Not that I’d tell him this, but I can’t fault him either. I would be just as intrigued if one of them suddenly announced they were married. I mean, we’ve had our fair share of surprises—like Hutch sleeping with a billionaire, Lawson and Rory sneaking around, Hayes falling for his nanny, Fox and Lilah pretending to be engaged, and Locke apparently having a one-night stand with Hutch’s stepsister—but a secret marriage? Yeah, that definitely takes the cake.
“I get that,” she tells him. “But you can be a little more…considerate with your words.”
“You’re right.” Ihearthe kiss he gives her. “Do you still love me?”
“Unfortunately. I’m not sure I could stop if I wanted to.”
It’s sickeningly sweet, but it reminds me of exactly how I feel about Chloe. Even if I wanted to stop loving her, it’s impossible. She’s embedded in my soul, and these last three years apart have only proved it to be so.
I open my eyes as the elevator comes to a stop in the lobby.
“How’s Percy doing?” Rory asks as she and Lawson pass by. “Is he taking his meds okay?”
“Depends on the day.” I lift my hand, showing off the scratch I have from our battle. “This morning? Not so much. But usually he does okay.”
“Good. And he’s still moving around all right? No limping or pain?”
I love how worried she is about him, even though she sees him regularly for checkups, being his veterinarian and all. “He’s all good, Doc.”
Her eyes narrow for only a moment before she nods. “Well, you know where to find me if there are any changes.” She tugs on Lawson’s arm. “Come on. I need a sweet treat and bed.”
“Anything for you,” he responds, a lovesick smile plastered on his face.
He gives me one last look like he wants to say something, but I guess Rory’s words in the elevator really did a number on him because he snaps his mouth closed and nods before escorting his girlfriend out of the building. It’s weird and so un-Lawson-like that I almost wish he had said something.
I grab the bag of food from Xander at the security desk, then head back toward the elevator, which is already waiting for me to ascend. Just as I’m about to step inside, the front door of the building is flung open, and Lawson sprints inside right toward me.
“What the?—”
That’s all I’m able to get out before he presses his lips to my cheek in the loudest, wettest way possible, then pulls back and smiles at me.
“You almost forgot your kiss.” He pokes my nose with his finger before saying, “Boop.”
He races out of the high-rise, and I’m left standing there with a laughing Xander and a hot sack of food.
“Not a word,” I threaten the doorman, and he tucks his lips together to hold back his laugh.
The ride back up to my apartment is quick, which is good, because it leaves me little time to panic. In fact, I actually feel kind of…calm. I cling to that as I make my way back inside.
“I didn’t realize you still had these plates,” Chloe says as I slip off my shoes and close the door.
I already know what she’s talking about as I enter the kitchen to find her setting the very ’90s Disney dishes on the table. Back in college, whenever we were bored, we’d walk around the local thrift store to see what weird things we could find. It was a cheap date night, and it got our noses out of textbooks. One night, we found aHerculesplate, and Chloe got so excited about it that I spent twenty bucks on the thing, even though I’m pretty sure it’s worth about five cents. I made it my mission to collect them all after that.
“Well, if that makes you happy…” I set the bag of food on the counter, then go to the cabinet and rifle through it until I find what I’m looking for.
“No,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice as she moves closer, trying to see what I’m doing. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Oh, I did.”
I produce a full two sets of plates—one for her and one for me—and she squeals, bouncing on her heels as she claps like a little kid who just got told they’d have free rein in the candy store.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” she chants, and I can’t help but grin. Her reaction is everything I was looking for, making all the hours I spent searching worth it.
Then she does the last thing I ever expected—she throws her arms around me, and my entire world flips on its axis.
She’s hugging me. Chloe is hugging me.My wifeis hugging me.
She smells good, like rose water and lilac, and she feels even better. Her soft belly is pressed to me, her hair tickles my nose, and for a second, it feels like the last few years never happened.
