Page 14 of Breath By Breath

I’m a limp noodle as I fall to his chest, and he wraps his arms tightly around me. We’re both trying to catch our breath. He’s pulsing inside me. Then again, maybe that’s me. It’s hard to tell where he ends and I begin at this point.

“That was… mind-blowing.” He kisses my temple.

It takes extreme effort to lift my head, but I manage to do so. I also raise my hand and wiggle my ring finger, causing my engagement ring to sparkle. Exhilaration takes over as I process tonight’s events. We’re getting married. My heart thumps wildly inside my chest, and excitement courses through my veins. I’m marrying my best friend. “How does this change things? It did, right? That wasn’t just me who felt like it was an out-of-body experience?”

He grins, his eyes sparkling. “It’s the magic, baby.”

I can’t help it. I laugh. It’s not that I don’t believe in this Riggins magic that the men in his family seem to go on and on about, but whenever something incredible happens, he gives all the credit to the magic.

As for me, I won’t disagree that it’s magical, but it’s magic we make together. It’s the two of us forever, and that’s what makes it special.

CHAPTER

SIX

Stanley

“I think it could work,” I tell my fiancée. It’s Friday night, and we’re having dinner in our apartment, and I’ve just dropped a bomb on her. Okay, not a bomb per se, but definitely something I know she wasn’t expecting from me.

I want to start my own business. I’d, of course, keep my full-time job, but this is something I’ve been thinking about for weeks now. Ever since my work decided to sell an old box truck last week. They pulled it out front and slapped a For Sale sign on it, and my mind has been racing with ideas ever since.

I’ve been working for the concrete company since starting college, and I’ve learned a lot. Especially that logistics is a growing business. I’ve been listening and watching, and we get calls on the daily for suggestions for trucks, freight, or even just moving tools and equipment. That’s where I would come in.

It would be hard only doing it on evenings and weekends, which will be time that I’ll be losing with Lena unless she comes with me, but my gut is telling me that this is the right move for me. For us. For our family and our future.

“Let me make sure I understand. We buy the box truck and spend our evenings and weekends moving things for other people?” She wrinkles her brow—something she does when she’s concentrating. She’s not blowing off the idea. She’s giving it actual consideration, and I love her even more for it. I need her on board with this. This might be my idea, but it’s our joint savings that we were hoping to use for a down payment on a house. It’s not all of it, but a nice chunk.

“To start, yes. We could move equipment for businesses or deliver products for businesses as well. Whatever they need as long as it will fit in the truck safely. Logistics is a huge, growing business. I think we can make a lot of extra cash this way. We could get out of this apartment and into a house sooner than expected. We could start our family,” I tell her.

Her eyes sparkle on that last part. I know Lena wants to be a mom, and I want to give her that and so much more. I want to lay the world at her feet. I truly feel this is the path I need to take to do that.

“How much is the truck?” she asks.

At least she hasn’t shot down the idea yet. “It’s old and doesn’t look like much. The plant manager said they would sell it to me for four thousand since I’m an employee.”

“Okay. What about insurance? Business insurance?” she asks. “What about gas and maintenance? Is it in decent shape? Is it going to nickel and dime us and eat up the potential profits?”

Damn, she’s on top of this. I love that she’s taking this wild ride with me. “I called to check on the insurance, and it’s not much. We can pay it monthly and use the profits. It’s in excellent condition. Barry, our mechanic, kept up with it. It doesn’t look like much, but it runs like a well-oiled machine. Gas would be included in the freight charge with each load. We’d figure that in and charge the customer accordingly so it doesn’t cut into our profits.” I carefully answer each of her questions. It’s important to look at every angle and assess the good and the bad before diving into this new business venture.

“Where are we going to park it?” she asks, scrunching up her nose again. “We only get two spots here at the apartment complex.”

“I’d keep it at my parents' place until we move.” That’s the end goal. Get out of this apartment and get into a house where we can raise our kids. A yard for them to run and play in. It’s her dream, mine too, and I’m going to work my ass off for it to come true.

“And where do you plan to find clients for this… logistics service you want to offer?” Lena stands and begins to gather our plates and carries them to the kitchen. I trail along behind her. We rinse them off together and load the dishwasher as we clean up from dinner. This has become our nightly routine, and it’s my favorite because it’s my time with her. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. We’re together. That’s what matters.

“Advertising, word of mouth, and we have people call the plant all the time asking for numbers of people who can haul things. I know they would give them our information.”

“Your information. I can’t drive that big old box truck.” She laughs.

“Our information. This is our business, Lena. It might have been my idea, and I might be the one doing the driving and heavy lifting, but this is ours, baby. I won’t do it any other way.”

I watch as she dries her hands before she turns to face me. “You want this? You really want to try?” She tilts her head to the side to study me. I don’t know what she’s looking for in my expression, but I hope she can see how determined I am for this to work for us.

“I do. I know we can do this, Lena. It’s the extra income that will get us into our dream home.”

She smiles. “You’re my home, Stanley.”

I can’t take it a minute longer. I pull her into my arms and twirl her in circles in our small galley kitchen. Her laughter fills the air surrounding us, and I soak up every second of it. Our kitchen is barely big enough for this, but we make it work.

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