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“A full heart, a full home, and a schedule that I fill with something that provides for and facilitates the first two.”
“What fills your heart?”
Wren looked up at me, not an ounce of hesitation in her eyes. “You do.”
I cupped her cheek. “What do you want to fill our home with?”
She stuttered. “Wha—”
I pecked her lips. “I mean exactly what I said, Little Bird.” I took her hand and slid it further up my shirt. Nimble fingers floated around my pec before settling over my heart. “Every woman I’ve ever been with has only wanted to take. Even my own family—my parents use me to further their own success. But not you. And maybe that’s how I know this is real.” I pressed my hand on top of hers, making sure that she could feel how hard my heart was pounding. “None of what makes us who we are to the world matters. It’s who we are inside. It’s not about the four quarters that we’re out on the turf. Scores, records, championships—none of it matters in the end. It’s not about the minutes we spend fighting for a trophy. It’s who we are in the fifth quarter. When the stadium lights go dim, when all the spectators are gone. It’s who we are inside these walls. It’s how we love. How we live when no one is watching. That’s what matters.”
Wren’s lip trembled, but this time … this time, there was no sadness in it. “I’m really messy. Are you sure you want to be stuck sharing a bedroom with me?”
“I’ll tell you what I want. I want your mess. I want you with paint splattered all over you. I want you with your hair up in one of those wild buns you wear when you’re working. I want you with a toolbelt on your waist and a smile on your face. Maybe a dog or two.”
She smiled against my chest. “I like the sound of that.”
“Last question,” I said as I rubbed her back. “What facilitates those things?”
“Me.” It was a statement and a realization all in one.
“Damn straight, Little Bird. Even before I knew who you were, I could see your fire. There’s no way you could dim it if you tried.”
“You too,” she said, reaching up and cupping my jaw. I loved the feel of her slim hands softening my sharp edges. “Wanna know something funny?”
“Hm?”
I kissed the top of her head and hooked my pinky around hers. “Neither of us said football.”
