“What for?”
“For being here. For taking such good care of me and of Tommy.”
“Always.” I nod. Certain of it.
“Always?” Her facial features lighten, her frown now almost completely gone.
“Yeah, sweetness. Don’t really know how we came to be. Hell, I think we’re both still trying to work it all out. I certainly never thought I would ever commit to someone. Now here I am, with not only a beautiful woman, but a beautiful baby at home too.”
“You’re a lucky guy…” She’s being sarcastic, but her words are true.
“Never thought I was until I met you.”
“Don’t go getting all soppy on me, Griffin,” she teases, her smile widening, and I love to see it so much, I keep talking.
“You calling love soppy?”
She stills, her mouth opening a little in shock.
“Because that’s what this is, sweetness.”
“You love me?” She says it like it’s the most unbelievable thing. Like no one could possibly love her.
“I do. I’m not worthy of it. Not worthy of you. It’s foreign to me. I haven’t been close to anyone in a long time. You know that. But hell, sweetness, I’d scorch the earth and everyone on it for you.” I try not to get choked up, and I swallow hard. Fuck, I’m turning into a vulnerable asshole lately.
She looks at me, wide eyes blinking, like she’s digesting everything I said.
“You… love me?” she says again, and if she needs to hear it a hundred times, I will tell her a hundred more.
“Yes, I love you, Savannah. More than I ever thought I could.”
“I love you, too. I love you so much it scares me.”
When those words pass her lips, I nearly crumple at her feet. I haven’t heard those words in a long time. Not in the way she’s saying them. Like she knows it right down to her bones. I pull in a breath, trying to steady myself. I’m in territory I haven’t even been in before. There's responsibility now. There’s commitment. There’s love. And I want it. I want it all with her.
“Scares the hell out of me too, sweetness. And I promise to always look after you and Tommy. I promise to protect you, love you, be there for Tommy when he needs me…”
Her smile widens as my arms close around the small of her back. She leans away just enough to look at me, her fingers brushing the stubble along my jaw like she’s memorizing every detail.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask her.
“I’m just thinking about our journey to get here.” Her soft laugh catches in her throat.
I huff a breath. “Not exactly a straight line.”
“More like a car crash. With detours. And a few explosions.”
I grin, and it feels strange on my face, like my muscles forgot how to do it until she came along. “Still standing, though.”
“Barely,” she teases, but her voice is thick with emotion. “But yeah. Still standing.”
She presses her forehead to my chest, and I rest my chin on her crown. Her hair smells like sugar and something warm, like home. We stay like that for a long moment, breathing in sync, hearts slowing. I could stand like this forever. Have her in my arms. Our baby safe and loved. I feel a little nervous thinking about it. About how I can make her mine. About how I can build this little family we have started. How I want her to be my forever.
She exhales, shaky and soft. “I used to think love was something other people got. People who didn’t screw up. People who weren’t… me.”
I pull her tighter against me. “You didn’t screw up. You survived. You fought. You kept going when most people would’ve folded.”
Her eyes glisten, and she tries to blink it away. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
