I wanted to wake up with her close.
I wanted to go to bed with her warm body snuggled up against mine.
I wanted to walk in the house and see her laughing with my daughter.
I wanted to see her at the end of the aisle when I walked Boston toward the man that would be her forever.
I wanted Eddy in my life for the rest of what I had left to live.
Whether that be this weekend, or fifty years from now, I wanted her there with me.
“Eddy?” I asked softly.
Eddy focused her eyes on my face, her shoulders drooping. “Yeah?”
“You’re one of the best people I know,” I said softly. “Your attitude on life. Your always uplifting personality. You literally bring so much joy to my life, and the worst thing is, you’ve been suffering your ass off while you do it.”
She smiled. “I figure it’s better to be happy than always angry all the time. There’s always something to be happy about.”
“And that’s why I love you.”
She inhaled swiftly, her eyes huge.
“When I walked in the door that night and saw that blood on the floor…” I shook my head. “I have never, in my life, been so disappointed in myself.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I knew I loved you before then, and I hadn’t told you,” I whispered. “In that moment before you called out to me, I saw that blood and thought you were dead. Thought you and Boston were gone. And I thought…I didn’t tell them I loved them before I left.”
She walked carefully to me, still broken, just not as bad, and came directly toward me.
I opened my arms to pull her into my chest before saying, “And just so you know, I was pretty hot when I left this morning, too.”
“It was the standing in your t-shirt brushing my teeth thing, wasn’t it?”
I grinned and pressed a kiss to her head. “Yeah. There’s just something about just barely seeing what I’ve been thinking about non-stop with you lying in bed next to me that really does it for me.”
“I…” She fisted her hands in my t-shirt. “I’ve fallen in love with you, too.”
“That’s…”
“I need shampoo!” Boston yelled.
I blew out a breath. “She used to yell at me to come wipe her butt like that, too.”
“I’ll get it.” She snickered as she let my shirt go and walked backward toward m—our—bedroom, because there was no way that I was ever letting her go. “What do you think about burgers and fries for dinner?”
“And bring an extra towel when you come in here! Jekyll decided to take a shower!”
Except, when the door opened as Eddy slipped inside, it definitely didn’t sound like Jekyll was taking a shower willingly.
It especially didn’t look willing when the cat streaked out of the bathroom like Boston had set him on fire, sopping wet and trailing water everywhere.
He ran into our room, and I just knew I’d find the fucker on my pillow later.
But when Eddy came out of the bathroom with a towel in her hands, tears filling her eyes from laughter, I knew I wouldn’t care.
Not if I had her to snuggle up to and share a dry pillow with.
