Page 67 of Worth the Vow

“And I’ll change it to the other one now. Get in bed, Katharine.”

“Are you — will you —” I stop.

“What?”

I take a deep breath as I slide under the comforter, the smell of Dominic’s cologne and body wash clinging to the sheets like a warm hug. “Will you stay with me? Until I fall asleep.”

“Of course.” Dominic climbs into bed, curving his body around mine. When his arm tightens around my chest, I grab onto it. It’s like he’s centering me. Grounding me. He’s become one of the things that gives me peace, and that scares the hell out of me.

“I’m gonna want you to cuddle me like this again, you know,” I murmur, as I fall asleep.

I almost wonder if I dream his response. “I’m gonna want to cuddle you like this forever.”

Two hours later, I wake somewhat rested and ready to see what else is damaged in my room.

I am unprepared for what I find in the hallway, as a wet photograph slaps me in the face. “How in the …”

A line of some kind zigzags down the lengthy hallway, and at least one hundred photographs are clipped to the line.

“They won’t be perfect, but you’ll still have your memories,” Dominic’s mom, Sofia, says from the staircase.

“How did you —”

“I didn’t do anything. It was all Dominic,” she says with a kind smile. “He was determined to salvage as much as he could from your room, especially the photographs.”

I look at each photo as I pass it, overcome with emotion. Meeting the Easter Bunny when I was around three. Christmas morning when I was about ten. A fun trip my mom and I took when we drove to the top of Pikes Peak.

“Be careful as you walk around. He has stuff strung everywhere,” she says as she takes a basket full of clothes into the laundry room. “We’re washing everything from your room, even things that were above the water, as a precaution. You’ll need to empty the dresser drawers, as I didn’t feel comfortable going through your unmentionables.”

I find myself laughing. “Thanks for that.”

Sofia’s face reddens slightly as her head ducks down. “You’ll need to replace your personal care items, as those were definitely ruined.”

“My personal care — oh my God.” For fuck’s sake. My fake mother-in-law found my vibrators? “I’m so sorry you opened that drawer.”

“I didn’t open the drawer. The entire nightstand was tipped over. Dom said he hit it with the bag of trash while he was cleaning out the window well yesterday, then forgot to put everything back inside.”

“I guess that’s a little better than you finding them yourself,” I mumble.

“No need to be embarrassed. Women have needs, and once you and my son realize your marriage isn’t fake at all, you won’t need those items anymore.”

“It’s not — I mean, I’m not, we’re not —” I stutter.

Sofia walks toward me and places her hand on my cheek. “You’re not there yet. I understand. Take your time.”

She slaps my cheek lightly before turning to walk down the stairs. I follow her in a daze, finding more lines of photographs drying all throughout the house. Fishing line? That’s what this is. I didn’t even know Dominic had fishing line.

When I find him in the kitchen, scrubbing something at the sink, I stop to watch him for a moment. I can’t believe he went to all this trouble for me.

As if he senses me, Dominic turns around. “Hey, you. Feel a little bit better?”

I don’t think, I just act. I catapult myself into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and burying my face in his neck. His arms wrap around me tightly, and I feel him moving. Sensing from the location, I figure he’s walking us into his first-floor office. As I hear a door close, I let out a relieved exhale. Dominic sits in a chair, relaxing his arms just slightly so he can rub his hands up and down my back.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asks softly.

“Have you slept at all?” I ask, ignoring his question.

“No.”

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