I had to blink a few times because there were two of him . . . and they were getting blurry.
“Theo . . .”
He cupped my cheek. It was the simplest, most tender touch.
I blinked a few more times.
Harder.
Fighting.
Losing.
“You’re crying,” he whispered. “And you haven’t said anything.”
The living room spun around me. I knew I was breathing, but it felt like air wouldn’t enter my lungs, like my mind wouldn’t work or think or whatever it did when faced with life-altering moments.
Theolovedme.
“Oh, God,” I said. “I have to pee.”
Without another word, I bolted from the couch and ran down the hallway through the bedroom and into the master bath, where I slammed the door and planted myself on the throne without lifting the lid, covering my face in my hands.
Was this what happiness felt like?
Was this how I could feel . . . forever?
Had he really just said . . . ?
Oh, shit. I just ran away after he said that. Is he thinking I don’t feel the same? Am I the stupidest man on the planet? Jesus.
“Jer?” A light tapping on the door told me I was no longer alone.
“I love you, too, Theo,” I said from the toilet through the door in the least romantic declaration possible, though my heart felt roses and I heard harps while I said the words.
The doorknob turned, and Theo appeared.
He was still smiling.
The sky was still painted with brilliant hues.
And then he was on his knees before me, cradling my face in his hands, pressing his lips to mine with the fervor of a million saints.
“Really?” he asked, pulling back after the longest, most amazing moment ever.
“Oh, God, Theo, yes. I love you, and I love her, and I love this—whatever this is that we have. I don’t want excuses anymore. I just want to be here. With you. With both of you.”
He kissed me again, soft and sweet and full of promise.
“I love you, too,” he whispered against my lips. “God, I love you so much.”
“Ew, kissing!” Debbie announced, appearing behind Theo with her toothbrush properly put away and her hair sticking up in approximately seventeen different directions. “But also yay, because now Willie Wee can help me with my dragon drawings every day!”
Theo and I looked at each.
“Maybe not every day, Button,” Theo said carefully.
“Why not? He’s here every day anyway, and Mrs. Chen said he doesn’t need to take care of Cuddles anymore. I heard you talking, Daddy. Now he can take care of us instead.”
