“Listen to me.” I cup her entire face in my hands. “You’re everything. The way you love your daughter. The way you love me.” I lean forward and rest my forehead against hers. “I want you to be happy, Eden, and if you want this job, you’ve got to take it. I want to support you in everything you want to try. I just don’t want you to outgrow me.”
We’re quiet as the honesty of what we’ve said fills the space between us. I know too well there are no guarantees in life or love.
I don’t know what I need from her. Maybe just for her to understand. Maybe that’s all we can promise each other. At least right now.
“I don’t know what to say,” she admits. Her beautiful eyes well with tears. “I want to grow with you. Not away from you.”
“All right. So, let’s tackle one thing at a time. Do you want the job?” I finally ask. “You think it’s the right thing for you?”
She nods slowly. “It sounds perfect. I can cover for Gennie for a few months. If I don’t like the field, I’ll find out before I waste money on tuition or student loans. I’m going to need support, though. Babysitting and someone to come home to so I can share stories about my day. I want the job, Vito, but I want you too. I want you to share it all with me. That’s the only way we won’t grow apart, if we’re doing it all together. But I know it’s a lot. I’m a work in progress, but I’m a package deal. Me and Juniper. Do you think you can handle us all the time?”
I almost can’t say the words. I wish like hell Junie were awake so I could hold both of my girls in my arms. “It feels like something is missing not having this conversation with Junie right here.”
I blink fast, and Eden reaches out a hand to stroke my cheek. “That’s how I know…” she says, tears streaming down her cheeks. She smiles and says, “See? You’re already the man I want and the father figure Junie deserves.”
We grab each other then and cling together in a tight hug. I bury my face in the length of her hair and just breathe her in.
She’s younger than me, but this woman is smart. She knows herself. She understands that life hands you pain and opportunity, and somehow when it’s all bundled together, you’ve got to make the decision to be happy.
Everything with Eden is an easy decision.
I don’t have to decide to be happy with Eden. It’s as if just being close to her makes every minute, every day, good.
In a weird way, I already feel like we’re family. It’s like our circumstances are just catching up to that reality.
“Can I say something?” I ask, pulling away just enough that I can whisper in her ear.
“Only if I can ask you something after.”
“I love you, Eden. You are so damn easy to love. And I love your daughter too. I love what we have, and I’m in this, no matter how scared I am.” I kiss her lips, a soft kiss wet with our shared tears.
“Move in here?” she asks. “Live with us, Vito.”
I’m quiet as I think about it. I know what my answer is. I feel like I have always known this was coming. Is it possible I’ve known someplace deep down ever since the days she invited me to look at houses?
I moved back in with my parents after Michelle left, and over the years, it’s been easier to stay there than it would have been to think about trying something new.
“I have a few conditions,” I tell her. “I’m going to pay rent and half of all the costs—groceries, baby shit, and everything else. I’m going to carry my weight. In fact, more than my share of it. I make more than you right now, and I want to help make the money you have last longer so you have more options.”
She doesn’t say anything, but her face lights up. “Okay. What else?”
“This one I’m serious about,” I tell her. “I need my own bedroom. Not for every day, but when I’m off shift and need to crash or when I just need to sleep. I don’t want my schedule to fuck up yours. I’ll sleep with you every chance I can get, but I need my own room so that we can both get space when we need it.”
She’s beaming now. “I have extra rooms.”
I nuzzle my face against her neck. “So, you taking the job?” I ask.
“So, you moving in?” she asks.
“You going to rearrange everything in the whole house again now that I need a bedroom?” I ask.
“You know me so well,” she whispers.
I groan, but then I pull her close. “There are parts of you I still need to know better.”
“Which parts?” she asks.
And then I take her upstairs so I can show her.
