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“Thankfully,” he agrees with a sigh. “Just promise me that you won’t do anything like that again.”
“I hope, really hope, that I’m never in that kind of situation again.”
“I notice you didn’t promise.”
“That’s because I won’t make a promise I can’t keep.” I shrug.
He groans, dropping his forehead to my shoulder, and I smile and reach up to pat the back of his head.
“In other news, your mom stopped by while you were gone,” I tell him, and his arms tighten while he lifts his head to look at me.
“Please tell me she was nice.”
“She came to apologize and to give me a lecture about being crazy and impulsive.” I smile at him. “She sounds just like you, or maybe you sound just like her.”
“She lectured you?” His brows pull together.
“I believe her exact words were, ‘As the future mother of my grandchildren, I expect you to take better care of yourself. You can’t go around doing crazy things without thinking about the consequences of your actions, Leah.’” I even mimic her tone.
He laughs, and my heart soars at the sound. “Sounds like her,” he mutters.
“I like her,” I say quietly. “She loves you. I was right—she just misses you and your sister, but she sees that what she’s been doing has only pushed the two of you away.”
“How long was she here for?”
“Not long. She’s kind of direct when she wants to get her point across.”
“You’re not wrong about that.” He kisses the side of my head.
“Are we done fighting?” I ask softly as I set down my mug on the ledge of the deck and turn in his arms.
He frowns down at me. “Pardon?”
“I don’t like fighting with you. I didn’t like not holding your hand in the truck on the way back to the cabin or going to bed without you last night, and I freaked a little after waking up this morning alone and not finding you in the house.”
“We weren’t fighting, Leah. Yes, I was pissed, but not at you. I was pissed at the situation and knew I needed time to calm the fuck down and accept that you were okay. When I came up to bed last night after talking to my dad, who heard what happened, you were already asleep. And this morning, you whimpered when you moved your hand, so I knew you were in pain. That’s why I got up to go to the store. I wanted you to be able to take something for the pain when you got up.”
“I thought you left me.”
“What?”
“When I couldn’t find you and saw that your truck was gone, I thought you left me.”
He frowns. “You thought I just left you here, without us fighting or talking about what happened, without me saying anything at all?” Okay. Now he looks pissed. “Leah, if things ever come to an end between us, baby, you’ll know, because before it happens, I’ll fight for us, fight for you. I won’t just let you walk away, and I hope like fuck that you wouldn’t just let me go either. No relationship is ever easy or perfect. We are going to argue, you’re gonna piss me off, and I’m gonna return the favor. But at the end of the day, as long as neither of us gives up fighting, we will make it work.”
“You’re really good at relationship stuff.”
“As you pointed out, I’ve had some practice,” he jokes, and my nose scrunches up at the reminder. He leans in, kissing the tip of it while chuckling. His smile leaves, and he takes my face between his hands. “I’ve learned over time what I want, what I don’t want, and exactly the kind of woman I’m looking for. I know each man you dated before me taught you those same things.”
“You’re right,” I agree while leaning closer to him. “I’m sorry I made you worried last night, and I know what I did was stupid. I just had to.”
His fingers skim along my jaw. “What you did just confirmed why I’d be stupid not to want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Did he just say that? What?
“You care about people, even people you don’t know. You want everyone around you to be happy, and you have a way of making that happen for them. You see the good in the world when most people are so jaded they’d complain about rain that’s coming in two days when it’s sunny outside.” I melt deeper into him as my heart starts to pound in a strange tempo and my eyes start to water. “I love that you’re optimistic and impulsive. I love that you love me enough that you were willing to ignore your own worries about coming to meet my family and do it anyway, because you knew I wanted you here with me. I love the look on your face when I get home, and the way you are with your niece and nephews. I love how you treated Heather like you’d known her for ages, and the look on your face every time Kennedy laughed.”
