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“Do you…” He pauses. “Do you want to change our timeline?”

“I like our timeline. Marriage when we’re ready, kids when you retire. I can actually be home to see them grow up.”

“I don’t know that I’m ready to retire,” he whispers, the words laced with pain.

“I’m not asking you to,” I hurry to assure him.

“If I don’t recover well from this… It might not be your choice—or mine.”

“We’ll worry about that when we have to.”

He brushes a kiss across my lips before resting his forehead against mine. “I had all these plans. Was going to light some candles, pour some wine, maybe draw a bubble bath…”

“What happened?”

“The guys left, and I fell asleep.” His sheepish laugh lights me up. “Can I get a rain check?”

“Nope.” I kiss him this time. “We get a life together. We can have a romantic night in anytime.”

His arm tightens around me. “I like the sound of that.