“Stop,” I laugh.
He smirks. “No dessert?” he asks.
I roll my eyes. “Of course, we have to get the cannoli.”
“Oh?” he adds because he knows exactly what I’m going to say.
“Dessert stomach,” I reply, and he laughs.
“I swear, you and the dessert stomach,” he says.
“The stomach wants what the stomach wants,” I answer. I rub my stomach. “Actually, I’m really full. I feel a little like I want to throw up. I shouldn’t have eaten so much. In fact, you need to stop bringing home so much takeout, or I won’t fit into my pants anymore.”
He leans forward. “You eat as much as you want. I’ll buy you bigger pants,” he growls as his hand squeezes my thigh.
I sigh. “Let’s get the check, so I can walk off some of this fullness. I really do feel a little sick.”
He places a hand on my head as a look of concern overtakes his facial features. Here it comes, Dr. Bray. Sometimes, I actually forget he’s a real doctor.
Bray gets the check and insists on paying. We walk down the street hand in hand. “You feeling any better?” he asks.
I nod. “A little. The fresh air is helping.”
“Good,” he replies. He leads us to the park bench, and we sit down. Cliff is out eating food from her automatic bird feeder.
I lean my head on Bray’s shoulder. “Promise me this won’t ever end,” I say.
“What won’t end?” he asks.
“Us,” I reply.
He uses a single finger to tilt my head up to look at me, his eyes searching mine. “I meant what I said the other day, Carly. I…fuck it. I love you. I’m not going to leave you. I’ve been seeing a therapist for the past few weeks. I…well, I have a long way to go, but it’s helping. I don’t want a future without you and Ava in it,” he explains as his eyes search mine.
I feel tears prick my eyes. “You don’t?”
His hand caresses my cheek, and I lean into it. “Of course I don’t.”
I let out a shaky breath. “I love you, too.”
He smiles and presses his lips to mine, and the world melts away for a beat. Holy shit! I’m in love again!
I pull back, and we grin at each other. “This is real, then?” I ask.
“Baby, this was always real. It just took us a while to figure it out,” he says, and I want to freeze-frame this moment forever.
“Why were we so blind to it?” I wonder.
He laughs, and I grin. “’Cause we’re two broken pieces that needed to be pushed together to figure out we were the perfect fit.”
“I wish we had figured it out sooner,” I say with a sigh.
“We were saving the best for last,” he replies as he presses another kiss to my lips. I don’t think anything could get better than right now.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Bray
Everything has to be perfect. Or at least that’s how I feel.
