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Chapter20
Amelia
Two-and-a-half months later
“Do you need any more help, babe?” Ethan comes up behind me as I finish squeezing sour cream across potato skins to make them look like footballs, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my hair.
“No, I think I’ve got it.”
He breathes in deeply before mumbling in my ear. “God, I love how you always smell like lemons. And you look so hot in this little apron, especially since my team’s logo is splayed across your tits.”
“Well, maybe later I’ll wear nothing but this after the game, and we can check that fantasy off your list.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Dear God, please don’t say that shit with other people in your house,” my brother Nick whines as he walks into the kitchen to get another beer.
“I do believe it was your meddling and suggestion that helped us get to this blissful state, big brother, so you have no one to blame but yourself,” I toss over my shoulder at him.
“You’re right. But I still don’t like hearing about it.”
“Then go back into the living room.”
He holds up his beer as he closes the refrigerator door. “On my way.”
It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and even though the Dallas Cowboys aren’t in the running, Ethan and I decided to have everyone over for a party at my house, which will soon be our house. Ethan is in the process of selling the home he purchased for him and Oliver with the assistance of my brother, and we’ve been slowly moving things over in the meantime. A lot has changed since Ethan came to the hospital after my accident but in all the best ways.
When Ethan brought up the idea of us living together, I was against it at first. I didn’t want him to suggest something so pivotal in our relationship so soon just to prove to me that he’d changed his mind about our future.
“That’s not what this is about, Amelia. Sure, I want you to accept that I meant what I said about building a life with you. But ultimately, my reasons for us living together are about moving forward and knowing that you’re safe and we’re together as much as we can be. Almost losing you was one of the scariest fucking things I’ve ever experienced, so I want each and every day of our future to start with you next to me when the sun rises and right beside me as we drift off to sleep.”
With a declaration like that, it was hard to argue with him, and we talked about multiple details pertaining to the move before beginning the process. And much to Oliver’s delight, it only made sense to live at my house because I had the pool.
Other than that, the past two-and-a-half months have been both blissful and challenging. My scarred man has made leaps and bounds where our relationship is concerned. Ethan has been seeing a therapist I recommended to him once a week since, obviously, we have a personal relationship, which would be a conflict of interest if he actually cashed in on the coupon I gave him. But I’m just proud of him for wanting to move forward in this way.
He’s been processing the fear and doubt his marriage evoked in him and also working on how to combat that fear with me as it arises. We’ve had our fair share of arguments and challenges as his overbearing behavior after my accident got to be too much. He still has trouble communicating his frustrations and feelings when we disagree. But no human is perfect, so why is it that we demand that of our loved ones sometimes?
No matter what we battle, though, I know that fighting through it with him is worth it.
And that’s the truth. I am hopelessly in love with this man. Not because he’s perfect, not because he’s without fault and stubborn and impatient at times. No. I love him because he loves with his whole heart, he’s fiercely protective of his son and me, and he is willing to better himself to be the man I deserve.
We should never expect someone to change for us, but if someone is willing to change for themselves and it allows us room in their lives, that’s a rare action that should be valued.
And Ethan has shown me that growth in him more than I could have ever imagined.
For me, though, nothing makes me happier than the idea of being in the same home as my boys—two men that have completely changed my life. And with each passing day, I’m stepping deeper into the role of a motherly figure for Oliver, something that has come with its own challenges as well, especially as I was healing from the accident. But it’s also come with so much love I feel like my heart is gonna burst multiple times throughout the day.
“Let me finish these for you. Your hand has to be killing you. And I need you to save your strength for later.” Ethan takes the bag of sour cream from my hand while bouncing his eyebrows, pulling me back to the present, and squeezing the remaining white substance on the last two potato skins as I move out of his way.
