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I shake Garrett’s hand and give Deb a hug.
“I’m glad you finally stopped dating those type A women,” Deb says. “Dani is so much a better fit for you.”
“I totally agree.”
Then it’s just me and my girl.
“That was fun,” she says, and she looks like she means it. “They’re very nice.”
“It was fun. Thanks for doing this, Cookie. It means the world to me.”
“Of course. I was nervous.” She shakes her head a little. “I’ve never done this. Been part of a couple having dinner with another couple. My last serious relationship was in college, you know that. We weren’t socializing at nice restaurants with other couples.”
Technically, we’re not just a couple either. We’re a couple within a larger poly dynamic. But right now, I’m enjoying having Dani all to myself.
“But you genuinely had fun?” I ask her.
She nods with a smile. “Not one medical term was used,andI got to hear about your college years.”
I finish my glass of wine. “All the conversation about kids doesn’t bother you? I admit, sometimes I get tired of that myself because it reminds me of what I don’t have. It seems like everyone my age has already started a family.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t mind. While I can’t relate to the struggles of parenthood, I find conversation about kids entertaining. And I guess I’m not old enough yet to yearn so deeply for a child that talking about them is painful.”
I absently reach out and take her hand. I want to feel her skin, her warmth. “That makes sense. I wouldn’t say I’ve reached that point either. It’s not exactly painful for me.” I shrug. My father’s heart attack reminded me that nothing in this life is guaranteed. He and my mom already had three kids by my age. “I just want children. That’s all.”
“I want to be the woman that you want the future with,” Dani whispers. “The kids, the house, the vacations, the experiences, the memories.”
Her words and the emotion behind them makes me sit up straighter in my chair, casual contentment turning into something deeper, something powerful. This woman next to me is one hundred percent who I picture as the mother of my children. Who I picture as mywife.
I don’t ever want her to doubt that.
My voice is thick when I say, “Youarethat woman, Dani. You are.”
She smiles at me, love in her eyes. “I believe you want me to be.”
I wait for her to elaborate on that but she doesn’t. She doesn’t sound upset. If anything, she sounds more sure of herself in our relationship than she has in a while.
Stroking her palm, I’m overcome by the need to touch her. I can’t resist the urge to lean over and brush my lips across hers. “Do you want a drink now that we’re alone, or would you like to take a walk by the lake?” I ask, cupping her smooth cheek, studying her serene expression.
“A walk would be perfect.”
“You’re perfect.” I kiss her again, briefly leaning my forehead against hers, before bowing to convention and pulling back. I don’t want to wind up making out at a dinner table and I just might with the way I’m feeling. “I love you.”
Everything inside of me is screaming that it’s time to lock this in. That I need my girl to know that I am in this for her, with her. That we’re a team and that in ten years we’ll be trading war stories about our devilish toddlers with Deb and Garrett while they warn us about the teen years.
That thought hits me so hard I suck in a breath.
“I love you too.”
I stand up and pull her chair out for her. After taking care of the bill, I take Dani by the hand and in a few minutes, we’re strolling slowly alongside the river.
“I can’t believe how warm it is for this time of year,” she says, tipping her head back to inhale deeply the crisp spring air.
“What’s your favorite season?” I want to know everything there is to know about her down to the smallest detail.
“I do love spring. It’s the season of new beginnings and blooming bulbs and grass turning green. But I also love summer. Swimming, fireworks, barbeques. Oh, and fall. I’m a pumpkin spice girl all the way. But then there’s winter and the holidays and snowflakes and honestly, I can’t choose.”
I had planned to find the perfect spot but hearing her and all her joy in living life has me deciding now is the time. Here and now is perfect. “Of course you can’t choose,” I tease her, squeezing her hand.
