Page 83 of My Vows Are Sealed

“Dar, I need you to be honest with me,” I said quietly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m a little sore,” she mumbled.

Damn it. I knew that was normal, but I still hated that I’d caused her any pain at all. Especially tonight.

“Do you need some ibuprofen?” I asked, wanting to do something, anything, to take care of her.

“No. I just need you.”

“I’m right here,” I said for what felt like the millionth time tonight. “And that wasn’t what I meant.”

She chuckled weakly. “I know. Is it weird that Iamokay? That I don’t regret it even a little bit?”

Oh, thank God.

“Only if it’s weird that I don’t either.” I tilted her chin up and whispered a kiss over her lips. “I hate the reason it happened, but tonight was the best night of my life.”

Darla sat up and put a hand on my face, looking right into my eyes. “Brendan, the reason I made love to you tonight wasn’t because of what happened with my dad. Yeah, if he hadn’t done what he did, I probably wouldn’t have come here in the first place. And maybe it made me let my guard down a little and not be as scared of making that choice because all I wanted tonight – all Istillwant – is to be close to you, but none of that is why I changed my mind. I just…I realized that it didn’t matter whether or not we’d signed a piece of paper. I love you and I know without a doubt that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you, and that’s what’s really important to me.”

I pulled her into a kiss, trying to show her even a tenth of what I felt for her. Trying to make sure she knew that I was as committed to her as she was to me. She had no idea how much I’d needed to hear that. Because now I didn’t feel even a little bit guilty about this.

“By the way, it was the best night of my life too,” she whispered when I let her talk. “You were…God, you were perfect.”

“So were you,” I said, stealing another kiss. “And I wasn’t kidding earlier, either. You and I have a date at the courthouse on your eighteenth birthday. But that’s not me asking you to marry me. You deserve a way better proposal than that.”

She chuckled. “Good. Because this would be aweirdproposal story to tell our kids one day. But then again, it would go perfectly with the weird not-our-first-kiss story, so…”

I laughed, beyond glad to see a little bit of the Darla I knew and loved coming back out. I knew she still had a long way to come, but this was leaps and bounds from where she’d been when she first walked in the door.

“Baby, tell me the truth. Are you going to be okay if I go to church tomorrow morning?” I asked her, sighing. “I feel like if I don’t, your dad’s going to know we’re together, but if you don’t feel safe being here alone, I’ll take that chance.”

She sighed too as she curled back up against me, laying her head back on my shoulder. I laid us down, and she hooked her leg over one of mine and squeezed me tight.

“I wish you didn’t have to go, but you’re right,” she mumbled. “If you’re not at church tomorrow, it’s not going to be much of a leap for my dad to guess where I am. I’ll be okay. I’ll call Kate and see if she can come over and keep me company while you’re gone.”

“And if she’s coming over, so is Ash,” I chuckled.

“Pretty much,” she agreed. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it is,” I assured her. “Those two arealwayswelcome here.”

In fact, that actually made me feel even better about leaving her here while I covered our tracks at church. Ashton had been taking jujitsu lessons ever since a couple of bigoted assholes had gotten the jump on them after school one day in their sophomore year. They’d been determined that they werenevergoing to let that happen again. So if they were here, I knew she’d have some protection if her dad decided to come looking while I was gone. And Iknewwithout a doubt that after Darla told Ashton and Kate what had gone down today – actually, since it was now a few minutes after midnight, I guessed it was yesterday – they’d both move Heaven and Earth to be here for her.

* * *

“You sure you’re going to be okay, baby?” I pressed as I grabbed my Bible and slid my wallet into the pocket of my khakis.

Darla nodded, hugging my pillow a little tighter. “I’m going to call Kate as soon as I wake up a little more.”

I sat down on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead. “My cell phone’s on vibrate. If you need me, call. I’ll leave in a heartbeat.”

“Okay. But I promise I’ll be fine,” she insisted.

I tilted her chin up and kissed her, and I wasn’t prepared for the floodgate of memories that were unleashed the second my lips touched hers. Was it always going to be like this? Would I always remember every moment, every touch, every kiss, every word we’d said?

I really hoped so. Because I never wanted to forget it. No matter how many times came after this, no matter how much less awkward it would be next time, what we’d shared last night went way beyond just a physical connection. If words existed to describe it, I didn’t know them.

“I love you,” I said, my lips still touching hers.

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