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I tried to follow her instructions, but breathing was suddenly the hardest task in the world.
Tori let go of my hand and ran her hands up and down my arms. “Tell me what you need, Rosemary. If you need me to go, I’ll go. If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. I’m not going to be offended either way. I just want to help.”
Run. Leave. Dig a hole and hide in it, so you never have to face what you just did or how it made you feel. “Everything inside of me is telling me to ask you to go, but I think that means what I really need is for you to stay.”
Tori nodded slowly, her eyebrows furrowed as if she was trying to calculate exactly what I was asking for. “Do you want to talk about it?”
When I shook my head, Tori motioned for me to lay on my side. As soon as I did, she wrapped her arms around me and spooned me from behind. She placed a kiss on my temple, then started to whisper as if she thought if she spoke too loud, I might break. And, honestly, she might have been right about that. “We can just lay here, but if and when you want to say anything, I want you to know that you can tell me whatever.”
There was so much I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure how to put it into words. “I meant what I said. Being with you was absolutely perfect, but it feels so wrong to admit that. I know Willow wants me to be happy, and given everything that’s happened these past few months, I don’t doubt that she would love that we found that happiness in each other. But, I don’t know. I know it’s not rational, but I feel like if things get too good with you, I’m losing a part of Willow. It’s like, if I’m able to find this with someone else, it takes away from what we had.”
Tori was quiet for a minute, most likely trying to process everything I had just said. “What you and Willow had was special. I’ve honestly never seen a relationship that compares to the one you two had. I want you to know that I would never try to take away from that. I think it’s possible to fall for more than one person, and that doesn’t mean that you loved that other person any less. It just means, there’s space in your heart for the two of us.” She tapped my chest where my heart was beating rapidly. “And I know for a fact that you have a very big heart in there.”
It was Tori. I had no question in my mind. If I was meant to love again, it was meant to be with her. It couldn’t be anyone else. No one understood me the way she did. No one knew what I had been through. But she did. Because she was there. She went through it, too. That’s when it hit me. That word that had just so naturally flitted through my mind without another thought. Love.
“Hey, Tori?”
Tori burrowed her face deeper into my neck and kissed my pulse point, causing my whole body to hum. “Hm?”
I took a deep breath to prepare myself to say these words. Words that I would never be able to take back once they were spoken into existence. Words that I didn’t want to take back, even if saying them was one of the most terrifying things I had ever done. “It scares me to death to say this, but I love you. I’m in love with you.”
Tori loosened her grip around my body, then slowly ran her fingers down my arm. “Look at me.”
When I turned around and looked at Tori, there was no question what she was going to say. Her eyes were glistening with love. Her smile was small, but brighter than I had ever seen it before. I didn’t say anything because I wanted to hear those words spoken out loud.
“I’m in love with you too, Rosemary Stone. I’m pretty sure I could love you for the rest of my life if you’ll let me.”
Chapter 15
“So, what do we tell the girls?” Tori asked when we pulled into the driveway at my parents’ house.
That was a great question. I was on such a high from everything that happened today, I hadn’t even thought of that. “Maybe we don’t tell them anything. It’s not like a ton has changed from their point of view. We already live together. They’ve met each of us. Maybe we just take things as they come. Of course, if they ask us, we’ll tell them the truth.”
“So, what if I want to kiss you?”
I leaned closer to her and put my hand on her leg. I’m not sure how I ever thought I was going to be able to resist this. “I wouldn’t stop you.”
Tori gave me a kiss that was much too quick, then pulled back. “Go on a date with me again tonight.”
“And just leave the girls here with my parents?” I laughed and playfully pushed her shoulder. “As much as I would love to see what amazing date you would plan this time, I miss the girls. It’s actually killing me to sit here knowing they’re right inside. The only reason I haven’t hopped out of the car yet is because you look so cute.”
“You don’t need to worry about not seeing the girls, because I was actually hoping to take all three of you on a date.”
My heart felt like it might burst from all the love I felt for this woman. Now that I had been honest with myself about what I was feeling, I could clearly see that this had been building for a very long time. Every tear she wiped away, every time she held me, all of the words of comfort she offered—they all led to this love I couldn’t hold in anymore. Even though I wasn’t willing to see it before, it really was inevitable. “I would love to go on a date with all of us.”
“Good.” Tori turned off the car. “Let’s go get our daughters. I have a big night planned for us.”
“You already have it planned?” I asked as I got out of the car.
“Of course.” She shut her car door and tapped her head. “I have a ton of ideas stored up here. Just wait.”
I looked up at my parents’ house and smiled. The one-story, ranch-style home was much different than the large three-story house I lived in growing up, and I loved it. It was the perfect representation of how much they had changed. There was a time my parents would have thought living in a house like this was below them, but not anymore. I smiled up at the sky. Thank you, Willow.
As soon as I opened the door to the house, both Bella and Emery ran down the hallway. Emery jumped into my arms and Bella jumped into Tori’s.
I held Emery tight up against me. “We missed you, too.”
Bella leaned backward in Tori’s arms so she was hanging upside down. “Were you so bored without us?”
