“You get it,” she says, leaning against my shoulder, her eyes fluttering shut.
“You should go to bed,” I whisper against her hair, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll be on duty in case she wakes up.”
“What would we do without you?” she murmurs.
“You’d be doing just fine,” I say. “How many times do I have to tell youthat? You’re incredible. But I’m glad I’m here so you don’t have to.”
Pressing another kiss to her head, I walk her down the hallway and tuck her into bed.
“Goodnight, pretty girl,” I say, turning off the lamp on her bedside table.
“Jack, wait,” she says, sitting up and turning the lamp back on, looking determined. “Can we talk?”
“Of course, what do you want to talk about?”
"No, Jack, I want totalk."
My stomach flips–I hope this is what I think it is.
Please let it be that.
“When Aaron died, I felt completely and utterly alone.”
I nod silently.
I know what you mean.
“And then there was Little One, and my world turned upside down,” she smiles, lighting up the way she always does when shetalks about Erin. “And everything changed. We were gonna be a team, her and I. And we are.”
She motions for me to sit back on the bed, and grabs my hand, her emerald eyes somehow blazing and swimming with tears at the same time.
“And then…” she whispers. “And then there wasyou.”
It’s as if the world stops spinning–my breath catches in my throat, everything fading away except for the perfect, beautiful, incredible woman in front of me.
“And you,” she says, voice wavering. “You were everything I never knew I needed. Everything I never thought I’d ever find again.”
Still unable to speak, I squeeze her hand.
“Aaron was more than a husband.” Her voice cracks, and I reach up to cup her cheek. She leans into my touch, then continues, “He was a best friend, a partner, an extension of myself. And I thought that was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of man.”
“He was the best,” I whisper, my own voice strained.
“And then there wasyou,” she emphasizes, repeating the sentiment from a few moments ago. “And before I knew it, I realized I had found all those things again. And I didn’t know what to do with it, so I pushed you away.”
She shifts to sit on her knees, grabbing my other hand and holding them both in her lap.
“But you didn’t go anywhere. You stayed. And stayed. And stayed.”
My heart thunders so rapidly I’m sure they can hear it three counties over.
“I told you I would,” I say hoarsely. “For as long as you want me here.”
She releases one of my hands, and it’s her turn to stroke my cheek.
“I think I want you to stay forever, Jack Robb.”
Forever.
