Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
His scowl came fast, and my heart leapt, seeing that oh-so-familiar expression. “You had to go and make it pervy?”
The relief washed over me. “You saw yourself in him, and that was wrong.”
“He felt like he had to annihilate his family to have a new life with his girlfriend.”
“Is she responsible at all?”
“No. He told her he was divorced, and because of Covid, and because of his job—he’s a trauma surgeon at County—he’d been here, in the city, staying with her during the week and only went home every other weekend.”
“The excuse being that his kids lived with their mother.”
“Yes.”
“And the catalyst was her leaving?”
“Yeah. Like I said, she thought they were getting married, and she was excited to finally meet his kids. He had to make that all go away.”
“She didn’t see it on the news?”
“She doesn’t watch the news. She gets hers from Twitter. Plus, she was busy planning a wedding in California.”
I took a deep breath. “You are not him.”
“I know.”
“You know it logically,” I told him, slipping my hand around the side of his neck. “But right now, the only thing running through your mind is how similar you are to him, not all the ways that you’re different.”
His gaze remained on mine.
“Someone other than me would not entice you. And that has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the kind of man you are.”
“It has a lot to do with you. You’ve always been the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I grinned at him. “Which is very sweet, but again, that’s because you love me. You want to be here, in this house, in this marriage, to be with me every night. You love being a father. All of that is a choice you make every day, and I’m so much more than thankful, because anyone in their right mind would scoop you up in a second.”
The second glare was even better than the first. “I’m not easy to live with.”
“You iron.”
“What?”
“You iron really well.”
The grin, finally. I almost broke down.
“I’m demanding,” he stated, owning it. “I know that.”
“Yes.”
“I like things a certain way.”
“Agreed.”
“But you know me.”
“I do. Yes.”
“All the stuff I love and hate and can’t be fuckin’ bothered with,” he said, his hands on my ass, sliding me forward as he slouched in his seat. “You know me better than anyone else.”
I nodded, smiling at him.
“It would kill me if you ever looked at anyone the way you look at me.”
“I know that. It’s the same for me,” I whispered, leaning in for the kiss I wanted. “We’re very lucky.”
He put his hand around the back of my neck, holding tight so I couldn’t move, completely under his power the way I loved being, and he kissed me, hard, and long, and deep. I was breathless when he lifted his lips from mine.
“I love you.”
He nodded, and I knew it was because, that quickly, his voice was gone. He was hurting and vulnerable, and he needed all the affection I could lavish on him.
“I love you,” I repeated, kissing over his jaw. “You’re the heart of our family.”
He shook his head. “No,” he husked, “it’s you. Without you, I would be different. I’d be half. But you’re with me, so I’m good. Whole.”
“Yes, you are.”
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
“Better?”
“Yes,” his answered shakily.
I waved toward the house then, without looking, because I knew they were there, peering out, waiting.
Seconds later, Kola and Hannah rushed out, along with our dog, who flew into the yard looking for chipmunks, and our cat, who leaped up onto the railing to survey his domain.
I got up, and Sam stood and turned and faced his kids.
“Are you okay?” Hannah asked softly, staring up into his face.
He bent and grabbed her, picking her up, squeezing tight, and her squeal of happiness was loud and filled with absolute joy. Kola was chuckling when Sam finally put her down and turned to his son and yanked him into a mauling hug. When Sam kissed his forehead, Kola smiled and shook his head like his father was ridiculous.
We ate dinner outside, and Sam suggested to Hannah that it was time to change out all the pictures in the built-in hutch in the living room that had always been just his. It was the place that held his medals and citations, photographs, plaques, and memorabilia, some from before the kids came into our lives.
“You want me to redo all that?” she asked her father. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I want it to be about all of us.”
“Yeah, but I like seeing the medals and the plaques,” Kola told him. “I think people who come to the house should see, even before they meet you, the kind of man you are.”
Sam reached out and cupped his son’s cheek. “Oh, buddy, I’d rather they see me with you guys. Then they’ll really know the kind of man I am.”