When we’re done, he grabs my towel first and helps me dry off before I wrap it around myself. He dries himself off next and together, wrapped in towels, we head to my bedroom.
In my room, I grab a pair of boxers and a tank top, and Rowan finds a pair of his underwear I kept safe in my dresser.
I suppose it’s a good thing he’s forgotten a few pieces of clothing here and there within the last few months. At least now, he has something to sleep in.
Tomorrow, when I’m fully awake and conscious, I’ll tell him to start leaving his things here now. I want him here—evidence of him being here and staying with me. His toothbrush next to mine. A drawer for his underwear. A forgotten sock underneath the bed.
“Rowan,” I mumble, sitting on my bed.
“Natalia,” he says sweetly.
I lie down, my body sinking into the mattress as my eyes grow heavier. “Cuddle me?”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
His footsteps retreat then return before I feel the mattress dip with his weight before his arms come around me. “I had to hang the towels first.”
I hum happily, pulling his arm tighter around me. “Okay.”
Rowan kisses my shoulder, then my cheek. “You had a good night?”
I nod, my finger brushing over his forearm.“Did you have a good New Year’s?”
“The best in a long time, I think,” he whispers in my hair, his lips pressing another kiss behind my ear. “I’m just glad I got to spend these holidays with you.”
“But if you hadn’t?” I ask, turning in his arms to face him. “What would you be doing?”
He sighs, a sad breathy sound that pokes at my heart. “I’d still be with everyone, celebrating with our friends. Then I’d be home alone, probably much more sad and wallowing.”
“You’re thinking about her,” I whisper.
“All the time,” he breathes, sad. “But remember what you said about having someone be perfectly your person?”
I nod.
“I think, maybe, my mother did that for me,” he says. “I like to believe those things. That she magically pushed things into my life for me because even in death she knew best.”
“You think sheknew bestwhen it came to me?” I ask, my voice wobbling a tad bit.
“She definitely did.” Rowan kisses me, softly. “I really love you, Natalia.”
“I know,” I say. “I’ve always known.”
“Saranghae.”
“Saranghae,” I whisper and kiss his lips. “Goodnight, Rowan.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
With every cell in my body, I love Rowan Asher.
He kisses my forehead and I fall asleep on his chest.
CHAPTER 39
Rowan
Iwake up on New Year’s Day incredibly warm with her body molded to mine. It feels a lot like someone came and stitched us together. And it feels like we’ve never been a part, not even for a moment.
