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“It takes more than being shot to hate you. You’re my best friend, the sister I never had. And you would do the same for me.”
I so would for her.
We spend the rest of the day at the pool, and both Cato and Kieran come later.
My husband crouches by the poolside. He extends his hand, pulling me up.
In his arms, I rest my cheek against his chest. His hand caresses my stomach.
“I want three.” He bites my earlobe.
I giggle. “One.”
“Four.” I gasp and he chuckles. I soak this moment in—peaceful, serene, blissful.
“Two,” I give in, and he tickles me.
“Five.”
“Fine, three. That was the number all along. Ugh.”
He smirks, and I frame his face with my palms. “You’re lucky that I love you.”
I cry, despite my best efforts not to, but the asshole made me fall in love with him. And now I’m shackled to him while fearing I’ll lose him.
On a lounger, he pulls me down on his lap, kissing my teary face.
“I swear I will grow old and gray with you.”
He strokes my back and I bury my nose in his neck. With my emotions back in check, I nod, and he takes my hand, slipping inside their house.
“Is it okay for you to stay here while I’m gone?”
“Not necessarily . . . but I would love to be near Aurora.”
“Then you’ll have a house right next to them.”
I smile in his chest. He would do anything for me. Being loved this fiercely humbles me, fills me with a happiness I never believed possible.
We should talk about his departure. Instead, we go back home. We dance and eat and laugh and make love—just me and him, and our bubble of passion.
And we continue living in our dream life, not focused on things to come, but I can’t ignore it forever. In a few days, it will strike us.
But he will find a way. Whenever he thinks I am asleep, he’s on the phone nonstop, coming and going.
I lie in the bed and tilt my head to the window, the moon only signaling his departure. I caress my stomach, and this is how he finds me.
“Cara.” He infuses so much love, so much determination, in the endearment, and my lips quirk up in a small, sad smile. He drops on his knees in front of me and takes my hands in his, trailing kisses over my belly.
“You’re not getting rid of me.”
Lifting his chin, I bend to kiss his mouth.
“I love you, and I will come back to you, for you.”
I nod, and he gets in bed next to me. If I could, I would keep him in my arms and protect him with everything I have in me.
He is propped on his elbow, gazing at me.
