Page 63 of Worth the Vow

“When you say nice things to her, she always smiles. And she pats her hair down when you get home from work, cuz she wants to look nice for you. I think she wants you to kiss her, though. You should do that more often. Girls like that.”

“Girls like kissing?”

“You’re Katie’s husband. You’re supposed to kiss her,” Aspen says with a giggle, then yawns again. I scoot in next to her on the bed and kiss her forehead. It’s been an incredibly long night for both of us.

“I’ll keep that in mind, munchkin,” I whisper as I close my eyes and rest my head back.

What feels like a minute later, I’m woken up by a hand on my arm, and I peel open one eye to find a mirage in front of me. It must just be a nurse that looks like Kate, because there’s no way it’s my Kate.

“Hi,” she whispers, and I find myself smiling because she even sounds like Kate.

“You sound like my wife,” I mumble.

“That’s probably a good thing, since I am your wife,” she replies, and my eyes pop open to find Kate grinning at me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask incredulously.

“I couldn’t sleep, knowing she was here. I left a note for Matt and Victoria, explaining that I wanted to get back and see her.”

“Just her?” I blurt out, wincing imperceptibly at my own lack of tact.

“Not just her,” Kate whispers.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Kate looks away shyly, a hint of a smile gracing her beautiful face. “But Dominic, we have a lot of things we have to talk about.”

It’s then that I notice her hand is still on my arm, and I grab it to lace our fingers together. “I know.”

“Katie!” Aspen cries. “You’re here!”

“Hi, munchkin!” Kate says gleefully, bending over me to give Aspen a hug. I get a whiff of her shampoo, and a wave of peace comes over me. In such a short time, Kate has been a better wife to me and a mother to my children than Savannah ever was.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Aspen stammers, her voice muffled.

“Of course I came. Had to check on my favorite first grader,” Kate replies.

“Can I drive home with you?” Aspen asks, making both Kate and me laugh.

“What am I, chopped liver?” I joke.

Aspen has the decency to look sheepish. “Your car is boring, Daddy. Kate lets me pick out the music.”

“And what is your favorite music?” I ask.

Aspen opens her mouth, looking confused. “What’s that stuff we always scream to?”

I raise an eyebrow as I wait for Kate to respond. The music she plays at home isn’t anything scream-worthy, and Kate doesn’t seem like she’d enjoy heavy metal.

Kate laughs at the look on my face. “It’s Broadway music, Dominic. We listen to Broadway songs.”

“Oh yeah!” Aspen says excitedly. “Did you know Frozen used to be on Broadway, Daddy? And now they perform all over the place in buses!”

“They travel in buses, Aspen. They perform on a stage,” Kate corrects.

“That’s what I meant,” Aspen shrugs before looking at me. “But my favorite is the witch stuff.”

“The witch stuff?” I ask, looking up at Kate again for clarification.

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