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"Only eighty-six?" I said, laughing.
"Yeah, the rest are looking for a real man."
"I'm in the mud so deep, your jokes can't touch me anymore."
"My man, I wish I knew how to help, but this is way over my pay grade. I don't know what to tell you. You looked happy when you walked out of that room; she looks happy, You keep her safe and healthy. It's still weird as fuck, but it's not like you're holding her captive in the basement."
"But am I any better? I'm lying to the victim of an accident."
"I'm really trying to be supportive, Sullivan. So you gave her a home, a baby and some average sex with you. I still believe she could have it worse." He had no idea. Memories of Rita transfigured with fear in our kitchen came back and brought a bitter taste to my mouth.
"I'm surprised you're on board with it. Judging by your initial reaction, I thought you'd barge in here and scream what I did in her face. Or call the cops on me."
"First, if we called the cops on each other every time a minor crime was committed, my parents would go bankrupt from representing us in court; second, what do I know? Last time I saw a girl I liked, I made her life hell for months."
Man, he was such a jackass to dear London. She could do so much better than this idiot. I knew it; she knew it, and so did he, but no one could love her like he did. He was absolutely pussy whipped.
And so was I. Again. Except this time, she was worth it.
"I love her, Zach."
"I know you do, you're a pussy. You probably fell in love with her before you landed in Chicago."
"So what do I do if one day she wakes up and remembers her life is somewhere else, away from me."
Zach took a deep breath and shook his head.
"I can't sugar coat it for you, man. You fell to your knees when a woman who was an obvious gold digger, careless mother, and a massive bitch left you. This one, who actually checks all your boxes? If you lose her, you'll spiral into madness, and I'll have to provide a good home for Alexandria."
He was not wrong. I felt helpless just thinking about starting over again, only this time there would be no perfect woman falling into my arms. She had become such a big part of my life - my heart - in such a short time. If only I had met her one day earlier, one blow to the head earlier, what would my life have been like?
"So give her a reason to stay after she remembers."
"That's how you convinced London to forgive your sorry ass for finding you in an embrace with your ex-fiancée?" I never asked what happened that day after she left him; all I knew was that he left the hospital a broken man and came back happy and in love as I’d never seen him before.
"Yep, gave her all the charm and my magic genitalia." I rolled my eyes at him. "I loved her hard and hoped for forgiveness. At the end of the day, this is all we can do."
He was so fucking right it was scary. Zach was not the type to take things seriously or give good advice, but somehow today he was in the zone, nailing both those things.
"Thanks, man. Let me go change and brush my teeth, and I'll meet you downstairs."
"We're on your back patio; the girls wanted to have coffee outside."
"Great, save me a cup. Rita throws them back like they're shots of black tequila."
I was not kidding; she went through four cups a day somehow. All that caffeine was not good for her, or so I kept saying, but she did not listen to me. Why would she? It was not like I studied for years to be able to give this advice.
Crazy, crazy woman.
Damn, how I loved her. It felt so freeing to be able to say it all the time, even in my head.
A few minutes later, I was put together and went out to find everybody around the table, Chelsea riding on Zach's shoulders and pulling his hair for dear life. That must have been painful; my baby girl had a tight grip. I knew because I’d felt it. Maybe she'd get into arm wrestling or something.
Rita looked up and smiled my way, reaching one hand in my direction, and I took it gratefully.
"Good morning, sleepy head. We have guests."
"I can see. I found Ford sneaking in my hallways like a house mouse. You still didn't tell me what you are doing here, man."
