“Say you’ll come?” I ask.
“You name the time and place, and I’ll be there, sis. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
As much as I needed to talk to both of them, whatever has Ford’s shoulders hiked up around his ears is more important. It only takes me five steps to make it to the kitchen, and I lean against the counter until he pulls a small foil tray of something cheesy and bubbly from the small toaster oven. “Lasagna? You found lasagna in Uzbekistan?”
“Yep. Take a seat.” He carries the steaming tray to the small table, then returns to the kitchen for silverware, two small glasses, and a can of Coca-Cola. “I figured this might make you feel more…like you were home.”
I blink hard, willing myself not to cry. “Only if you let me spill that all over you.” Offering him what feels like my first genuine smile in years, I’m confused when he barely reacts. “What’s wrong?”
“Just been a long day.” Scooping a generous helping of lasagna onto my plate, he hardly spares me a glance, then almost immediately starts digging into his own serving. Except, after his first bite, he doesn’t do more than push the noodles around on his plate.
I set my fork down, pick up my glass of soda, and stand. “If you don’t tell me why you’re suddenly acting like we’re strangers, I will pour this over your head.”
Shoving away from the table, Ford stalks to the single window in the living room and glances outside through a small crack in the drapes. “I love you, Joey.”
Curling my fingers around his arm, I tug him towards me. “Isn’t that a good thing? I love you, too.”
“I lost you for twenty years.” His eyes shine as he searches my face. “I don’t ever want to lose you again. But I don’t know where we stand. Are you planning to leave Boston…without me?”
“What? No!” I take a step back, needing a little space between us so I don’t have to crane my neck to look into his eyes. “What gave you that idea?”
“You told Gerry you didn’t know where you’d be in a month.”
For a moment, I don’t respond, but when I do, I start laughing. And then…it’s like I can’t stop. I don’t remember the last time I laughed. Just…laughed. Ford’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind, and tears stream down my cheeks. But for the first time in weeks, maybe months, I’m not crying because I’m in pain.
Ford guides me over to the couch, his arm around my shoulders. “I’m…shit…I’m sorry,” I gasp as I swipe at my cheeks and try to regain some small shred of control. Reaching back, I unclasp the chain I’ve worn for twenty years and pull off the ring. “When I said I didn’t know where I’d be, I just meant…well…my apartment’s really small. I thought maybe…we’d be living somewhere together.”
He looks at me like I’ve just given him the answers to all the world’s problems. “Together?”
“Yes, Marine. Together. Isn’t that what usually happens when two people get married? You did ask me last night. Pretty sure I didn’t imagine that.” For the first time since the FBI gave the ring back to me, I press it into his hand then…let go. “But since you didn’t do it properly…with this…ask me again.”
Dropping to one knee, Ford stares at the diamond and sapphire band, then blows out a breath.
“Joey? I gave you my heart more than twenty years ago. Since then, I’ve thought about you every single day. Is she happy? Is she safe? Does she ever think about me?” He reaches for my hand, his thumb skating over my bare ring finger. “We lost so much time. But I want to make up for every second. Will you marry me?”
“The memory of the morning you proposed on the beach?” I whisper, struggling not to cry, “That was my touchstone. I’d replay that memory over and over again in my head. I’d never been so happy, and I didn’t think I’d ever be that happy again. I was wrong.”
“Is that a yes?” Ford arches a brow, his lips curved into the smile I dreamed of every night.
“Yes. Absolutely, yes.”
Ford
Awkwardness seeps in again as we stand on opposite sides of the bed. The long-sleeved t-shirt clings to the softness of her breasts, and I don’t know if she wants me to hold her, make love to her, or something in between.
“It won’t always be this way, will it?” Joey asks as she practically dives under the covers. “We’ll find our…normal?”
“We will.” Torn between wanting to show her all of me and fearing I’ll overwhelm her, I settle for stripping down to my briefs with my back to her.
“Stop,” she whispers before I can slip under the covers. “Turn around.”
Pushing up to her knees, she crawls over to me, wrapping a hand around each of my hips. “I want to see you.”
The briefs catch on my suddenly raging hard-on, and Joey blushes crimson before she manages to free my dick and the material falls to the floor. A muscle in her jaw works back and forth, and I cup her cheek to urge her gaze to mine. “You’re amazing, buttercup. But I don’t need anything but you in my arms tonight.”
“I do.” Tentatively, she wraps her fingers around my shaft, stroking the silky skin until a drop of precum glistens at the tip. “We used to…”
