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For a moment, we just stayed that way. I memorized the planes of her face, the curve of her cheekbones, the dip at the top of her perfect lips.
It had all happened so fast. I hadn’t even known I was hurt until I woke up in the hospital.
But the idea that it could have been worse, that I could have left this world and missed out on a lifetime with this woman … well, it tore me apart.
I needed her.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said again.
I smiled, running my thumb along her soft cheek. “You said that already.”
“Well, I mean it.”
“Is this the part where you tell me you want me to get out and work in your flower shop, so I’m not in such a dangerous job?”
She rolled her eyes and leaned back. “No, it’s not. This is the part where I tell you I don’t care what you do, as long as we’re together.”
I studied her for a long minute. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I love you, Thatcher Reid. And you shouldn’t be the only one willing to give up your career so we can be together.”
Opening my mouth to tell her once again that it was what I wanted, she shook her head and pressed a finger to my dry lips. The simple touch shouldn’t have lit me up from the inside, but it did.
“Love is a two-way street,” she said. “So, let’s make the decision together. You can get out and be a civilian firefighter who volunteers at a flower shop on his days off, or you can stay in, and I’ll work at whatever shop will hire me near our next duty station. Either way is fine with me, as long as we have each other. That’s what I should have said the other day when you brought it up. In fact, it’s probably what I should have said the day I found out you were a Marine.”
I had to wait for a beat before I could speak. “You mean the day we met? On our first date? That would have been a little much, don’t you think?”
Hattie groaned and leaned forward, kissing me once on the mouth. “You’d think so, but I’m not so sure. You had me at ‘flower lady.’”
Reaching up with both hands, I took her face between them and brought her mouth to mine again. I saw stars when I closed my eyes, and I was pretty sure it had more to do with the head wound than anything else.
But it also could have been because I’d never been happier in my entire life.
When she pulled back, I grinned up at her. “As soon as I’m out of here, I’m going to pull my reenlistment package.”
“What?”
“I think I should get out, and you should stay working at the shop.”
“Listen, we don’t have to make this decision right now. Let’s think about it.”
“No, trust me, I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve done my time in the military, and I want to settle down. In Bluffton, with you. I want to keep firefighting, too, and settle into one firehouse with one crew. I’ve done the moving around thing. It’s overrated. And I have a great reason to stay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Hattie’s sparkle returned to her gaze as she smiled down at me, cementing the decision in my heart. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. Thanks for being willing to leave with me.”
* * *
A year later, Hattie and I exited the venue, hand-in-hand as husband and wife. I knew she was expecting a honeymoon suite at a hotel nearby before we left for our surprise honeymoon destination, but I had a little something else up my sleeve.
Her appreciative eyes moved over me as I held the car door open for her, and felt myself blush under her assessment. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m just really going to miss the dress blues when you get out.”
