“Is it?” she asks.
“It definitely is. Does that mean you’ll go get all of your stuff and move in for real?”
She smiles and grabs my hand.
“If you want me too. I know this is all happening really fast, and it’s all new to you, but I’d really like that.”
“Do I want you too?” I shake my head, turning to face her. “Wren Abigail Dawson, I don’t just want you for a little while.”
Her eyes begin to water.
“I want to make you feel cherished every single day because I love you. I love that you're caring, compassionate, and driven. I love that you will go to the depths of the world for your family, and I want to be there by your side every step of the goddamn way. I want the apartment to be ours and I want your things next to mine. I hope your mattress never shows up because the only place I want you to be is in my bed. You just tell me when, and I’ll rent the truck to make it happen.”
“Rent the truck,” she says, smiling. I lean forward and pull her into a kiss.
Although it’s not long, Wren doses off on the way home. My hand stays interlocked with hers, resting on her upper thigh. I pull into my parking spot and quietly get out of the car. I walk around to the passenger side and open her door. Carefully I unbuckle her seat belt, pick her up, and carry her to our apartment.
“I could have walked,” she says, stirring in my arms.
“You’re tired, and I’ll never complain about holding you.” She nestles her head into my chest, and I kiss the top of her head.
Once inside, I walk her over to my bed and set her down. Iremove her shoes, and then she sits up so that I can help her out of her dress.
“You looked beautiful tonight,” I say.
“Hard not to be in a dress like this.”
“The dress had nothing to do with it.” I walk the dress over to my closet and hang it up, and then grab a T-shirt out of my dresser. “Here, pretty girl, put this on.” She pulls it over her head and climbs under the comforter.
“Heir with the Good Hair.” She laughs while reading the front of the light blue shirt.
I shrug. “Are you hungry?” I ask.
“No.” She swipes up on her phone. “Cody’s home and resting.”
“Good.”
“Was your dad mad you left?”
“No, I told him I had to go to you, and he understood, and then I left. He texted an hour ago to check on your brother.”
“That was nice of him.”
“Yeah, he might be an ass to me, but he’s not a total monster.” I quickly change down to my underwear then turn off the light. Crawling into bed, I curl my body behind her, placing a kiss on her cheek.
“I’m sorry,” she says, sleepily.
“Why are you sorry?”
“I’m too tired for sex tonight, and you said all that nice stuff to me at the hospital and in the car, and I feel bad.”
“Never apologize for not feeling up for sex,” I say. “You had a stressful night, and I know you're thinking about your brother and worried about him. I will never expect you to have sex with me, but especially not when we just left the hospital. I love you wholeheartedly, Wren.”
“I love you too,” she says. She moves closer to me, and her breathing begins to even out as she drifts off to sleep.
CHAPTER 43: I’M PROUD OF YOU
TANNER
