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“Baby, you’ve given me so much more than I ever could have imagined.”
His words have emotions building in my throat. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him he’s my everything, but he’s never hinted at this extending to after my sister’s wedding. I may have found my confidence in these past few months, but I can’t seem to find it within me to open up my heart, to expose it for him to crush if he says this has been fun, but it’s run its course. No, I’m sticking to the plan.
I have a week until I have to walk away from the man who owns me, heart and soul.
“Now what?” Merrick asks. We just finished carrying in all of today’s purchases. His living room floor is covered with bags.
“Now, we put it all away.”
“I can hire someone for that, right?” he asks.
“No. We’re going to do it. It won’t take us long.”
“I needed a lot of shit.”
“It’s not shit.” I laugh. “These are all the things you need to live here,” I remind him. Sure, he could have gone without curtains, but hanging them will make this feel like home to him. Not just four walls that contain his things.
“I’ve been living here just fine without all this.”
“This shit, as you like to call it, makes this place a home.”
“We’re doing just fine,” he says, tugging me into his lap. “I’m glad it’s over, and you’re right. It needed to be done. Thank you for putting up with me today. This never would have happened without you. My sisters-in-law would have eventually taken matters into their own hands once they saw everything I still needed. It was more fun doing it with you.”
His words hit me in my feels. I had so much fun with him today and every day that we spend together. I want to tell him this could be our life, our future, but I keep those words locked up tight. Instead, I say, “Come on. Let’s get this put away, and then I’ll make you some dinner.”
“Careful, Court, I’ll be locking the doors and never letting you leave.” He winks and kisses my cheek, before placing me back on the couch next to him. Standing, he grabs one of the bags to start unpacking.
I ignore the twisting in my belly at his words. I wonder what he would have said if I told him I was ready for him to lock the door and throw away the key. Shaking out of my thoughts, I stand and pick up a bag and we both get busy.
It takes us a couple of hours to get it all unpacked and put away, including hanging the curtains and placing the throw rugs in front of the doors. The dishwasher is running for the new dishes and utensils, and I washed all the pots and pans by hand.
“I’m going to take all this garbage out to the garage,” Merrick says, surveying the bags of trash and boxes we broke down from today’s purchases.
“You do that, and I’ll start dinner.”
“Thanks, baby.” He leans in for a kiss, which I return eagerly before I get busy making us turkey sliders on Hawaiian sweet rolls.
“That was delicious. Thanks for cooking,” Merrick says as he stands and takes his plate and mine to the dishwasher.
“They’re my favorite and easy to make, and you’re welcome.”
“What are we watching tonight? Movie or series?” he asks as he presses the start button on the dishwasher.
“Series. Definitely. I have to know what happens next. It’s been killing me,” I confess.
Merrick laughs. “Okay, go get it pulled up. Do you want a beer? Water? Soda? Snack?”
“I’m stuffed, but a water would be good.” I move to the living room and get the next episode of the series we’ve been binge-watching pulled up. Once that’s done, I pull the throw blanket from the back of the couch and snuggle under it.
“You cold?” Merrick places two bottles of water on the coffee table before sitting next to me on the couch.
“No. I just want to snuggle. It’s a security thing.”
“Let me help with that.” He tugs me onto his lap, pulls out the footrest for the recliner on his side of the couch, and makes sure we’re both covered with the blanket.
I settle into his embrace and hit Play on the remote. There is nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.
“You’re staying here tonight, right?” Merrick asks a few hours later. We’ve just finished another season of this series we started on Netflix a few weeks ago. It’s late and I’m surprised we’re both still awake after all the running and work we did today.
