Page 136 of Gracefully Yours

And I stood there, watching my wife walk through security, away from the life we’d been building. Away fromme.

* * *

The constructionontheproject was going well. All the floors were in, and when I stood around, watching as the carpenters installed the kitchen cabinets, I could almost imagine the life that would be lived here.

A wife, dancing with her husband in the fridge’s light. Baking cookies in the oven. A glimpse of blonde hair and a strawberry scent that had seemed to disappear from my sheets. Our sheets.

God, I wanted to show her every square foot. Every little detail I’d handpicked.

And I would.

I’d tell her I loved her, like I should have done in the kitchen weeks ago when I’d caught her staring off into the distance. Like I should have told her on our wedding night.

Like I should have told her in college, when I’d proposed our marriage pact.

Despite knowing every detail of how we got here, I’d do it all again a million times over if it meant she’d be waiting for me at the end of the aisle. Dressed in white, her cheeks pink and her golden hair cascading in curls down her back.

My bride.

She was everything.

My Charlotte.

My wife.

Graceful owner of my heart.

The can of pink paint stared back at me, and I got to work, rolling the wall myself. I’d make it perfect, because while I was here, and she was there, I had nothing else to do.

So I threw myself into making sure every single piece of the project was perfect.

Because someone special deserved it.

CHAPTER33

Charlotte

Iheaved Leila up onto my hip, walking over to the sink with my sister’s two-year-old.

“How’s everything been?” Daniel asked on speakerphone.

“Good. It sounds like they’re going to release Lav and the baby soon from the hospital.” I’d already been down here for almost a week, and my sister, her husband and their new baby girl—Lauren—had been at the hospital that entire time. Following a hard labor, they took Lavender to the operating room for a C-section, which resulted in a longer recovery time than she had expected.

And I was good, mostly. The line was quiet. “I miss you,” I whispered.

“I almost bought a flight down for this weekend. The house is too quiet without you.”

“You can’t leave Brownie,” I said, suddenly wishing to bury my face in his fur. “Besides, I’ll be home before you know it. Maybe another week. I promised I’d help a bit while everyone settles in.”

He sighed. “Okay, it’s just…” Daniel trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

“Hmm?”

“Never mind. It’s not important. I just can’t wait to have you back here, in my arms.”

“I know,” I said, because I wanted that too. More than he knew. “I gotta go, okay?”

“Yeah.” His voice was sullen, withdrawn. “Talk to you soon.”

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