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“Yeah.” He swallowed, the pain of that day rushing at him, an unstoppable wave that made him rub his chest and close his eyes.
“But you carried on crossing off the days?” She frowned. “Why?”
“I’m not sure. A way of pretending it hadn’t happened, maybe.” He hitched a shoulder. “The day you were due to fly back, I went to JFK and waited outside the arrivals hall. Except you never came. For a month, I went to the airport every day when I knew the flight from Delhi was due to land. I was certain that if I could just talk to you face to face, I could convince you that I was your true love.”
“Oh, Zane.”
“In the end, Calum persuaded me to stop. He saw what it did to me each day I returned without you.”
“I feel dreadful,” she whispered, lowering her lashes to her cheeks.
“No, Lori.” He clipped her under the chin. “I didn’t show you this to make you feel bad. I showed you as a way of demonstrating how much I loved you, how much I’ll always love you.”
“And you kept it. All these years you never threw it away.”
“How could I? It was my one connection to you.”
She sniffed, her eyes returning to the bag. “What else did you bring?”
His mouth stretched into a broad grin. He reached inside and pulled out a handful of rose petals. “Feel like celebrating impending parenthood and reliving a fond memory at the same time?”
She laughed. “Only if you let me scrub the stains off your ass.”
EPILOGUE
SEVEN AND A HALF MONTHS LATER
Zane woke to a violent shaking and Lori hissing in his ear.
“Zane, wake up. Jesus, you sleep like the dead.”
He groaned and rolled onto his side. Rubbing his eyes, he opened them to find Lori dressed and the bag they’d packed together a month ago to prepare for this day sitting at her feet.
Zane shot out of bed like he’d been Tasered. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” He lowered his gaze to her swollen belly. “Is this…? Is it…?”
“Yes.”
“Oh Christ. Fuck.” His head swiveled, and a hundred to-do’s raced through his mind, jockeying for first position while his feet glued themselves to the floor.
“Calm down.” She laughed. “There’s plenty of time. My contractions are five minutes apart. I’ve been in labor for about three hours. I already called the hospital, and they suggested we make our way over.”
“You’ve been in labor? On your own?”
“It’s kind of a one-woman show.”
“I mean… I… What was I doing?”
“Sleeping.” She laughed again. “I told you, you sleep like the dead.”
“How are you not freaking out?” He raked both hands through his hair. “This is huge, Lori. Huge.”
“You don’t say?” She rubbed her distended stomach. “Huge is right.”
“Fuck. I need to get dressed.” He yanked open the top drawer on the dresser and yanked out a handful of sweaters, tossing them on the bed. “I need to brush my teeth.” He sniffed his armpits. “I’ll have to wash up in the sink. No time for a shower.”
She laid a hand on his bare chest. “Zane, breathe.” Sucking in lungfuls of air through her nose, she let it out through pursed lips. “Just like that. Now you try.”
He followed her lead. “Okay. I’m okay.” He sucked in another breath. “Please don’t tell Calum I freaked out. He’ll never let me live it down.”
