Page 100 of Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

He tilts his head as he thinks about this, and in an instant, his eyes widen and flash to mine.

“So regardless of where I live, here or there, I’m getting him for half of the year.”

Hope suddenly surrounds his aura, and I can feel it floating in the air. Color rises into his cheeks and the hazel in his eyes intensifies.

“So you could choose to stay here, then?”

There’s so much emotion in his voice that I nearly choke out the answer he wants to hear, but I have to finish the story first.

“I took a job offer.”

He inhales sharply. His face falls, but then he masks it because he’s that kind of man who’d put how he feels aside to show me support.

“But not there . . . here.” I lean a little closer to him and place my hand on his thigh. His solid warm thigh.

“I don’t understand. You already have a job here.”

“Well, at the same time I was interviewing for the position in Minneapolis, one of my old attendings reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in teaching. You saw me talking to her at the hospital gala. It’s not a full-time position, as I do already have one, but I’ll be an adjunct professor, specifically helping students publish different articles of research within their field of specialty in orthopedics. This professor just received a large grant, and she needs additional help while she starts a new study of her own.”

“And this is something that you want to do?”

“Yes, very much. I’ve realized that I like to be stimulated and challenged. I don’t like being stagnant, and that’s what I’ve been over the past year. But, Jonah, I don’t want to move to Minnesota. I don’t know what will happen between us down the road, I just know what’s happening now.”

“And what is that?” he asks, that hope trying desperately to drip back into his tone.

“That I’m in love with you. Both of you. You’re my family too and I don’t want to leave you. I can’t.”

Silence settles over us as he stares at me. His eyes turn watery and his nose flares once as he breathes in. His shoulders fall forward as he exhales and he takes both my hands in his. Looking down at them, he rubs a few of my fingers until he drags his gaze back to mine.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time to hear someone say that they love me,” he says quietly.

“What do you mean? So many people love you.” I tangle our fingers together, because I want to feel his hands too. Hands that have calluses from all the hard work he puts in at the gym and with catching the ball.

“Yes, but until this moment, they weren’t the ones who I wanted to hear it from. You, I wanted to hear it from you.”

Leaning forward, I cup his cheek. “I love you. Very much,” I tell him again, and his whole body shudders. It’s wild how such small words can have such a profound impact. “All this time, I’ve been so focused on my plan, this antiquated plan I put in place years ago before I even lived any life to figure out exactly what I want, so it shouldn’t be surprising that somewhere along the way, my plan changed. You became my plan. You and Vivi. I love you both so much, I can’t imagine not being with you. The two of you are stitched into the very fiber of my being and I would give up everything and move anywhere as long as I get to be with you. It’s not about the location, it’s about the people I love, and I love you so much.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You should know it wasn’t just you. That night, your soul spoke to mine and together they whispered soulmate. I felt it too and I wanted it so bad. I still do. I want you and Vivi. Sweet Vivi who I want to shower with so much love. You both deserve it and I feel lucky to be the one you chose.”

He slowly blinks at me, those dark blond eyelashes sweeping up and down, but they do nothing to hide the array of emotions coursing through him. He’s happy, he’s humbled, he’s hopeful, and he’s in love. With me.

“Move in with us.” He’s so serious, but then the corners of his mouth lift too.

I blurt out a laugh. “Don’t you think that’s a little fast?”

“No.” He sits up straight. “I know what I want, and it’s you. It’s always been you. You should be with us. You complete us. And if there’s anything I’ve learned from John’s death, it’s that tomorrow isn’t a guarantee.”

Should I take more time to think about this? Probably. But do I want to? No. I want to be there with them in Jonah’s beautiful home, too.

“Okay,” I tell him.

“Okay?” He looks at me with shock and so much optimism.

“Yes.” I laugh.

He reaches over and yanks me off my chair and onto his lap so I’m straddling him. I laugh again as he wraps his long arms around me and hugs me fiercely. Minutes pass as the pounding of his heart slows, and my weight gradually settles onto him. Pulling back, he drags his lips across my face until they press against mine, and that’s when I realize I get to kiss this man every day, multiple times a day, for what I’m hoping is the rest of my life.