Page 97 of Perfect Imperfections

“Let’s get ready for the day,” he murmured against her brow. “The Cheeky Monkey will be home in a few hours.”

More laughter escaped her. Sullivan had finally accepted that his brother would never give up the nickname and decided to follow the old moniker “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

They got out of bed and showered together—to conserve water, of course—then dressed for the day and headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. She made the coffee while Sullivan prepared eggs and bacon. They’d promised Charlotte not to make pancakes until she got home from her sleepover. Ellie couldn’t believe how happy she was. Even her dark voice had quieted. It was still there, taunting her from time to time, whispering horrible things in her mind. OCD didn’t go away simply because you fell in love.

But she could cope with it like she always had and even better, she now had someone by her side to fight with her whenever times got too dark. Sullivan didn’t expect her to be “normal” or scoff whenever she performed her rituals to calm her anxiety. He patiently waited with a smile on his face, allowing her to do what she needed, checking in to make sure she was all right. They communicated with each other, leaned on each other. Problems seemed far less scary when you had someone by your side to help fight your battles.

It’s going to end, eventually. You’ll screw it up.

She tensed at the cruel thought in her head, but then a pair of warm, strong arms embraced her from behind and a low voice whispered in her ear, “I love you, Ellie. Nothing will ever change that.”

She didn’t deserve this man, but no way was she ever letting him get away. A smile curled her lips as she asked, “How do you always seem to know when I need reassurance?”

“Because I know you and you know me.”

True. In the past few months, Sullivan had opened up, sharing his anger and guilt over his failed marriage and Claire’s passing. They’d talked about the future and what they wanted in life. It wasn’t always easy, but communicating openly and honestly, being vulnerable with each other, had bonded them in a way she’d never experienced before.

Once breakfast was ready, they sat down to eat, chatting about their upcoming week. The zoo was eagerly expecting the birth of a new giraffe, so her work had been hectic. Stephan and Rob pretty much lived at work these days and she and Cam had taken turns bringing the veterinarians meals. Sullivan’s practice had been steadily gaining new patients. One of his longtime patients recently passed away in hospice care. Ellie had held him as he cried.

It humbled her he trusted her enough to do that. Allowed her to comfort him in such a time of pain, see his grief. Sullivan cared about all his patients. It absolutely destroyed him when he lost one. Every day she didn’t think she could love him more and every day she found she did. She could only hope that love would grow forever.

“So,” he said as he grabbed their plates and placed them in the dishwasher. “Charlotte has informed me of what she’s going to ask Santa for Christmas this year.”

“Christmas? It’s not even Halloween yet.”

He smiled, shaking his head slightly. “It wouldn’t matter if it was the fourth of July. In kid world, any time is a good time to think about what you want for Christmas.”

She supposed that was true. After all, she knew what she was going to ask Santa for this year. It involved four little words and was a cheery little tune sung by the late great Eartha Kitt.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What does Charlotte want for Christmas?”

She hoped the girl didn’t want to take Mimi—the baby elephant, at the zoo—home again. Much as they tried to explain that Mimi would soon be as big as her parents and therefore could not stay in the backyard, Charlotte still wanted her very own personal pet elephant.

“She wants a baby brother.”

Ellie had chosen that unfortunate moment to take a sip of her coffee. Light tan liquid spewed out of her mouth as the shock of the request hit her. She coughed, having inhaled some of the caffeinated beverage down the wrong pipe. Sullivan hurried over with a napkin, gently rubbing her back until she could get herself under control again.

“A baby brother?” The words squeaked out, her throat still raw from the coughing.

He chuckled, gazing at her with a smile on his face and love in his eyes. “Yup.”

“Considering Christmas is about three months away, that might be a little impossible.”

“True, but she had a second present request and I think this one I can give to her. As long as you’re willing to help, that is.”

Help make Charlotte happy, was that a trick question? She’d do almost anything to see the sweet smile on that little girl’s face.

“What?”

Sullivan reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small black box and went down on one knee. Ellie sucked in a sharp breath, eyes immediately filling with tears of joy. Her lungs seized, refusing to work, but she somehow forced oxygen into them. She’d be damned if she passed out and missed one of the greatest moments of her life.

“Eleanor Clark, you saved my daughter and my heart. Before you, I never imagined finding love again. I didn’t trust it. I was scared. I failed before and feared I would fail again. I thought all I needed to do in life was make sure my daughter was cared for and happy. But then you came along and opened my eyes. I saw that life wasn’t just about taking care of the ones I loved, because if I wasn’t taking care of myself, as well, how could I ever properly care for them?”

She placed a hand over her heart, feeling the fast and furious pounding of the muscle ready to burst right out of her chest.

“I didn’t have faith in love, but it had faith in me. You had faith in me. You gave me everything I needed, even when it hurt you to do so. I can’t promise our life will always be perfect, but I can promise you that if you agree to spend yours with me, I will try every day to show you how much I love you. I’ll work hard to share every up and down, every success and failure with you, and I hope you’ll share yours with me. Charlotte’s other Christmas wish was to be a flower girl in Daddy and Mama’s wedding.”

The precious girl had called Ellie mama a time or two when she had been tucking the girl in at night. Each time had stolen her breath and filled her heart.

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