“I’m in love with you too, Samir Muse Ali,” he whispered, and I believed him despite the volume of his confession.
Because I could see it in his face, read it in his eyes, and feel it in his touch.
We were in love with each other. It didn’t mean we weren’t going to face difficulties or obstacles. It didn’t mean he wasn’t going to get scared again or that I wasn’t going to doubt why he’d want such an older man. But as long as we loved each other, we could face it all, come what may.
31.Cole
Ispent all night with him.
Showing him how sorry I was.
Showing him how much I needed him.
Showing him how much he meant to me.
It was a glorious night. It was a wonderful night. It had been such a long, long time since I’ve enjoyed myself and let go.
It turned out I didn’t need to be away from Mayberry Holm to be myself. I simply needed him. It just took me a little while to realize.
I woke up feeling more well-rested than I had in years. Rested and at peace. The storm inside me had subsided, replaced by sunshine and rainbows even though one look out the window confirmed it was still snowing outside.
But what was Christmas without snow anyway? Maybe we could take Ella outside to build a snowman. Or to have a snow fight. There were so many things we could do, but first, coffee.
I turned to look at Samir. He was lying on his chest, hugging the pillow. His eyelashes looked so long when he was asleep, and the peak of his cheeks were so shiny.
“God, you’re beautiful,” I whispered and planted a soft kiss on his shoulder before I pushed the covers off and found my underpants.
The apartment was toasty warm, and I passed by several cats in various levels of shock on my way to the kitchen and a few started meowing at me when I started rummaging through the cupboards in search of coffee filters.
A fluffy calico kept me company while I waited for the coffee to brew and rubbed her herself on me when I located the cat treats.
“Who knew I could be popular,” I mumbled when a bunch of cats gathered around, looking for their own treats.
I poured a cup, then thought better and made another one for Samir and made my way to the bedroom with a bag of ginger cookies from Lilian’s bakery I’d found.
I took a sip of my coffee and sat back in bed, watching Samir sleep. Was I being creepy? I hoped to God I wasn’t. He was so adorable and beautiful, I couldn’t not look.
I wouldn’t mind waking up next to him every morning. I wouldn’t mind it at all.
When I decided to break into the bag of cookies was when he stirred beside me, and with eyes squeezed shut, he groaned.
“Who’s breaking glass in my ear?”
I held the plastic wrap as wide as possible and dipped my hand inside to retrieve a cookie and held it out to him.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. Cookie?”
He shook his head, eyes still shut, and turned the other way from me and the window. He rubbed his eyes and then found the coffee I’d made him on the bedside table and picked it up.
“Is that for me?”
“No. It’s for the other guy I slept with.” I chuckled, dipping my cookie in the coffee and taking a bite.
“It’s too early for jokes,” he groaned.
“Wow, you’re really not a morning person, are you?”
He chuckled and sat up, hugging the coffee close to his face.
