Page 61 of Courageous Yearnings

Blythe was everything he needed in his world, and maybe he didn’t know what he wanted before, but he did now. All the little things didn’t matter when the ones that truly mattered appeared before you.

Smiling at his thoughts, he grabbed a peach and cut it into thin slices, putting them in the skillet right beside the tiny pancakes that were browning. Oh yes, they both brought different things to this marriage, and he was about to ‘Wow’ his bride with his culinary skills.

And he felt a hand caress the back of his thigh, jumping slightly and bumping into the oven. Lance let out a small goofy giggle at the unexpected touch and nearly purred in delight at his affectionate wife.

“Hi…” she whispered as he turned, marveling at her.

“Hi yourself,” he replied hoarsely. “Breakfast will be done in a few minutes...”

Her smile, the look in her eyes, followed by the step she took toward him, closing the gap was enough to make his knees weak, but her words finished him off.

“Me too, Hero…”

Message received loud and clear!

“Wooohooo, jackpot!” he yelped with mindless abandon, shoving the skillet off the burner before attempting to turn off the knob. It took three tries to turn off the front coil of the stove because he was so darn excited. He finally got it, heard her slight chuckle of amusement knowing how she affected him, and then let out a shriek of delight as he scooped her over his shoulder bodily, running toward the bedroom. “Buffet’s open, Bay-beeee! Time to make the squishies!”

Blythe’s laughter echoed throughout the house – and his soul.

Gosh, I love this woman.

17

BLYTHE

A month later…

She looked up for the fourth time the moment that Lance appeared in the doorway of the bathroom where she was putting on her eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss and smiled. This was the fourth outfit he’d put on, and she had never seen him so agitated.

“How’s this look?” Lance grumbled.

“You look wonderful – just like the other three outfits looked good. Are you nervous or something?”

Her husband stood there, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, before hesitating.

“Uh, nooo? Why would I be nervous about tonight?”

“I have no idea. It’s just dinner.”

“With your coworkers, remember?”

“Exactly. It’s all the managers only, and the owner might come to dinner, but I doubt it. He only shows up usually at Christmastime. Relaaaax, Lance.”

“Your boss is a sexist pig and a jerk,” he began, muttering and holding up a finger with each comment he made. “I hate him, but the money is great. The used car manager is also a pig, and I had to make small talk with him on Friday when I picked you up. Do you know how hard that was? The new car manager is a bigger twat than the other two – and I didn’t think that was possible. Don’t even get me started on the parts manager. That man would sell his grandma on a street corner if he got a bonus out of the deal. Five bucks say that ol’ Duane-the-Pain drinks water and eats soup tonight. I’ve got a good mind to sit directly across from him and order a steak so big that it’s hanging off my plate since the dealership is paying for this fiasco.”

“You should,” she chuckled, putting on her earrings and smiling at him.

“And dessert,” he retorted. “I’m getting a dessert to eat there – and one to bring home. Can we drink?”

“Yup. Jack doesn’t have a problem with you ordering a drink to celebrate.”

“Top shelf then. I’m gonna enjoy glaring at the parts manager over a nice expensive bourbon…”

“Lance,” she laughed. “Duane isn’t so bad. Yeah, he’s cheap – but he became a manager because he runs a very profitable department. You get one drink, too.”

“And my gorgeous wife can talk the socks off a nun… or a firefighter into marrying her.”

“It’s a good thing, too,” she smiled tenderly at him, plucking an imaginary piece of lint off his shoulder just so she could touch him. It was still sometimes so hard to believe that this wasn’t some glorious dream.

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