Page 81 of Ethan

Ethan sighed and nodded. "You'll tell me if that changes, right?"

"Of course."

"Any time you need to talk about your dad," Ethan said, "I'm here for you."

"You have no idea how monumental that is for me. I've never talked to anyone about it."

"You can with me."

Ethan gave me the gentlest kiss I'd ever shared with him.

"Okay, we can talk more later, but right now … food." He tapped my chin.

We hauled ourselves out of bed and made our way to the kitchen. Ethan gave me the most incredible hug before he pulled some bread out of the fridge and set it to toast.

I grabbed a frying pan and started cooking some scrambled eggs.

This was the life I craved with Ethan. The everyday stuff. Climbing out of bed together and going about our day. Cooking. Cleaning. Even laundry. Laughing and holding one another.

I looked over my shoulder at him. He was making a mess of buttering the toast.

I smiled.

Love. That's what I felt. Deep honest love.

I'd found my forever.

After we finished eating, Ethan's plate barely picked over, I cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, then washed the frying pan as Ethan stared into his cup of tea. He could spend an extraordinary amount of time doing that. Staring in silence, his breath shallow.

I gave his shoulder a soft nudge. "Let's take your tea into the living room."

He glanced up at me as if he'd been lifted out of a fog. "Yeah, sure."

"Do you have a tablet?" I led the way to the couch.

Ethan sat, set his cup down, and pointed at his shelving unit. "In that basket there."

"Perfect." I retrieved it and powered it on. A green image of a battery told me it was at full power. I flipped through the screens. They were dominated by baking apps.

I sat beside Ethan and opened the app store, found what I was looking for, and downloaded it. "Have you ever done crossword puzzles?"

Ethan's brow was furrowed when he looked over at me. "Are you going to make me do one?"

"We can work on it together." I tapped the screen to start the puzzle. "What's a six-letter word meaning a wise and faithful teacher, guide, and friend?"

Ethan exhaled long and slow. For a second I thought he was going to tell me to fuck off.

"Mentor."

"Agreed." I typed in the word on the screen. "Next one. What is a six-letter word meaning an occupant?" I knew this one. "I think it's tenant."

Ethan nodded and moved closer to me so he could see the screen. He pointed at a clue. "Five letter word for strained to stiffness is tense."

"That fits. A seven-letter word meaning to fill with extreme fear."

Ethan huffed. "I know that one well. Terrify."

I rubbed his back and kissed his head as he leaned against me, taking over typing in the answers. When we were done with the puzzle, Ethan tossed the tablet onto the coffee table.

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