Page 84 of Accidentally in Love

“Because Kath took my heart, ripped it out of my chest, and fed it to me. I didn’t want to go through that again. Then I met you.”

She gave me a suspicious look. “You made me think…”

I sighed. “Because you went on all those dates.”

“Nolan, I haven’t slept with anyone since I met you.”

I furrowed my brow. “Really?”

She nodded. “I’m so in love with you it hurts sometimes, and I thought you just said you loved me because of the sex. It hurt because I knew you didn’t mean it.”

I bent my head to her, pressing our foreheads together. “Can I tell you a secret?”

She nodded.

“I haven’t slept with anyone else since I met you either.”

She looked up at me with wide eyes. “Really?”

“I never thought I was good enough for you.”

“But you’re a good man. You’re loyal to your friends, you’re protective of your family, and you’ll always take care of Peanut and me. No matter what.”

I cupped her face and wiped away more stray tears. I hated that her face was splotchy, and her eyes were red from all her tears. Especially since I was the one who caused her that pain. “I love you,” I said.

She searched my eyes for the truth, and I stared back at her, hoping she saw I was baring my soul to her. “Do you really mean it? It’s not just because of the baby?”

“No, Avery, I love you. And I’m gonna love Peanut just as much, but I love you. You’re my light in the dark. Everything’s better when you’re near.”

“Nolan…” she sighed.

“I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you too, you big grouch.”

I caressed her cheek. “You make me want to be a better man. I’m not good at expressing my feelings.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, really?”

“I’ll try for you. I’m sorry I shut down when it comes to my parents. It’s the blackest day of my life. I don’t want to remember it.”

Her face softened, and she cradled my face in her hands. “I’m sorry. I pushed too hard. Tell me when you’re ready.”

“I don’t want our marriage to end here today,” I said. I held up my left hand and then joined it with her own. “You see these rings? This means you’re my forever.”

“I want to be your forever. Can we blame my outburst on pregnancy hormones?”

I laughed. “Sure.”

Her smile was a thousand-watt. “See, you’re good at this whole husband thing already. You already know when I’m right.”

I glared at her, and she laughed. That sound was music to my ears after what we just went through. “You really didn’t think I was telling the truth?”

She shook her head. “But I do now. Tell me again.”

“I love you,” I said again and gave her a soft, slow kiss, putting all the passion I could muster into it.

Her eyes were still closed when I pulled away from her. Although her face was stained with tears, my wife was still a vision, and I couldn’t believe she was mine. Today proved that if I wanted to keep it that way, I had to fight for her. Had to fight tooth and nail to let her know she was my queen. She was the light in my dark world, and I never wanted to make her cry like that ever again.