Page 24 of What About Now

“I did.”

“Why?” She glances from the flowers in my hands back to me.

“Can a husband not buy flowers for his wife?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. I study her and watch as tears well in her eyes. This was meant to be a good surprise, not one to cause her tears.

“I don’t know,” she answers. “My dad, he was only with my mom, and she passed away when we were babies.”

My fucking chest cracks, seeing the sadness and hearing her talk about all that she’s lost. “Well, life is what we make it. I’ve never been a husband before, but I wanted to bring my wife flowers. Not because I want something or need to apologize. I just wanted to make you smile.”

She flashes me a watery grin and reaches for the bouquet. She smells them before replying softly, “Thank you, Maddox.”

“You’re welcome. Let me put them in water for you, and then I’ll start packing all of my things in.”

“I can do it.”

“Finish your movie,” I tell her.

“It’s a rerun of a Christmas movie. I’ve already seen it.” She tosses the cover off her lap, and stands, making her way to the kitchen. I follow her and watch as she pulls open the cabinet doors and searches. “I don’t know if I have something to put them in.” She rummages some more and comes up with a plastic pitcher. “This will have to do.”

“I’ll do better next time,” I tell her. I’m already kicking myself in the ass for not buying the huge bouquet with the vase. I didn’t even think about her needing one.

“There,” she says, stepping back to survey her work. “Thank you, Maddox. They’re beautiful, and I’ll always remember the first time I ever got flowers.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and snaps a picture.

“Perfect.” I wink.

“You went to see your parents?”

“Yeah, I thought I should tell them in person that I got married.”

“How did that go?” she asks. I can hear the worry in her voice.

“Good.” I nod. “They trust me, and I told them how amazing you are. They can’t wait to meet you.”

“Can we maybe give it a little more time?”

“Absolutely.” I smile, letting her know I mean what I say. She can take all the time she needs. Sure, my parents are eager to meet her, but I explained our situation and told them we needed some time. I knew Brogan wasn’t ready yet. “I’m going to go grab some boxes.” I need to step away before I grab her and haul her off to our room to do things I know she’s not ready for. Something about knowing that I’m the first man to treat this woman like the queen she is lights a fire inside my soul. I want all of her firsts, everything she’s never had or experienced. I want her to share all of them with me.

“Let me get my shoes on.”

“Why don’t you just stand by the door and hold it open for me? That way, we’re not letting all of the heat out. I don’t have too many and it’s cold as hell outside.”

“I have a coat and boots.” She laughs.

“Yeah, but you’re all warm and snuggly in here. Just watch for me and open the door.” I place a kiss on her temple, move back to the front door to slide into my shoes, and head outside to grab my things.

Thirty minutes later, my hands are like ice cubes, even with my gloves. My cheeks are red, my lips feel chapped, and my ears are numb, but all of my things are in the house.

“So, I cleaned out a couple of drawers for you and some space in the closet. I assumed you didn’t want to take Briar’s old room?” She laughs nervously.

“Nah, not unless you plan on moving in there with me.”

“Come on back. I’ll show you.” She turns to move down the hall, and I follow her with a box in my hands. “That dresser. I gave you the left-side three drawers, and then the left side of the closet too.”

“What did you do with all of your things?”

“I was long overdue for a closet clean out.”

“Fair enough. I’ll get this unpacked and we can talk about what we’re going to make for dinner.”

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