He scrapes his chair back, rises to his feet, and grabs my hand.
“Come... Let’s make the best out of this day.”
He kisses me gently, his hand framing my face.
I look at him.
“We’re gonna have that home, Senna, and I’ll be your wall, and you’ll be heart. All right?”
I nod.
“But I don’t want a wedding,” I say.
He smiles.
“Me neither.”
We spent the rest of the day inside the house.
The first part of the day fades into oblivion by the time the evening sets in. He runs a bath, and I cook dinner. We spent the evening talking about his parents, Sara, as they were growing up and his friendship with Jacob.
We take a bath together before we move into the bedroom.
From a drawer, I pull out a stack of notebooks with stories I wrote as a teen right here, in this very house.
We sift through them. Some are sad, and some are funny. I plead with him to read for me.
He leans back against the headboard, picks one, and starts reading. I listen to him, mesmerized, the same way Emma does. Something beautiful sparkles in his eyes.
And he smiles as I drink him in.
He has Emma’s eyes. Pure and filled with joy.
“I want your babies, Jaden,” I murmur.
He shifts his gaze and locks my eyes, a loving grin rolling over his lips.
“I know,” he says, sliding the notebook to the nightstand.
He turns to me and takes me in his arms.
“I want your babies, too,” he murmurs in my ear.
“But you’ll need to teach me how to be good to them,” I say. His lips give me a soft, loving kiss.
“You know everything, Senna. Everything you need to know is right there in your heart,” he says and kisses my lips and hair.
“We should start right now with this baby-making business,” he grins. “Nine months is a long time.”
We both laugh.
“A man with a plan,” I murmur as he slides on top of me.
Moments later, he eases himself in while I wrap my legs around him.
18
SENNA