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His eyes look at me intently, as if waiting for an answer.
“Maybe we’ll go to the park tomorrow,” I find myself saying, more to the quiet room than to him. “And we should call the real estate agent. It’s time we found a house with lots of room and a big backyard, for you and Cora to have your own playground.”
Caleb looks at me attentively. It makes me wonder if he’s going to be an observer or if he’ll be as opinionated as Cora.
“Can’t wait to see you grow up,” I whisper. “And remember, no matter what happens, even if you go back to your mom, Ame and I will always be a part of your life.”
His little feet kick excitedly in response, or at least I want to believe so.
As I burp him, I can’t help but think of Aly. The wound hasn’t quite healed. But having Cora and Caleb has given me some hope. I could almost say they’re a couple of miracles. A gift that might only be temporary but exactly what I needed when I was about to give up on Ameline.
She was maybe the biggest reason why I was moving out of Seattle and starting a new career. It would keep my mind busy, and my heart numb. Now . . . I don’t know what I’m going to do. My main focus is her and the kids.
When Caleb finishes his formula, I gently pat his back, humming a soft lullaby. His eyelids flutter and close, his breaths deepening. Once he’s asleep, I carefully place him back in his crib, tucking him under a soft blanket. Watching his peaceful face, I allow my hand to rest lightly on his back, feeling the steady beat of his little heart.
“Sweet dreams, baby boy,” I whisper with a final kiss.
As I slip back into my room, I notice Ameline is awake, she’s wearing one of my t-shirts and sits right beside my nightstand. In her hands, she cradles one of the picture frames that sat atop it.
I clear my throat, drawing her attention. “What are you doing?”
She turns to me, her eyes meeting mine. “This is us,” she says, holding up the frame for me to see. It’s a picture from our honeymoon in Baja, our faces pressed together, the ocean behind us and the promise of forever right in front of us. We were happy and had a future.
“You have a picture of us,” she repeats as if she can’t believe I would have the best memories I shared with her.
Crossing the room, I sit beside her, feeling the mattress shift under my weight. “Why are you surprised?” I ask, my gaze lingering on the pictures scattered on the nightstand. Jude likes to call it Ameline’s shrine, but I see it as a reminder of what I once had.“Of course I would have something to remind me of my wife. You should see my office, there are a few of them too.”
“You still have Leslie’s picture downstairs and none of me.” Ameline looks down, her fingers tracing the edge of the frame. “That’s exactly why I had doubts about your feelings for me. Jude and your mom said you’d never love like you did her.”
My sisters are the ones who kept the picture there and I just didn’t care about it. Though, I nod confirming that Mom and Jude were right. “That’s true, but . . . I could never feel what I felt for her again because Leslie was my first love. We were just kids, and it tore me apart when I lost her.” I pause, carefully taking the frame from her and setting it back on the nightstand.
I reach out, taking her hand in mine. “You can never love two people the same. Ever. The moment I met you, I knew . . . there was something between us, a link that was pulling us together. With you, Ame, falling for you was different—almost magical. The way I feel about you—” my voice deepens. “It’s soul-deep. I would give my life for you in a heartbeat.”
“You can’t say you still love me.” She tries to snatch her hands away from me, but I don’t let her. I don’t want her to interrupt our connection. “Not after all these years and after everything that happened between us.”
I finally release her hands and I pull open the nightstand drawer and take out my wedding ring. For a second, I stare at the red box with her rings. I don’t bring it out because I don’t know if it’s too soon. This moment is about my commitment to her. With deliberate movements, I slip it back onto my finger. “I promised forever, because for me it meant I would love you forever. Even when forever seems to be just a fucking lie. An illusion.”
Reaching out, I take Ameline’s hand, feeling our fingers intertwining. “I’m not going anywhere,” I assure her. “Unless you need me to follow you somewhere else.”
She looks up at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Gabe,” she whispers.
“I haven’t been knocking on your door begging you to take me back because I promised you I would stay away—unless you came back to me. Not because I didn’t love you,” I clarify, my gaze locked with hers.
Her forehead creases adorably. “I’m so confused . . . This trip has rewritten everything. Why didn’t you explain all of this back then?” Though her words hold a bite, her tone carries no anger.
I graze a tender kiss over her furrowed brow. “I was too broken, baby. Fear, guilt, grief—I had no clue how to handle it all.”
I take her face in my hands and slant my mouth over hers, pouring every ounce of my soul into this single perfect moment.
I kiss her with a fire born of years of pent-up emotions.
She melts into me, arms wrapped around my neck erasing any last sliver of space between us. I lose all sense of anything but us.
“I love you,” I whisper against her lips, sealing the promise with another kiss.
“Make love to me,” she whispers, and I do it, making sure that with every touch, every kiss, and every thrust she knows I’m hers. That no matter what she decides I will always belong to her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
