Clenching his jaw, he spits out, “I have a reading disability.” He stares at the gravel on top of the flat roof, shoving some around with his shoe. Silence fills the air between us until he lifts his pleading gaze to me. “No one here can know. I can’t… I can’t have the university finding out.”
“But there’s help out there. There are tutors?—”
He spins around, hands in the air, and I’venever seen him so furious. “Iknow! But I can’t have people finding out that I’ve been acing my classes every semester while unable to understand the fucking information!”
When he turns around, the anguish of his secret makes my heart hurt for him. I don’t know what to say. So I stay quiet. Just waiting.
“Maybe Iamstupid.” His upper lip curls with disgust as he waves a hand toward me. “And married to a fuckinggenius. You happy now? Thrilled you married an idiot?Fell in love with him?”
“Apollo? Stop. What are you doing?”
He crosses his arms, but I rip one away from the other, so he has to hold me instead.
“You’renotstupid. And, yeah, I am a genius. But also, yes. I amhappy. As much as it hurts my pride? Yep. I fell in love with you. All heroic and protective and good and fuckingsmart. Able to read people so easily. Remember every detail of a situation. One who pays attention to things I never think about. Plan life like you’re its CEO.”
My hands stroke his biceps as my voice cracks, finally admitting the truth.
“Yes, Apollo. I’m actuallythrilledI married you.”
His lips press tight, and then…
He collapses onto me.
I’m not sure if he’s crying or not, but his lumbering body gathers mine up. Face buried in my neck, huffing in deep, shuddering breaths. Legs surrounding mine. It takes every ounce of strength to hold him up.
I stroke his hair and make soothing sounds.
It’s muffled, but I hear him say, “That’s what I needed to hear, I swear.”
When he straightens, I have tears in my eyes that match his glistening ones. He caresses my cheeks, holding my face.
“I love you, Mrs. Scout Griffin.”
As if he pulled the breath from my lungs, I freeze. Stunned. Maybe it’s because I was always too busy to think about such emotions. But Apollo, my husband,lovesme. And that feels unbelievable.
This is even better than med school acceptance.
“Youdo?”
He releases a silent chuckle, emotion still coating his face. “Yeah. At first, it was duty. Then respect for your role as my wife. The spark you brought to my life that first time we kissed. That ignited something. A flame. But then you…You, Scout. My tulip.” His hand brushes back some of my hair, tucking it behind an ear. “I fell for everythingyouare. Intelligent. Capable.Sassy. And sexy. Don’t forget about sexy.”
I’m smiling so hard, tears spill from my eyes.
“You’re the one I’ve been in love with.”
“Me?” I ask carefully. “Even when I asked you?—”
“Even then. There was never anyone else.”
I sniff and wipe my face with my glove. “So why didn’t you tell me then?”
His brown eyes search the clear sky as if it will give him the answer. “Pride? Fear of getting hurt? I knew you didn’t feel the same, so I guess I was waiting to show you through my actions and not my words.” He steps closer and pulls me tighter into his chest. “To show you what a good husband I could be.”
I relish his embrace, especially as he slowly sways like he does. “The best husband. I won.”
“Hmm?” he asks, and I pull back to look at his dimples deepening with his grin.
“I won the POT lotto.”
