Page 105 of Tide Over

THIRTY-EIGHT

My foot tapsrestlessly on the floor as I sit at the kitchen island, staring out the window as my untouched coffee grows cold in front of me. Anticipation stirs in my stomach, coiling tight like a spring ready to release at any moment, while Miss Bobber watches me curiously from her perch on a chair in the living room.

Then I hear it.

The sound of tires crunching on gravel grows louder, and my heart leaps as I push to my feet.

Liam’s home.

My pulse races as his truck door slams, and his footsteps sound on the porch as he approaches the door. And when the door pushes open and he steps inside, I finally take a breath.

Without a word, he drops his bag and crosses the room, his arms wrapping firmly around my waist as he pulls me into him. When our lips meet, it’s like a flood of everything we’ve been unable to share while we were apart. The need to touch him, taste him, devour him, make up for lost time… it’s overwhelming, and we hold each other tight as we stay locked in a needy kiss and give each other everything we can.

The kiss he left me with was tinged with sadness and pain, but this one… this one is full of relief, happiness, and hope.

His hands slide up my body to either side of my face, and I place my good hand over his, resting my splinted hand against his hip as my tongue slides against his. I can’t get enough of him.

Until he chuckles softly against my lips then looks down at the floor, where Miss Bobber is standing at his feet, her tiny paws resting on his boot as she lets out a delicate meow.

“Hey, little one,” he says, smiling as he bends to pick her up.

I watch him scratch her behind her ears as she purrs against him, and I can already see the shift in him from when he left three weeks ago.

His eyes lift to meet mine again, before they travel down my arm and his gaze settles on my splinted hand. The full bandage is off now, and the thick, red, raised scars across my hand and forearm are on full display. He reaches out and gently places his hand under the rigid splint running from my elbow to the tip of my fingers, and lifts it up.

As he runs his gaze over the scars, I try to swallow down the fear that he might not like what he sees.

But he gently lowers his lips to kiss my knuckles, then presses his lips to mine again.

I hold onto him, keeping him tight against me as Miss Bobber purrs in his arms, happy to be a part of this moment with us.

Then he pulls back, just enough to look into my eyes.

“I love you,” he says softly.

My heart skips and my stomach flips as I stare into his beautiful blue eyes, letting those words settle over me. Those words I’ve been wanting to say to him, and have been feeling for longer than I think I realized.

But I don’t say them back. Because there is one word that encompasses everything I want to say to him. One word that hasbonded us in understanding from day one, and that we have said so much with, despite its simplicity.

“Same.”

Our lips meet again, and I feel like I’m fucking soaring. I breathe him in, and he fills every empty space inside me as the intense love I feel for him somehow grows even stronger.

I’m so happy he’s finally home.

My eyes slowly open to the dim bedroom, and I turn my head to look at Liam beside me. But the bed is empty, with only rumpled sheets and a vacant pillow on his side of the bed. My brow furrows as I take in the quiet space around me, then I lean over to check the time.

It’s 5:00AM. Guess I sleep in now.

I push myself up to sit on the edge of the bed, rubbing my eyes as I yawn. Miss Bobber hops into the bed with a little meow, then rubs her head into my knee as her little motor starts up.

“Where is he?” I ask her as I give her a scratch behind her ears.

After I pull on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, I head downstairs, expecting to find him in the kitchen making coffee. But the house is quiet as the early morning light filters through the windows, casting everything in a cool, blue-grey glow. The air feels still as I make my way to the kitchen, but I pause when I pass the patio doors. A faint light catches my eye, coming from the workshop.

I push my feet into my sneakers and open the door, crossing the driveway as the sound of a drill comes from inside the barn.

Liam looks up as I step through the door. “Morning,” he says softly.

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