Ryan chuckles. “How about I work off my debt again tonight?”
“You better. Right I after I have my way with you, Captain.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“You know how much it turns me on when you’ve got one of our babies strapped to your chest.”
“Why do you think I do it all the time?”
I laugh. “Because you love having a baby strapped to your chest.”
Ryan smiles. “True. But I also do it because I know it turns you on.”
“Well, it’s working.” I lower my voice. “I’m thinking Samantha and Ulysses should come out to play tonight.”
Ryan skims his lips across mine. “Oh my God, woman, you turn me on.”
“Captain, My Captain,” I whisper.
“Are you trying to torture me?”
“Daddy, I made pee-pee in the toilet!” Zachary says, appearing out of nowhere with Louise.
Ryan smiles wistfully at me and bends down to pick up his beloved son with one of his muscular arms, taking care not to smash Claire’s little body against his chest as he does.
As my husband learns the exciting details of Zachary’s hard-earned M&M, I stand, frozen, watching him, my heart bursting.
I don’t know why Ryan loves me so passionately. I don’t know why he thinks I “hung the moon” and regularly brings home little “moon” gifts to remind me of that fact (like the cow-jumping-over-the-moon salt-and-pepper shakers he got at a flea market not too long ago and a charm bracelet featuring a dangling diamond moon he gave me for Mother’s Day this year). I don’t know why this beautiful man’s attraction to me never seems to wane but, instead, only seems to grow and strengthen with each new day.
I don’t know why Ryan seems convinced I’m perfect, when, in fact, I’m so obviously flawed in a thousand annoying ways.
I truly don’t know how I managed to stumble into this wonderful life, whether it was just dumb luck or fate; but, either way, the end result is the same: I’m married to the man of my dreams.
And that’s why, after much thought on the topic, I’ve finally decided to stop trying to analyze his unflagging devotion and instead focus my energies on deserving it, to the best of my abilities—trying, on a daily basis, to do whatever I can to make sure my beloved husband feels as worshipped and adored in this marriage as I do.
As Ryan continues chatting with Zac, Claire stirs against his chest and makes a little yelping sound, signaling she’s hungry.
“Hang on a minute, buddy,” Ryan says calmly to Zac. He puts our son down, deftly pulls Claire’s tiny body out of her carrier, and gently hands her to me, no words necessary.
“Are you hungry?” I coo to Claire, sticking my fingertip into her mouth and heading toward a quiet corner.
“Sorry, buddy,” Ryan says behind my back to Zachary. “Finish your story. I’m listening. And then what happened?”
I turn back around. “Babe?”
Ryan looks at me, his eyebrows raised.
“I love you so much,” I say. I swallow hard, suddenly feeling overcome with emotion. Those words are so paltry. So insufficient. But they’re all I have. “I love you more than words can say.”
Ryan shoots me a beaming smile. “And I love you—the absolute most.”
We smile at each other for a beat, until Claire jerks free of my fingertip and lets out a screeching noise that tells me I’m playing with fire if I make her wait any longer.
But I still haven’t managed to convey everything I’m feeling. “I just wanna thank you...” I choke out. “For...” I don’t even know what the hell I’m trying to say to this beautiful man. “For loving me the way you do.”
The look that overtakes Ryan’s features is pure love and patience. “Baby, I have no choice but to love you—you’re my ‘kick.’” He flashes me a beautiful smile. “Don’t ever thank me for loving you.” He kisses Zachary on the cheek and winks at me. “Loving you is what I was born to do.”
