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“But things happen,” she said. “Feelings change. People change. You told me yourself you thought your wife was the love of your life, but that feeling didn’t last.”
“It didn’t last because I let it die. I took it for granted, assuming it would always be there. I didn’t do anything to nurture it or deserve it. I didn’t fight for it, just like I didn’t fight for you back in high school.”
God, how I wished I’d been braver. And smarter. And tried harder. I should have told Tess how I felt about her back then.
My thumb caressed her cheek. “I’m not going to make that mistake ever again. I’ve spent too much of my life taking the people who are important to me for granted. I’m not going to lose you like that again. Now that I’ve got you, I’m going to fight like hell for us.”
“Even if you have to fight me sometimes?”
“If that’s what it takes, then yeah, I will. Gladly.” I grinned, and her lips twitched in response. That little almost-smile sent a shower of happiness sparking through me. “You know there’s no one I like fighting with more than you.”
Her laugh stitched the broken pieces of my heart back together, cured my exhaustion, and soothed away all the tension in my muscles.
“So we’re okay, right?”
“Yeah,” she said, reaching a hand up to smooth my hair. “We are.”
“Good.” I picked her up and headed for the bedroom.
Her legs wrapped around my waist, but when she started kissing me I got so distracted I nearly missed the doorway.
“Ow,” she complained when I readjusted course a little too late.
“Sorry,” I mumbled as I licked into her mouth.
Apparently kissing Tess made my brain malfunction and destroyed my ability to navigate my own apartment, because we hit the bed sooner than I anticipated and tumbled onto the mattress in a graceless heap. There was a lot of laughing, and then more kissing, followed by a period of extremely inefficient and clumsy undressing. Finally, after much longer than it should have taken, I managed to crawl on top of her and properly enjoy the slide of her smooth, soft skin against mine.
“I love you,” she said, gazing up at me as I held her hands above her head.
“You better.” I moved my mouth to her ear and whispered, “You’re stuck with me now, and you’re never getting rid of me.”
EPILOGUE
TESS
“Is that it?” Marie asked as I strolled through the door of her office carrying a gift box. “Oooh! Let me see.”
Smiling proudly, I set the box on her desk. I was finally done with Erin’s baby blanket, and Marie had made me promise to bring it in before I wrapped it so she could see the finished object.
She got to her feet and lifted the lid on the box. “Oh wow.” Reverently, she unfolded a corner of the blanket and ran her fingers over the stitches as she examined the edges. “You did a great job weaving in all your ends.”
“Thanks for your help with that.” I’d brought the work in progress to the office a couple of times when I got into trouble to beg for Marie’s help.
She waved off my gratitude. “I love the addition of the crochet border.”
“All the credit goes to Dawn for that. She’s the one who suggested it and taught me how to do it.”
Dawn and I had finally gotten together two months ago to catch up over those drinks I’d proposed. She’d opened up about the medical issue that had been weighing on her the first time I’d visited the store—and was thankfully resolved now—in addition to filling me in on the latest developments in her love life. Turned out, she’d recently started dating an old high school crush as well. Apparently, they’d reconnected while serving on the thirty-year reunion committee together. Go figure.
I’d talked to Dawn a few times since as part of my resolution to work harder at cultivating friendships. I was even thinking of signing up for one of the knitting classes at the store. Even though I had Donal now, it was good to branch out. You couldn’t have too many friends, after all.
Marie refolded the blanket and tucked it back inside the gift box. “You really picked it up quickly. Clearly, you’re a natural-born fiber artist. When are you giving it to Erin?”
“For her thirtieth birthday next month.” It seemed fitting, since I’d originally intended for her to have it on the day she was born. I’d debated giving it to her at her baby shower, which was happening two weeks after her birthday, but decided to get her a nicer gift for that instead. Donal and I were going in together to buy her one of the big-ticket items from her baby registry.
Erin and I had been seeing each other regularly—a coffee date here, a lunch date there—and getting to know each other better. The exact nature of our relationship still felt like strange and uncharted territory, but we were making it up as we went along.
Donal and I had finally met Erin’s husband, Mark, last month after he’d finished his overseas contract. Erin’s mother, Paula, had invited us all over for dinner. I’d been desperately nervous about it, but it had turned out to be lovely. Afterward, Paula had asked me if I’d help her plan Erin’s baby shower.
