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“I’ll be there,” she says in a flurry. “Whatever you need, I can do.”
“Thank you, Mads. You’re an angel, and I don’t deserve you,” I tell her, wiping my tears away, but I can’t stop them.
“Ash, it’s not important. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Charge the tickets to my card. I’ll send you a screenshot.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I insist.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m at the airport. If I can make the evening flight, I will.”
My heart softens, knowing that in just a few hours, she could be in my arms.
My need to have her with me is more than overwhelming. It’s a necessity.
“Thank you, baby,” I choke out.
“Just don’t worry about anything. I can help you take care of all the details,” she says.
I sigh, a sense of relief I didn’t know I was holding. There’s so fucking much to think about.
“I’ll see you soon,” she says.
“Drive safely to the airport,” I tell her. “I’ll be there to pick you up. Text me the time.”
“I will.”
I love you. The words form, but I don’t say them. She’ll just think I’m on some kind of panic high, blurting shit out I don’t mean.
But I do fucking mean it. That feeling of wanting to stalk her to the ends of the earth if she’ll let me feels like the most powerful thing I’ve ever felt.
This woman. I’ve heard her name my whole life, but we only met a few weeks ago.
She’s been there the whole time, and I’m only just realizing it.
I can hold on for a few more hours. Just a few hours more.
Maddie jumps on the red eye, and I’m picking her up at first light.
I stand at the gate impatiently. When I finally see her bounding through the exit, I step through the crowd and get to her in a few seconds flat.
Whatever trepidation she may have had before flies out of the window.
She flings her arms around me, and I hold her tight to my chest, never wanting to let her go. I reach down to tilt her head up, tempted to kiss her, but I don’t want to push it. I look straight into her sparkling baby blues.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” I breathe into her hair and cast my eyes up to the sky in a silent notion of thanks.
“You look good, considering,” she says, pulling back to look at me.
I know I’ve seen better days and had better sleep in my life, but it is what it is.
“Let’s get your luggage.”
She shakes her head. “Got it all in my carry-on.” She looks down at her small case, and I smile for the first time in what seems like forever.
“Wow, you didn’t strike me as a girl who likes to pack light.”
