“There was a time when I was young, too. And I think you need time alone with that handsome man more than anything else. Maybe we can have breakfast tomorrow. I’ll try not to say anything offensive and we can all get to know each other better.”
After a quick hug, she goes to the guest room to gather her things. A half hour later she’s gone with a promise to call in the morning.
We spend the rest of the day watching Netflix and being lazy on the couch, Oreo happily curled at our feet. Neither of us wants to talk about the potential outcome of the tests so instead we pretend it’s any other day.
Maybe that’s not the healthiest approach but it makes me feel better. For just a little while, I can forget about my troubles and just be a girl spending time with her guy.
“You know, you totally ruined my plans,” I tell him later that night.
He left briefly to get more clothes and now he’s rocking nothing but a pair of pajama pants. His chest is bare and I’m enjoying the view. I’m wearing my favorite nightshirt as usual and my feet are in his lap. I squirm away when he pinches my toes playfully.
“Your plan? You mean Operation Wifey.” His eyes twinkle. “Please, don’t ever try to be wifely again.”
I hit him with one of the pillows on the back of the couch. He catches it and then silences my next attack by leaning over for a kiss. My heart still skips a beat every time he kisses me.
I hope that never changes.
“Operation Wifey is dead, never to be revived.”
“Thank God for that!” Vin eyes me before trailing one hand up my leg and under my shirt. “Although I do have a particular fondness for shopping now. Maybe we should do that again.”
I put the pillow over my face. “I can’t ever show my face in that store again.”
“I’m sure our friend Meredith wouldn’t mind if we came back,” he jokes.
“Anyway, I was talking about my plan in general. For years, I figured I’d be a free spirit like my mom, living alone and traveling the world. I had this theory that as long as I never let anyone too close, I couldn’t get hurt. It was a point of pride for me that I was strong enough to make it on my own. I never needed anyone.”
“How’s that working out for you?” He looks at me and I wonder if he knows his heart is in his eyes.
“You blew my theory out of the water. It turns out that loving someone and needing them to be happy isn’t so bad.”
He just watches me in that quiet, intense way of his, giving me time to get the words out. Vin tells me he loves me often. He’s never pressured me to say it back but I’m sure he’s wondering if I truly feel the same.
Each time I try to say the words, I just can’t. It’s like they get stuck in my throat. That probably sounds like an excuse but give me a break.
I’ve never done this before.
For years I’ve seen permanence as scary. Hoping for more felt like tempting fate. But for once, I feel like fate might actually be on my side. Everything I’ve been through has led me here, after all.
“I love you, Vin. I don’t know what I would do without you in my life.”
The smile that spreads across his face is so radiant it takes my breath away. You’d think he’s been waiting his whole life to hear those words.
“I love you, too.” He leans down to kiss me, lingering like he can’t get enough of the feeling.
“That shouldn’t have taken so long for me to say. I’m not very good at this, I’m afraid.”
When he kisses me again, I can feel his lips curl up. “I can teach you.”
He stands then with me in his arms, making me shriek at the sudden movement. “Right after I rock your world again.”
“Rock my world? Mister, I will rock your world!”
Epilogue
The elevator takes us up rapidly, climbing closer to my brother’s penthouse every second.
“This may not have been the best idea.” Ariana tugs at the hem of her dress.