Page 102 of A Simple Love

She blinked. “Um, I thought you didn’t want kids. You said so in interviews.”

“I didn’t. But I realized I didn’t want them with anyone else. But I want them with you.”

“Oh.”

“At least two,” I added. “Maybe three. I would really like a little girl.”

“You’re crazy.”

“About you, yes. Totally.” I pulled her to my chest and held her close. “We lost all those years. I’m not wasting another single day with you. As long as you tell me you love me, then we’re together. A done deal.”

“I love you, Oliver Hart,” she murmured into my ear. “I never stopped.”

“Then buckle up, lovely. We’ve got a lot to do.”

“Can we just stay like this for a while?”

I pulled tighter and tucked her head under my chin. “Yeah, we can.” I pressed a kiss to her hair. “For as long as you like.”

We went for a walk later, stopping at the Wong Man. I hadn’t eaten all day, and I was starved. Kassie watched me inhale the food I ordered, her eyes wide.

“Wow,” she mouthed.

I pushed her plate closer. “Eat up. You need your strength. We have a lot of plans to make.”

“I’m not sure I can keep up.”

“You can, I know it. Can I have your spring roll?”

She handed it to me, and I bit into the crispy shell. “Awesome. I get to eat here anytime I want now.”

She nodded, her bottom lip trembling. I set down my fork and reached for her hand. “Hey, lovely. Everything is okay.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’m just being a girl.”

“My girl,” I replied and picked up her hand, kissing the knuckles. “Mine.”

“Yours.”

“Finish eating. I need to take you home and claim you.”

She muttered about me being a caveman, and she was right. I felt like one. I wanted to beat my chest and announce to the world she was mine. Throw her over my shoulder and take her home and have my wicked way with her until she screamed my name.

But I would settle for feeding her, walking hand in hand with her, and holding her all night if that was what she needed.

Because she came first. Today, tomorrow, and always.

It was a perfect evening. After dinner, we strolled through one of the neighborhoods adjacent to Kassie’s. The streets were a little wider, the homes set back from the road. The street had many older Victorian houses, built when the town was first settled. We didn’t talk much, content to hold hands and be together. As we came close to the end of a street, I stopped, looking at a house.

“Wow,” I muttered. “I remember this place.”

She chuckled. “You should. This was another house whose garden you liked to raid on a regular basis.”

“The Harrisons.”

She sighed. “It was always the prettiest house in town. I saw inside once with my mom. It was incredible. All wood and stained glass. Such a shame it’s empty.”

“Have the owners passed?”