Page 143 of Until I Have You

“I am,” she gulps out.“So happy that we…that I…”

Her eyes widen.“I stopped saying it, I’m sorry.”

I chuckle.“Don’t you worry.We’ll have plenty more opportunities for that, I’m sure, love.”

Abigail’s lips are glistening ruby as are the rims of her eyes.She smiles, though tears continue to descend.

I kiss her nose.“I love you, my girl.”

And I won’t stop telling her now that she’s mine.

28

ABIGAIL

I wait alone,anxious as I watch passengers streaming out of the arrival gates.

The airport buzzes with the chatter of travelers and the echoing announcements over the loudspeakers.

My heart races with anticipation as I look for Bonnie and Theo amid the crowd.After spending a few days on our own together, getting reacquainted and havinglotsof sex, Theo went back to New York to retrieve Bonnie.

Being with Theo again has transformed me.I haven’t felt this good in years, not even when we started our affair months ago.Because now, we aren’t a secret.No lying to ourselves that we can pretend feelings aren’t involved.

All that’s between us is love.Tons of it.

I’ll admit, I’m nervous.

Theo’s been telling me that she’s excited, and I’ve even spoken to her on the phone a bit, but I worry I’ve hurt her more than she realizes by leaving.

This reunion is different than Theo and mine.I’m the one that has to make the apologies.I’m the one who hopes I’ll be forgiven.And if I am…this could be a new beginning.

The three of us.

I’ve gotten weird looks from everyone as I’ve waited at the gate.I got here hours too early because I couldn’t sit on my hands and wait.I’ve got balloons and presents.Overkill is underrated.

I just want everything to be perfect.

Another crowd of people start to pour out of the gates.I stand on my tiptoes trying to spy them.I know their plane has landed, but how fast they’ll get out here, I’m not sure.

I scan the crowd back and forth, back and forth, until I see Theo standing tall and broad above everyone, his glasses reflecting light.

A smile spreads out across my face when we see each other, but I am only enraptured by him for a moment.Because Theo tears his gaze from mine and looks down beside him, saying something.

Bonnie appears like a bat out of hell seconds later, bolting through the crowd.

Her eyes, exact replicas of Theo’s, brighten when they land on me, and she smiles ear to ear, clutching her backpack straps.

My heart swells with emotion as I fall to my knees to meet her, and I remember that moment back in the aquarium when Theo found us, and he dropped to his knees to accept Bonnie into his arms.

Now it’s me, receiving her small, bounding body into my arms, the force of her knocking me back onto my heels.

“Abigail!You’re here!”

“Of course, I’m here!”I exclaim, squeezing her tight.“Didn’t you know you were coming to see me?”

Bonnie pulls back, pressing her hands to my cheeks.She smiles as she takes in my features as if she’s recognizing all the pieces do indeed make up the whole she remembers.“You have more freckles!”

I laugh.“Do I?Even though I barely see the sun these days?”

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