CHAPTER 19
PENN
I don’t answer right away because no one asks me that. I’m usually the one fixing things and making things right. I look into my wife’s eyes and know exactly what I need. It’s what I always need. “I need you,” I say.
Her eyes soften, and I take a step closer. “Not to talk. I know we need to, but tonight, I just need my wife.”
She reaches for me without hesitation.
Her arms go around my waist, and she holds me to her. “I’m here,” she whispers.
My eyes burn, and I close them hard. “I’m sorry.”
Her voice is muffled against my chest. “For your patient?”
“For all of it,” I confess.
She pulls back just enough to look at me. “Penn.”
I cup her face. “I know sorry isn’t enough.”
She shakes her head. “No, it’s not.” Then her hands slide up my chest. “But I’m here.”
I lower my mouth to hers.
The kiss starts soft, and she kisses me back without any hesitation.
I walk her backward toward the stairs, my mouth still on hers, my hands rubbing up and down her back.
At the bottom step, she pulls back. “Bedroom?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
She takes my hand and leads me upstairs.
In our room, she turns to me and unbuttons my shirt. She’s slow about it, and I stand here and let her take care of me.
She pushes my shirt open and presses her mouth to my skin, over my heart.
“I’ve got you,” she whispers.
Her words gut me because I don’t deserve them, but fuck, I need them. She pulls my pants and underwear off, and I help her out of her dress and underwear, and then she’s in my arms again. We move to the bed, and I pull her under me, careful with my weight even though she tries to tug me closer.
“I’m not going to break,” she says.
I look down at her. “I know.”
I search her eyes in the dimly lit room. “I know I don’t always show it, but I’m going to do better. I love you, Aria, and I don’t want to lose you.”
She puts her hand against my cheek. “And you’ll never say the word divorce to me again.”
I shake my head. “Never.”
She nods, and her hands go to my chest, pushing me onto my back. I go easily, and she sits astride me. “I’m supposed to be taking care of you, remember?”
My hands go to her hips, and my fingers dig into her soft skin, holding her to me. “We can take care of each other.”
Her eyes light up. “I like that.”
