I would have her lie on top of me, but that baby bump is a little obstacle. Instead, I rub her back when she sits next to me. My cheeks rise from the smirk of satisfaction that I’m attempting to tamp down.
“It’s okay. Obviously, it’s on your mind, even if you don’t want to admit it. I’m not going to go grab the rings. We don’t need to rush,” I promise with a struggle.
She side-eyes me before returning to staring down at her belly. “Fine. I confess that it floats into my mind. It’s crazy because we should be going slow, but that speed doesn’t feel right.”
I kiss the top of her head that has a faint hint of the smell of burning wood from the bonfire in town. “Want to know a secret?” I whisper against her forehead.
“Surprise me.”
“I think about it almost every hour.”
Her head reangles as she studies me. “Being remarried isn’t the end all. We’ve circled back to one another and the baby is a bonus. But being remarried doesn’t need to be the sign that we’re okay again.”
I run my thumb down her arm. “You just let it slip a minute ago what your subconscious is thinking, though,” I highlight.
She can’t challenge me and nibbles her bottom lip, and her eyes appear to gleam with joy. “What do we do now?” She wants me to give her the answer.
For a woman who is independent and spirited, when she wants me to provide answers and guide our way, it feels it’s because I have years on her to make me smarter.
It’s not true. I’m just in love with this woman and will do anything to make her happy and ensure she is in my arms. I made one misstep when I signed those papers, and fuck, I won’t make another mistake.
Her entire body melts into me, and she sniffles, a tear emerging from her eye. “I was being so silly thinking that you only wanted to be with me because of your political career.”
“Rosie. You’re under this roof and with me not because of career or our baby. It’s because I love you and never stopped.”
Her crying is bearable only because she’s grasping what she needs to hear and has been obvious all along but never said out loud.
She swipes away a tear with the back of her hand, and my thumb stops a drop on her other cheek.
“I never stopped loving you either. Maybe that’s why I wonder if we should have space. I don’t want to hurt you again.”
I shift on the couch to catch her sight and trap her hands between my own. “If you dare do that then I’ll lose my mind, and I won’t let you pack a single suitcase. I’ll even throw them out.”
She sniffles another tear. “I’m sure you would.”
“We don’t need to do anything. You’ve said you love me and mentioned wife at some point.” She pinches my arm because I’m teasing her. “Our day is complete, and we can go to bed finally at peace that we’re not hiding anything from one another.”
Her chuckle mixed with snot makes her more lovable. “You’re still kind of keeping a major secret that involves pink or blue.”
I bring her hands up and kiss them. “That shall not be shared.”
“You’re unbreakable, aren’t you?”
“Only you can break me, but you can also put me back together.”
Her eyes glisten with more tears. “I’m scared. I don’t want to break us again.”
Dropping our hands, I kiss her lips with urgency and firmness to make it clear that she’s wrong. “No need to be. I’m here.”
“I’ve missed you, and I kind of missed mentioning that sometime in the last few months.” Her face goes cartoonish with her swollen eyes.
“I kind of got the memo when we slept together the first time and created a baby.”
She bubbles a laugh and plays along. “Oh good, I thought I wasn’t clear enough.”
Another kiss and then one more. Standing, I offer her my hand and then tug her up. I lead us straight up the stairs in silence and directly to our room.
With our eyes speaking their own language, I slowly undress her, and she does the same to me.
