrinkled his nose and pressed it to my forehead, his lips in line with my nose. “I know you don’t have panties on under that dress, sugar. How long did you think I’d be able to stand not having my hands on you?” He was full of naughty promises in the sweetest possible way. I couldn’t wait to spend the night, just like every night, loving on Dylan.

“I’ll talk to Ma and see how much longer it will be before dinner. We can’t leave until we’ve at least eaten—you know she’s gone through a mess of trouble to get us all here.” I batted my eyelashes. “And no one is fighting. C’mon, let’s go see if we can help.” Clasping his pinky with mine, I led us toward the rest of the party.

I turned and looked back at the man who held my hand and my heart. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see what I have under this dress…or don’t for that matter.”

I turned back as I felt Dylan’s hand clasped to mine sweep across my bottom and onto my lower back. He gave me a little squeeze. “Don’t tease, sugar,” he breathed into my hair, before pulling back a respectable distance and resuming his hold on my pinky with his.

I blushed. Hard.

This man had me wrapped up in him and I never wanted to come undone.

“Dyl?” I pushed up off the bed and called out again, “Dyl, You okay?”

Silence.

“Dylan?” Cold fear washed over me. The second he stood from bed, he’d looked pale and made a run for the bathroom. The sounds that followed were hard to listen to. His sickness was getting worse and instead of waking and spending an hour cuddling in bed, he’d head straight to the bathroom and vomit until there was nothing left in his stomach. I hated so much that I couldn’t help him. I felt useless. He was sick and I couldn’t do a damn thing to help him.

I turned the bathroom door handle and pushed. “Dylan?” I called as I walked in. His crumpled body, lying face down on the floor, made my heart stop in its place. "Dylan!" I screeched, my heart falling into the pit of my stomach as I ran to his side and dropped to my knees. Scolding hot lava pierced my heart, turning my body numb. Fear unlike any I had ever experienced threatened to swallow me completely as my unresponsive body struggled to catch up with the racing of my mind.

I turned him over. Feeling for a pulse, my prayers mixed with pleas for him to be okay. I yelled louder, my dread unbearable, while unable to hear over the blood roaring in my ears. My racing heart was anxious to leave my chest and beat inside his. Forcing myself to move, I shot up off the ground and ran for the phone the moment I found his present, but weak, heartbeat. “Stay with me, Dyl,” I cried, calling 911.

“I need paramedics. Hurry, please!” I grabbed his clammy hand and held it tightly, praying to God, this wasn't the moment I would lose him. Not lying on the cold bathroom floor of our apartment. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end and I'd be damned if I would give up, I wasn't ready to say goodbye and I would sell my soul to the devil himself if I had to in order to afford me more time. I wanted, no, needed more time. "Please hurry! I can't lose him."