His Eternal Flame

by Layla Valentine

  “Any day now,” Mom sings as she kisses Sean on the cheek.

  The door opens again, and this time, it’s Frank. He nods my way before looking up and catching sight of Kaila, who’s still working on that streamer.

  “Hey.” He grins at her.

  “Oh, hi.” Kaila self-consciously messes with her hair. She’s heard all about Frank, but never met him, so probably doesn’t know she’s talking to the Tank himself. Poor, innocent Kaila. She could never handle what Frank is packing—both in bed and in heartbreaks.

  “Sean,” I whisper, shooting my eyes in their direction.

  Sean takes note of the situation and frowns.

  “I’ll take care of that,” he promises.

  By the time he gets over to Frank, the place is filling up, the pouring in of people unprecedented. It seems every person I know plus double that amount is here. The minutes whip by, passing in a flurry as I shake hands and take congratulations.

  “Thank you,” I tell a man who I think is Sean’s cousin. “It’s so nice of you to come.”

  The cousin steps to the side, revealing a sheepish-looking Frank.

  “Hey,” he quietly says.

  “Hi.”

  His eyes fall to my belly. “How are you doing?”

  “Good.” I nod.

  It’s only been a couple weeks since he got home, and we haven’t seen each other that much. Most of his free time, he’s been helping Sean get the motorcycle-repair shop up and running while I’ve been busy painting away.

  “You look great,” he says earnestly. “You’re glowing.”

  I feel myself blush. “Thanks, Frank.”

  He looks around before stepping a little closer.

  “We’re cool, right?”

  “Why wouldn’t we be?”

  “I just…wonder sometimes.” He shrugs.

  The uncharacteristic display of emotion twists my heart. I put my hand on his shoulder and look him in the eye.

  “We’re so cool.”

  Frank’s face lights up. “Nice.”

  Maybe this is odd, but the possibility that the baby inside of me has Frank’s genes doesn’t matter one bit. Once he got back from his tour, the three of us had a quick talk about the situation, just to make sure we were all on the same page.

  As expected, we were. Even if the kid is Frank’s biological child, he’ll forever be Uncle Frank to them—a role it seems he’s extremely excited about playing.

  “I can’t wait,” Frank says, as if reading my mind. “I’m taking that kid shooting the day he can walk.”

  “It might be a she,” I laugh. “And that’s too young. Sorry. Typically, toddlers carrying firearms is frowned upon.”

  “When they’re twelve, then.”

  “Nope.”

  “Sixteen?”

  “Maybe. We’ll talk about it.”

  “Okay, okay.” He rubs his jaw and looks around. “So, how many young ladies are there gonna be here tonight?”

  “Calm yourself, big boy.”

  “Violet!” someone calls out.

  It’s Kaila, waving me over. Scooting my way through the crowd—not an easy feat in my condition—I make my way over to her and Sean.

  As I scoot up to my boyfriend, he takes my hand in his, the easy smile he offers instantly making my legs turn to jelly. I’ve seen him naked more times now than I can count, and yet I still can’t get enough of him.

  “I thought you might want to say some words now,” Kaila quietly says, reminding me of the loose speech I wrote earlier.

  “Oh. Right. Um. Excuse me, everyone!”

  A few people look over, but mostly the crowd keeps milling around. Suddenly, a shrill whistle pierces the air. The whole gallery falls quiet, and I look to my side to see Frank pulling his whistling fingers from his mouth. He gives me a wink.

  “Thanks,” I tell him.

  With everyone’s attention now on me, I clear my throat and try to remember the outline I brainstormed this morning. As I look around the gallery, though, seeing the faces of all my family and friends, every word I ever practiced floats out of my head.

  Sean presses his hand to my lower back and I turn to look up at his kind, patient face. Before I know it, the words are just flowing.

  “When I started this year, I planned on it being the busiest one of my life. What I didn’t expect was for all this creativity to hit me from out of nowhere.”

  I gesture at the paintings around us. People cock their heads in interest and a few murmurs go through the room. Nearby, Mom beams at me.

  “But, I suppose when life is as good as it is right now, you can’t keep all that goodness trapped inside. I have a baby on the way, the love of my life by my side…” I look to Sean again, and he kisses my forehead. “And now, all of you being here tonight…it’s really the cherry on top of everything. I’ll never be able to tell you how much your support means to me.”

  My chest swells at the words. Everything I’m saying is true. I couldn’t have envisioned a more perfect life for myself if I tried. That would have been shooting for the moon. And, yet, here I am, living comfortably in its crescent each and every day.

  I lick my lips, trying to decide if there’s anything else I want to say, when Sean’s mom’s eyes drop to the floor in front of me and go wide. Following her gaze, I look down. There’s a puddle of liquid right under of me.

  I frown. Someone must have spilled their drink.

  “Violet,” Abigail says, reaching for me—and as the muscles in my torso tighten up in the first innocent contraction, I suddenly get it.

  That’s no spilled drink. My water just broke.

  * * *

  The next few hours are mostly a blur, a vivid moment here and there. There’s everyone ushering me out the door amid a flurry of well wishes. There’s Sean speeding toward the hospital as I insist he slow down. There’s the changing into a gown, the contractions speeding up and increasing in intensity, the doctor and nurses spilling into the room, Sean holding my hair and massaging my back, the unbelievable need to push that’s like nothing else in the world, and, suddenly…

  There’s a crying baby, born hours earlier than first babies are supposed to be.

  “That’s a three-hour labor,” the doctor announces as a strawberry-blond baby boy squeals in his hands. “You’ll have to camp outside of the hospital for the next one,” she chuckles.

  I can’t respond. I’m too busy staring at my beautiful son—our beautiful son. Even though he’s only a minute old, there’s no doubt whose biological child he is. I would recognize that wavy, red hair anywhere. Not that it even matters.

  Sean holds my hand tighter and turns to me with wet eyes.

  “Violet,” he whispers.

  “I know,” I gasp.

  “Thank you.”

  It’s the last thing I expected to hear, and, despite my exhaustion, it makes me burst into laughter.

  Chapter 24

  Violet

  “You can go a little faster,” I tell Sean two days later, as he creeps down our street.

  He frowns. “With a baby in the car?”

  I keep my chuckle to myself, glancing back at Leo sleeping contentedly. He looks so tiny in the car seat. It’s still hard to believe he’s really here.

  Sean carefully pulls the car into the driveway of what’s been our house for seven months now. He moved in with me as soon as he could, and we’ve spent months getting the place ready for our baby’s arrival. Still, in spite of all the planning, nothing could have prepared me for how it now feels to be bringing our baby home.

  Sean comes around to help me out of the car, and I take his hand, offering a smile in exchange. I still feel sore all over, and just walking around feels a little weird—but that doesn’t stop me from unbuckling Leo and lifting him out of his seat right away. Nothing can make me miss carrying my little boy into his new home for the first time.

  Sean rushes ahead of us, making sure I’m careful on the steps and opening the front door for me.
r />   “He’ll probably need to eat in about thirty minutes,” I say, adjusting the tiny yellow hat Kaila knitted for him.

  “Okay.” Sean’s voice sounds off, making me look up to see what’s the matter—and as soon as I do, I gasp.

  Sunflowers. Everywhere. Only…

  I take another step into the living room. They’re laid out across the floor, spelling something out.

  Will you marry me?

  I blink, reading the question again just to make sure I got it right the first time.

  “I… What the—” I fall silent, not even sure what I’m asking.

  Sean’s light touch on my arm brings me back to the moment. His green eyes shimmer with love as he looks down at me.

  “What do you say?”

  I look down at the baby in my arms, who’s just waking up and yawning. I look up at my best friend, my lover, the man I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with.

  The answer is clear as day, but I want to take my time and enjoy this moment. It will be one I’ll cherish forever. And, truth be told, life doesn’t get any better than this.

  “What do you think?” I gently tease.

  Sean grins. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

  “Yes,” I exhale.

  Taking both me and our baby into his arms, Sean kisses me, the touch of his lips everything I’ve been looking for my whole life.

  Chapter 25

  Sean

  The waves crash against the beach behind me, the soundtrack to the most perfect day. Standing on the edge of the water, though, I can only look at the scene in front of me: the two-story beach house with the wraparound porch that Violet and I bought once we realized we were going to need more room. The folding white chairs all lined up in the sand. Six-month-old Leo perched in Mom’s arms, making gurgling noises.

  I know I’m a damn lucky man. I hope I never forget it.

  “This is tight,” Frank grumbles from next to me. He winces and adjusts his bowtie.

  I laugh at him. “It’s a clip-on.”

  He scowls. “No, it’s not. I tied this shit myself. And all for your wedding day. Don’t you ever forget that.”

  “I won’t.” I nudge him with my elbow. “You look good, though.”

  “Yeah? How good? Think any of the bridesmaids will be interested?”

  “There’s just one. Kaila.”

  His eyes light up. “Violet’s assistant?”

  “Yeah, but don’t—”

  Before I can remind him that Violet will have his head on a stake if he breaks any of her friends’ hearts, the guitarist starts playing.

  This is it. My wedding is here.

  If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be tying the knot, I would have lost my mind laughing. Now, I couldn’t imagine things turning out any different.

  Each second passes in slow motion as I wait for my bride to appear. Out of the house and down the path to the beach comes Kaila, wearing pale pink and carrying a bouquet of sunflowers. And then—finally—Violet.

  The breath is stolen right out of me as she appears, golden hair fluttering on the breeze, the waistband of her flowing white dress decorated with seashells. Our gazes connect, and with each step she takes closer to me, the more I buzz.

  As she passes by Leo, he makes his ‘mommy’ sound. Violet gives him a wave and a smile, and I think my heart is about to explode from joy.

  Finally, she’s at the end of her walk, handing her bouquet over to Kaila and taking her spot by my side.

  There must be words spoken. Vows, even. I wrote them down on a slip of paper so I could read them off. But if all of that is happening, it’s going on in another world. For me, there’s only one thing: the beautiful blue eyes I could fall into.

  As I slip the ring onto Violet’s finger, I’m suddenly yanked back to reality. I’m married. We’re married.

  “Holy shit,” I breathe.

  Violet giggles. “Sean.”

  Her eyes dart over to the reverend, but I don’t so much as glance his way. I’m way too busy pulling Violet into my arms and kissing her like she belongs to me, like she’s my everything…because she does, and she is.

  Congratulations are passed around and pictures taken. The whole time, I hold tight to Violet’s hand. As the afternoon stretches on, we join our family and friends at the long tables in our backyard, where the excited chatter fills the air.

  Claiming my spot next to where Violet sits with Leo in her lap, I grab a champagne glass and raise it high. The yammering dies down as the guests take notice.

  “First of all,” I start, “I want to say thank you to everyone for coming today. It means a lot to me, and my beautiful wife.” I glance down at Violet, who is glowing. “To our parents.” I nod at the table the three of them sit at. “Thank you for everything. And, to my best man…”

  Frank puffs his chest up.

  “You can keep your gun collection,” I tell him. “I have everything I could ever need right here.” I give Violet and Leo another purposeful look before turning back to Frank. “Although, it you ever want to borrow my bike, just ask.”

  Frank rolls his eyes. “Thanks, Sean.”

  I sit back down amid puzzled looks.

  “No one knows what you’re talking about,” Violet whispers into my ear.

  “Yeah, but you do.” I hook my arm around her waist and kiss the top of Leo’s head, enjoying the blush creeping across my bride’s cheeks.

  Down the table, Kaila pulls a chair up right next to Frank. Violet also sees what’s happening and stiffens in my arms.

  “She’ll be fine,” I promise her.

  My wife gives me a doubtful look.

  “Kaila isn’t like other girls,” she whispers. “She doesn’t have as much…experience.”

  “Okay. I’ll take care of it.”

  Squeezing Violet’s leg, I get up. By the time I make it down the table, though, Frank and Kaila are nowhere to be found, nothing but vacant seats marking their absence.

  “Oh, come on,” I groan.

  Chasing down Frank and cock-blocking him is not how I planned on spending my wedding day, but Violet is right. Kaila is the opposite of Frank. She’s delicate and sensitive. She wouldn’t last a day in his hands.

  It takes five minutes to make it across the yard, since someone stops to congratulate me every other step, but I finally get to the porch. A familiar male voice sneaks around the side of the house, drawing me along the smooth boards.

  Keeping to the wall, I creep to the front of the house, which faces the foliage across the street. It’s an amazing neighborhood, with the nature I used to imagine myself living in, combined with a few neighbors within walking distance.

  At the corner of the house, I stop and peek around the side. Frank and Kaila are sitting on the steps, passing a bottle of beer back and forth.

  “He loves his squeaky bone the best,” Kaila is saying. “But it’s falling apart. I’m going to take him to the pet store tomorrow to let him pick out a new one.”

  “You should let me come with,” Frank answers. “You know, as a second opinion.”

  A long moment passes as Kaila, whose face I can’t see, looks at him.

  “Okay,” she finally says.

  “Cool.” Frank takes a swing of beer and evaluates Kaila. “You ever shoot a gun?”

  I roll my eyes. Now is about the time that I should step in and end this conversation, per Violet’s request, but something stops me.

  “No,” Kaila answers. “But I’ve always wanted to!”

  Frank chuckles. “I could tell there was something wild about you. You keep it hidden away, though.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kaila flirtatiously answers.

  She flips her hair over her shoulder, and Frank’s eyes follow every movement. His dark irises sparkle even in the quickly-dimming light, and his lips are slightly parted, as if he’s in awe.

  It’s a look I’ve never seen on him.

  Could it be… No. But maybe.


  Drawing away from the corner of the house, I slowly creep back along the deck so neither of them hears me. I never thought I’d see the day, but is it possible that Frank has found a girl he’s actually into? Someone he sees as more than a quick lay?

  I stop walking as the realization hits. Of course it’s possible. It happened to me, after all. In a matter of weeks, my entire life turned upside down. And, since then, I haven’t regretted the change for one second.

  My chest warms at the thought. Frank in love… It sounds crazy, but weirder things have happened. And, having found that very kind of happiness for myself, I can genuinely say I hope he gets a chance to experience it one day as well.

  “There you are.”

  The voice startles me, and I look down to see Violet hovering at the bottom step. Her hair is mussed—probably thanks to Leo—and her cheeks are flushed from all the excitement.

  “Can you wear that dress every day?” I ask, walking down the steps and pulling her into my arms.

  Her musical laughter caresses my ears.

  “I’m afraid it wouldn’t hold up for long with a six-month-old around.”

  “Where is young Leonardo?”

  “You dad has him.” She runs her fingers down the front of my suit and lowers her voice. “Did you find them?”

  “Yeah,” I quietly say.

  “And?”

  A burst of laughter comes from the front part of the porch, and Violet peers over my shoulder suspiciously.

  “I think they’re going to be just fine,” I say.

  Violet frowns. “But Kaila…”

  “Can take care of herself,” I finish.

  Violet slowly acquiesces, nodding. “If Frank does anything to hurt her—”

  “You’ll more than take care of him,” I chuckle.

  “You know I will,” she devilishly answers, then tugs at my hand. “Come on. Let’s get back to the reception.”

  “Not just yet.”

  She doesn’t resist as I guide her away from the backyard and down one of the little trails to the beach. The sun is about to set, casting its hazy glow on the ocean and the sand. Violet kicked her shoes off long ago, and she steps right up to the water, lifting her dress so the waves can gently lap at her toes. I stand a few feet away, hands in my pockets, my gaze tethered to the beautiful woman.