All My Heart (Count On Me Book 4) (31 page)

“Shut up.”

“Geez. What is with you people?”

“What do you mean?”

“Kayden spent the better part of the day calling me an ass and now you’re telling me to shut up. Are you sure you’re not sharing the same brain? I hear that happens with people that know each other a really long time.”

Ignoring him completely even though what he said does make me smile, I point out the window and look back at him.

“You coming?”

“That’s really none of your business.” He says, his face serious until he cracks and starts laughing. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty. There’s a prince out there that will kill me if I don’t get you to him for the kiss.”

“You know a little too much about Disney princesses, Dillon. If I wasn’t so eager to see Kayden, I’d be worried.”

Slipping out of the car, I start walking across the grass until I can make out Kayden in the distance. Turning back and noticing that Dillon hasn’t made a move to get out and follow, I wave for him to come and that’s when he points and starts saying words I can’t hear but thankfully can still understand.

It’s a party for two. No boys allowed.

Turning and making my way across the grass, I’m thankful that I chose to wear jeans because with as much time as we’ve spent apart, there’s no way I’m wasting another second. I start running and I don’t stop until I’m directly in front of him.

My face is flushed, I’m sure there’s sweat starting to bead at the top of my head, but I’m here and from where I’m standing now, I see what I couldn’t quite make out from the car.

In each of his hands are a bunch of balloons with words on them, some I can make out, but others blocked. It’s confusing, but with the smile on his face, I know it’s not going to take long for him to erase it.

“I didn’t think this through all the way.” He steps forward until he’s directly in front of me and I can feel his breath hot across my face.

“Didn’t think what out?”

“I want to
kiss you but I can’t do any of that holding these.” He motions to the balloons and the sad look he gives me, his eyes all soft and lowered, he reminds me of a puppy. He’s being purposely adorable.

“I don’t have any balloons.”

Moving into him, I stretch up onto my toes and press my lips to his, inhaling his scent and the feel of him before coming back down and smiling.

“You always know exactly what to do.”

“It’s a gift.” I grin before pointing at the balloons. “So, what am I missing here?”

“I had an idea.”

Before I can respond, I feel the vibration of my phone in my pocket and it doesn’t take long for the ringtone to kick in right after it.

“You’re gonna wanna read that.” Kayden says and pulling it out, knowing that he’s got something to do with it, but not quite sure how he’s able to text with his hands full, I go into the messages and see why.

It’s not from him. It’s from Eric.

“Better Than I Know Myself” by Adam Lambert

“I really hope you put him up to that because if you didn’t, I’m gonna have to talk to him later.”

“I did. The song is from me, but I filled my hands before I could send it. Another mistake, but a pretty funny one.”

“At least you didn’t make Dillon send it.”

“No way in hell.”

Putting my phone back and turning my attention again to the balloons in his hands, it becomes a game as I try and figure out what all of the words are. Before I can get any more than three, he reaches his left hand out to me.

“These are for you.”

Taking them, he reaches into his jeans and pulls out a pin and hands it over.

“You want me to pop them?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

He moves around me until his body comes to rest directly behind mine and leaning down so his lips are near my ear, he starts to explain.

“What you’re holding in your hands is a bunch of negativity. Each balloon is different, but significant. When you read the words, I think you’ll understand, but once you’ve read them, I want you to pop them. When you do that, they’ll go away. I can’t say they won’t pop up again in the future, but for now they’ll cease to exist for us.”

Running my free hand over each balloon, I take in all of the words one by one until all seven balloons have been counted. Memorized.

Anger. Resentment. Jealousy. Rage. Violence. Hate and Fear.

Every single word is something we’ve experienced together during our year as a couple, and what he wants me to do popping them, he’s right. I understand because I want to pop them too. I never want these things to hurt us again.

Taking the pin, I jab it into
each balloon until they pop, the pieces hitting the ground below and feeling Kayden’s body becoming more relaxed with each balloon that’s popped. It’s almost as if with each one, it really is disappearing.

It’s amazing.

When the final piece hits the ground, he comes around to face me and this time he takes my hand in his and brings it to his lips, kissing it softly before releasing it to rest at my side again.

“Give me the pin, Belle.”

Handing it over, he smiles before sliding it back in his pocket and focusing his attention back once it’s hidden away.

“We’re going to do somethi
ng a little different with the next set of balloons.”

“Different how?”

I’m completely mesmerized with what he’s put together here. I have no idea when he came up with this, but the way he looks and how often he smiles at me, doing this is good for him. It’s more than just a beautiful moment he put together. It’s a healing one too.

“This group
of balloons are all of the things you’ve brought to my life or taught me since I’ve known you. From the moment we met, you’ve given me these ten things and after you read the words, we’re going to release them into the sky so the rest of the world can experience and learn them too.”

Holding his hand out again, pushing the balloons toward me, I start doing what I did the first time, memorizing all ten words, but before I can react, the effect of what some of these words mean comes and there’s no way for me to stop it.

“Please tell me those are happy tears.”

Nodding
, not trusting my voice to get the words out with how moved I am, I untangle the large ribbon that’s wrapped around the bundle. Reaching out for his other hand, I bring it around mine until we’re both holding on to them.

Love. Energy. Hope. Change. Redemption. Friendship. Acceptance. Forgiveness, Understanding and Forever.

One by one, we hold and release the balloons until they’re so high up in the air, all they are is tiny specks. Each one heading out into the world, hopefully making their way to people that need them, just the way he wanted it to when he gave them to me.

This is Kayden’s way of changing the world.

“I love you, Kayden.”

“Not nearly as much as I do you, Belle.”

“Is this a contest?”

“No, because I’d clearly be the winner.” He laughs softly and it’s then that I notice the one single balloon still in his hand even though he’s trying to conceal it behind his back.

“There’s still one more?”

“Yeah, there is, but it won’t make sense yet. It will soon I promise, but before we get to that, there’s some
thing else I need to do.”

“Okay.”

“I want you to do something for me.”

“What’s that?”

Sliding his free hand into his pocket, he brings his phone out and passes it over, his hand lingering a few extra seconds the minute it connects to mine as I take it.

“The first song in my
Isabelle
playlist. I want you to push play and then dance with me.”

“How are we going to dance if I’m holding your phone and you’re holding the balloon?”

“We’ll figure out a way, I promise. Please just push play.”

I do as he says and move into his arms, wrapping my own around his midsection and pressing as close as I can possibly get. His free arm comes around me at the same time and just like he said, we’ve found a way. As the music st
arts playing, we move our bodies together and in the moment it feels as though the rest of the world has faded away, music included and we’re making our own.

Kayden’s found a way to tell me how he feels through the music, sending me songs like this all day and it makes me love him even more.

He’s giving me a glimpse into his soul and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“I didn’t understand it at first, but I think I do now.” He whispers and looking up, pulling myself away from the comfort of his chest as we continue moving to the music, I ask him to explain without saying a word. My heart speaking directly to his.

“Kinetic energy, motion and movement. I didn’t get it before. It didn’t really sink in, but dancing with you like this, it’s clear.”

“What’s clear?”

“I never want to live in a world where I’m not moving with you. I energy you, Isabelle.”

When the music fades,
we stop dancing but don’t pull away from each other. Reaching down, cupping my face in his hands, he leans in and tenderly kisses me. A sigh escaping the minute he does.

“Belle,” he murmurs the second our lips separate. “Do you want to know what the other balloon is for now?”

“Yes.”

Placing his hands on my arms, he spins me around slowly and stopping me when I’m facing where he needs me to be, he buries his face into my hair and inhales, sighing contentedly.

Walking toward us, are five of the most important people in the world. All of them wearing smiles that mirror the one I saw from Kayden, each holding a single balloon the same way he is.

“Isabelle?” Kayden asks gently and as I turn toward him, my eyes full of questions, I realize they’re also filled with something else. Overwhelming love. I don’t c
are what he’s got planned next. Knowing that he’s got our friends here, one standing out more than the others, it’s everything.

Sensing their bodies moving around us unt
il they’ve formed a circle that starts and ends with Kayden, I turn back to see what they’re doing.

Dillon and Cadence are first, each of them holding balloons that spell out my first and last
name. Eric is next with the word
Will
in big block letters. Amelia next with the word
You
written the same way. It’s only when my eyes land on Isaac, his balloon held out directly in front of him that I realize what’s going on. What all of this means.

Turning back to Kayden, completely consumed by the smile that seems to light up his entire face, I finally see his balloon and the minute I do, the waterworks in my eyes start again, the gravity of what’s happening hitting me full force.

Isabelle Reagan, Will you marry me?

Wiping at my eyes, not wanting to miss a second of this because of blurred vision, I watch as he pulls a box from his back pocket and slides down on one knee.

“Belle?”

“Y—yes?”

“When the time is right; when we’re where we need to be, will you do something for me?”

Sometime after I stammered out the word yes and he started speaking, my heart stopped completely and with what I was expecting him to say, I wasn’t sure it would ever start again. Hearing his hidden question and how different it is from the one that’s surrounding me because of my friends now, I don’t know what to say.

“Once upon a time there was a girl that wanted more than anything to grow up and change the world. What this girl didn’t realize was she had already changed the world, but not for everyone, just for someone. She changed the world for a boy who needed it more than anything. Now that boy wants to know if the girl that changed his world will join with him so they can do what she wanted to do from the start and change the world together?”

Yes, I was right. My heart really has stopped because it’s not pumping at all anymore. It’s completely melted.

“Isabelle Reagan, will you marry me?”

The answer, it’s there on the tip of my tongue and I’m going to give it to him, but first there’s something I have to do first, an answer to his question that I don’t need words for.

Sliding my hand into my coat and wrapping it around the papers nestled tightly inside, I pull them out and pass them to him with one hand, while using my other to get him to stand. I watch as he gets to his feet and takes in what I’ve just given him.

The signed paperwork for the addition of my name to the deed of his house.

“Belle, is this…does this mean you’re saying yes?”

I can see the stress lines building on his forehead, the fact that I still haven’t answered him starting to wear him down, but it’s not enough to stop me. There’s still one
more thing I can do and when I do it, it’s going to take us right back to the beginning again.

Exactly what I want to do.

Begin again.

Pulling my phone from my pocket and unlocking it quickly, I type the three letters he’s waiting for into the box and press send. When the Thirty Seconds To Mars song starts going off in his pants, I hear Dillon laugh and despite the urge to turn and tell him to hush, I keep my eyes locked on Kayden as he pulls his phone out and reads the message on the screen.