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She points out the window. “Isn’t that him?”
Rather than look, I climb out of the car. My dad has spotted him too, waving once he’s set my suitcase on the sidewalk. “You got it from here, Han?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Dad.”
He winks, squeezes my shoulder, and then climbs in the car.
I start up the front walk to my house, rolling my suitcase along the path.
Oliver stands as I approach, the porch swing rocking slightly as he walks over to the front steps. He’s wearing joggers and a sweatshirt, looking rumpled and nothing like his usual polished self. His casual clothes make me smile, for some stupid reason. It feels like some part of myself I’ve left on him.
I abandon my suitcase a few feet from the stairs, racing up them and flinging myself into his arms. Oliver staggers back a half-step before regaining his balance.
I don’t know why he’s here. But he came, and that matters to me. He wasn’t too busy to notice I’d left. His arms tighten around my back, and I exhale for what feels like the first time since I left New York.
“Is April okay?”
I pull back so I can see his face. “She’s great. I have a nephew. Ezra. He’s really cute. So tiny, I was nervous to hold him.”
Oliver smiles. Then, very seriously, asks, “Do you want kids?”
“I, um, I…” I’m completely thrown, is what I am. That’s he’s here, and thatthat’sthe second question he asked. “I don’t know. Do you?”
“I didn’t think so. But I would be open to it, if my wife did.”
I study his face, trying to determine if he’s using wife in a general sense or if he’s referring tome.
“I thought you didn’t want to ever get married.”
“Yeah. I thought that too. Then I realized I don’t want a divorce, either.”
“You don’t?” Something that feels a lot like hope spreads through me.
“No. I meant what I said last night, Hannah. I don’t regret marrying you. It was the best damn thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Happiness expands in my chest, bright and fizzy.
“I’m selfish, Hannah. Set in my ways and I spend way too much time focused on a company that doesn’t spare a thought for me. But it’s who I am, Hannah. I’ll never be able to change, not all the way. I need you to know that. Just like I need you to know… I love you. I’min lovewith you. I’m not sure when it happened, when it started, but it’s gone nowhere. It’s this part of me now.”
I don’t realize I’m crying until he gently swipes a tear away.
“Sorry.” I sniff, wiping the rest with the back of my hand. “It’s been a day.”
“I know.”
I step closer to him, inhaling his familiar scent. It feels like home, more than the house we’re standing in front of. “I’m in love with you too.”
Oliver visibly swallows, and I wonder if anyone has ever said that to him. If he’s ever said it to anyone. So I say it again, in even simpler terms.
“I love you, Oliver.”
He tugs me against his body and kisses me. It’s slower than most of the ones we’ve shared. Savoring and sweet. Like the first of many, instead of possibly the last.
Oliver brushes some hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. “My dad called me in for a meeting early this morning. I thought I’d be back before you woke up.”
“What did he want?” I ask.
“He was pissed about a deal that went sour. But the real surprise was Crew handed in a resignation letter. He’s leaving the company. Moving here, actually, part-time.”
