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“Hey, babe. I brought you a cup of tea.”
I look up. I’ve been sitting in bed for an hour now, just thinking things over while Will goes about his workday. Now, the most handsome man in the entire world is standing shirtless in the doorway, holding a mug for me. How did I get so damn lucky? It’s hard for me to fathom it sometimes. He approaches and puts the mug on the table beside me, kissing the top of my head. The passion between us has been strong from the start, but I’m starting to appreciate the smaller acts of love too. When we make love, as we do every night, sometimes more than once, it’s filled with passion and vigor. But moments like this, tender moments, feel just as good as the sex, and they make me smile so much.
“You okay?” he asks, cupping my face in his hand. “We haven’t talked much about your dad.”
I sigh. I’ve been avoiding the topic. At least, I haven’t spoken about it out loud. I know that Will has been holding back, not wanting to force me to talk before I’m ready, but I also know he’s worried about me. He wants to know that I’m not about to fall apart the second he lets me go. I take Will’s hand in mine.
“I’m okay, it’s just hard. Knowing he’s next door, but he doesn’t want to speak to me. That he could fix this so easily if he wanted to, but he’s not doing anything. It hurts.”
He nods, a low growl emitting from him. “I know. He’s made me so angry. How could he abandon you like this? You deserve so much better, baby. I hate that he’s hurt you. I hate that there’s nothing I can do to make it better…”
I squeeze his hand. “Having you is enough to make everything okay. You’re everything I ever wanted. The rest doesn’t matter. It’s his choice. It’s he who’s losing out. We’ll be okay here without him. It sucks but at the end of the day, he’s the one who will be lonely.”
“But I know that hurts you. I know it hurts you that he’s putting his pride first. That he would rather hurt this way than apologize. It’s selfish.”
“It is. But I can’t control how he lives his life. All I can do is live my own life. And you and me, we have something good going. I made the right choice, even if I didn’t want to make one. It was always going to be you, you’re too important for me to lose.”
I see the softness in Will’s eyes grow. He leans in to kiss me and I remind myself that this is the definition of bliss. I’m so lucky to have him, even if we had to make sacrifices to be together.
He joins me in the bed, wrapping his arms around me comfortingly. Maisie rushes into the bedroom to join us, snuggling herself between our bodies. I close my eyes with a smile. Things might have gotten complicated recently, but this is good. Our life together is good.
And I won’t let this go.
Chapter Eighteen
Will
The last few days have been hard on us. Mostly on Elle, and it pains me to see her so hurt. I didn’t realize that falling in love would mean feeling everything she feels, taking on all of her pain, but I’m willing to do it over and over if it helps her. I just want her to feel better. I want her to be able to sleep at night without counting all the ways that other men have hurt her.
I’ve made a vow to myself. I will never be the man who hurts her. I’ll never give her anything other than pleasure and happiness. I never want to see her unhappy, and I certainly never want to be the reason that she’s unhappy. She doesn’t deserve to be sad for even a moment.
And that’s why today, I’m taking action. I’m going to give her a reason to smile. Things have been so damn good between us, despite the chaos surrounding us. I know what I want, and I think she does too. Above all else, we want one another. And that means making things official between us.
I’m going to get down on one knee and ask her to marry me.
I’ve wanted to put a ring on her finger for almost as long as I’ve known her. I knew right when I met her that I’d make her my wife, and I don’t want to wait any longer to begin my life with her. We’ve already taken every other important step together; we’re having a baby together, we’ve moved in with one another and we’ve fallen deeply in love. What’s the use in waiting to propose when we both know this is what we want?
