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Tears of relief and happiness brim in my eyes, and my heart feels like it might explode into tiny heart-shaped confetti. “I was so happy I finally found you.”
His dark, intense eyes latch on to mine. “I was, too, little darlin’.” He pulls me to him for a long kiss, his hand caressing my cheek as his tongue delves into my mouth. I wrap my arms around his neck, my body melting into his, never wanting to let him go.
My love.
My home.
“You’re not moving into the basement,” he says when we come up for air. “In fact, I want to tell Lily tomorrow that we’re together.”
My breath catches with surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don’t want to hide our feelings anymore. I can’t stand the lies and the secrecy. I can’t stand being away from you.”
“She might be mad…”
“We’ll work it out,” he assures me.
I swallow hard. “I don’t want anyone to know about… the other thing.” I can’t even say the word. I might not ever be able to. “About me. Can that just be between us and my mother?”
“Of course. No one else has to know.”
I don’t think anyone else would ever believe it, even if I did want to tell them. Although, I might tell Londyn someday. She’d definitely believe me.
Alex brushes my hair from my face and lifts my chin. All I can keep thinking is, This is my husband. The man I’ve loved through two lives. Who has loved me the same. Who waited for me without faltering. In every way.
“This is your home, Penny. I don’t want you to ever leave. And ya know what? I think you’ll feel better now. If you have thoughts, memories, or feelings about certain objects or about me or Lily, you won’t feel scared and confused anymore. Now you know why. You have a connection to those things. Those are your memories and emotions coming through. And they don’t have to be scary. You’re allowed to let them in, let them be yours. Embrace them.”
God, I hope he’s right and the strange emotional episodes will stop completely. “Alex…” My voice shakes with overwhelming emotion. “I don’t even know how to tell you how grateful I am for you, and how lucky I am to have you. I could never get through this without you.”
He leans down to look into my eyes. “I vowed to love you and be by your side forever. I meant it.”
I smile and kiss him. “Speaking of vows, I’m really glad the ‘’til death do us part’ part was a lie.”
My heart flutters when he smiles that beautiful, sexy smile that I love so much. The one I can’t stop falling in love with. “Me too. When we get married again, we’re leaving that part out.”
Chapter 50
PENNY
Lily is staring at us with her mouth open, beautiful eyes bulging.
We’re standing a few feet away from her in the living room, gripping each other’s hands like a lifeline. We probably shouldn’t have told her about us while we were holding hands, but I didn’t realize we were until the words were already out of Alex’s mouth.
Her lip curls up slightly. “I knew it. I fucking knew it!” she yells. “I saw the glances, the smiles, the fucking lipstick all over you the night she went to the hospital.”
“Don’t swear in front of the baby,” Alex says. I think we’ll be referring to Brian as the baby until he’s driving a car.
“Dad,” Lily warns, “Don’t even start right now.”
My heart beats faster as she paces the room, shaking her head and mumbling to herself. She’s mad, but I’m not sure how mad. Sometimes Lily can be overdramatic. Eyes blazing, she halts in front of us and stares us down.
“You’re a bitch,” she says to me, then turns to her father. “And you’re an asshole. How dare you both lie to me and sneak around behind my back? And how you both freaked out when I was dating an older guy! We’re best friends. We’re family. How do you think that makes me feel?”
I feel the sting of her words. “I’m so sorry, Lily. We didn’t want to upset you,” I say tearfully.
Ignoring me, she turns on Alex. “She’s half your age! In fact, she’s the exact same age as me! You literally watched her grow up, Dad. You didn’t even watch me grow up. What the fuck?”
“I know all that. It’s complicated and hard to explain.” Alex’s voice is distraught. “But I’m sorry we lied to you.”
She crosses her arms and chews her lip. A small vein has appeared on her forehead. “You both suck. But ya know what? I always knew there was something between you two. I literally just said to Marcus the other day that you guys would make a great couple.”
“Then why are you mad?” Alex asks.
