A year had passed since William announced to Colleen and the world his love for her.

The dust had settled.

Their families had adjusted to the new reality, and what had once seemed impossible had gradually become simply part of life.

William and Jo had divorced amicably. There had been difficult conversations, sadness and change, but ultimately there was respect between them. Jo now ran the property development company they had built together, while William had stepped away from the day-to-day business the very day he had finally declared his love for Colleen.

These days, William and Colleen divided their time between the farm, their families and the people who still depended on them.

But mostly, they were together.

Inseparable.

They were, as William often joked, like teenagers who had somehow discovered love for the first time.

And Colleen had never felt more alive.

That morning, she woke early beside William.

She smiled as she looked across at him.

For years she had wondered whether that part of herself—the woman who felt desirable, playful and completely alive—had disappeared forever.

It hadn’t.

It had simply been waiting.

Colleen nestled closer beneath the blankets, content in the knowledge that she had found something she thought she had lost forever.

Love.

Her sex drive had returned with a vengeance, but it wasn’t simply about sex. It was about feeling connected again. Wanted. Desired. Young at heart.

She rested her head gently against William’s chest.

His breathing was slow and peaceful.

She listened to his heartbeat.

Steady.

Strong.

She smiled to herself.

William stirred briefly, then slipped back into sleep.

Colleen laughed quietly.

“Poor Will,” she whispered.

She thought about the man who had once been so nervous around her. The man who had spent months trying to hide what he felt.

Now here he was.

Her William.

Her lover.

Her best friend.

Her partner.

She closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat again.

For the first time in sixteen years, Colleen felt completely at peace.

She had spent so long believing that the best years of her life were behind her.

She now knew they were only beginning.

And as William slept beside her, Colleen smiled.

She had found love again.

And this time, she intended to hold onto it.