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We had.
But just because we’d talked about it didn’t make the worry go away. It was a serious concern.
Five to ten years is the average span that a donated kidney could last. In possibly five years, I could be in the same boat I was in just a few short months ago. And not only would I be leaving my family behind, but now I might be leaving Pace.
And I seriously didn’t like the idea of that.
Then again, maybe in five years, he wouldn’t be around.
Jesus Christ, my head was a mess.
“What’s putting that look on your face?” he asked.
I didn’t bother to hide my fears.
“One, what if we don’t even make it to five years?” I asked.
“One?” he grinned. “Okay, let’s address this one by one.” He rounded the Jeep and took the passenger seat. “Drive over to Sonic. I’m hungry. I have an hour to address all these problems that you speak of. Tonight, I’m helping you move in with me.”
I would’ve laughed had he not looked utterly serious.
“Shit,” I groaned.
“Start it up,” he ordered.
Since I didn’t have a valid argument not to start it up, I did, and then pulled two parking lots over into the Sonic.
Pace got out and ordered, knowing my order without asking, and then got back in after paying.
“I’ll be with you in five years,” he told me bluntly. “I’ve wanted nothing more than to have you for quite a bit longer than you can even imagine. So, I have zero doubt in my mind that in five years, we’ll be married. We’ll be living in a bigger house, and we’ll be filling all of the rooms with our babies.”
My breath caught.
“And to address the other worry. The worry you discussed with your dad on the phone.” He looked over at me, making sure to make full eye contact with me. “I will find you a kidney. I don’t care if we have to move to Tijuana and find you a kidney on the black market. I don’t care if we have to rip it out of someone’s body without their permission. I don’t care if I have to take out a billboard in Times Square, using every single bit of my savings to do it. I’ll make sure that we find you a kidney. In five years. Ten. Fifteen. We’ll make sure that you get what you need.”
I didn’t realize it until he leaned over and wiped away a tear that I was crying.
But it was the sweetest thing he’d ever said to me.
“I would rather leave moving to Tijuana as a last resort.” I snickered through the tears.
He didn’t grin. He did reply with ‘noted’ though.
My heart already felt lighter.
“What else?” he asked.
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t know why you like me,” I told him honestly. “But I’m going to stop overthinking things. I’m going to stop acting like a girl and just go with the flow…okay?”
He laughed then.
The sound was so beautiful that my heart swelled.
“I promise,” I said. “I’ll stop.”
He pulled me in by looping one hand around my neck, pressing a kiss to my mouth that was both hard and soft all at once.
“If you have a worry,” he said quietly, pulling back. “I want you to address it with me. I don’t want you having silent freak outs in your head when I ask you to marry me next.”
I must’ve looked just as shell shocked as I felt because when he got a good look at my face after kissing me one more time, he started to laugh.
“Jesus, your face.” He snickered. “I love it.”
“What else do you love?” I asked teasingly.
“I love when you smile at me. I love when you throw yourself in my arms, knowing without a single doubt in your mind that I’ll catch you. I love that you talk to me like I’m your closest confidant and your best friend. I love that you called your dad to talk about us and not your mom. I love that you love me.”
I was fairly sure he would’ve continued forever had the lady delivering our food not skated up on roller blades.
“Number one and number five?” she chirped.
She was all of twenty and looked cute as hell in her high ponytail, tight jeans, skin-tight Sonic shirt, and roller blades.
She was also looking at Pace like she would like to lick him up.
I rolled my eyes.
“Swear to God, I can’t take you anywhere,” I teased.
He rolled his eyes at me and reached for our food.
“Let me guess,” she said as she handed him the food. “You’re the one with the milkshake and the extra-large fries with extra cheese and chili?”
I felt my face flame.
What was she saying, that it was a lot of food and a girl shouldn’t be eating that?
“Uh, yeah.” Pace jerked his chin. “Thanks.”
