“Or a beautiful daughter with your hair and smile,” he says with a shaky smile.
I chuckle softly and nod my head.
“She has to have your eyes, though. I love your eyes.”
“I love you,” Abram says, and my heart freezes.
For a second, I can’t seem to breathe or even feel. And then my heart picks up again, thumping hard against my chest such that it feels like every one of my feelings is amplified ten times more. And then I break into tears, loud bawling tears.
I thought I wouldn’t feel any differently if and when he said the words, but that has turned out to be the biggest lie I’ve ever told myself.
“Mel... Melody?” Abram stutters, a rapid panic growing in his eyes.
He looks uncharacteristically startled, and rightly so. I must seem like a crazy woman right now.
“Are you crying?” Abram asks as if he wants to be certain he isn’t seeing wrong.
“Yes,” I reply with a jerky nod, bawling even louder.
Abram leans over me, his face wrought with worry and concern.
“Wh...I’m sorry, Melody. Is it something I said? Please, stop crying.”
I nod my head and sniff quietly.
“It’s...It’s because I love you too.”
Abram pauses, blinking rapidly at me. “What?”
“I love you,” I reply with a loud sniff. “I love you so, so much.”