“You think that my future and you are separate things? You silly girl.”
I smiled against his side.
“Is that why you push me away all the time? You’re afraid you’re cornering me or something crazy?”
I nodded sadly. “That’s exactly what it is. And then I meet your parents and hear them talk about grandkids and they look at us with such expectations,” I sighed. “They’ll hate me, Max. They’ll look at me and look at Isa and I’ll be the loser. I’ll be half the woman she is. I’ll be—”
“My wife.”
“What?”
“You’ll be my wife. You’ll be the woman I chose to spend the rest of my life with because you make me happy.” He paused. “The only half of anything you are is half of me,” he whispered.
Tears welled up and fell in one swift moment. “Oh, Max.” I rose up and planted one knee on either side of him, straddling his midsection. He winced in pain. “You alright?”
“Take it easy on this side, sweetheart.”
I shifted my weight and curiously lifted the hem of his shirt. His eyes narrowed, his forehead marred in what seemed like fear.
The shirt lifted to his neck and I saw a white gauze pad taped to the top of the tattoo that spanned his side.
“What happened?” I looked at his face and he closed his eyes. A slow smile spread across his face, his dimple ever-present.
“I got a little marked up on the way home.”
“What do you mean?” I asked nervously. “Did you get hurt? Are you bleeding?”
“Ah, just a bit. I’m okay.”
“Did you put something on it? What happened?”
He moved his head side to side. “I sat down in a chair and got stuck with something sharp. It’ll be okay.”
“You might need a tetanus shot, Max. That’s nothing to play with. You don’t even know how many people come to the ER and have serious issues because their tetanus wasn’t up to date. Let me look at it.”
“Be my guest.”
I slowly peeled the gauze off and my hands dropped to my side, my eyes growing wide. “Max!”
TWENTY-EIGHT
KARI
I stared at the fresh ink staining his angry skin. A purple orchid was weaved through the top of the vine that anchored the side-long tattoo.
I covered my mouth with my hand, unsure of what to say. I finally dragged my eyes from the design and to his eyes. He was watching me, as unsure as I was.
“It’s so beautiful, Max. I just want to touch it.”
He chuckled softly. “Please don’t.”
“How did you get it to match mine so perfectly?”
He shrugged.
“That’s forever, you know.”
“What’s your point?” He challenged me.
