Page 12 of Broken Vows

We make our way to the bedroom, the routine of getting ready for bed feeling both familiar and somehow new. As I slip under the covers, he wraps an arm around me, pulling me close.

“This was nice,” he whispers into my hair. “I’ve missed this. Missed you.”

I feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes, but I blink them back. “I’ve missed you too,” I manage to say, my voice barely above a whisper.

We lay there in the darkness, the sound of our breathing the only noise in the room. I can feel his heartbeat against my back, steady and reassuring. For the first time in weeks, maybe even months, I feel truly at peace.

As I drift off, I can’t help but think about the day. We’re talking again, really talking, and spending time together which is what we need.

Maybe from here, things will get better. We’ll stick to our new plan, make time for each other, and slowly rebuild what we’ve lost. It won’t be easy, I know that. There will be setbacks and arguments, days when it feels like we’re right back where we started. But today has given me hope.

I snuggle closer to him, feeling his arm tighten around me in response.

Chapter Eight

The warmthof his hand on mine lingers even after we’ve finished dinner and cleared the table. There’s a fragile hope blooming in my chest, but I’m afraid to nurture it too much. We’ve been here before, teetering on the edge of reconnection, only to fall back into our old patterns.

I lean against the kitchen counter, watching him as he loads the dishwasher.

“I was thinking,” I start, my voice sounding too loud in the quiet kitchen, “maybe we could do something this weekend?”

He pauses, a plate hovering halfway to the rack. “This weekend?” He frowns slightly, and I feel my heart sink. “I promised the guys I’d help with a project on Saturday, but Sunday could work.”

I nod, “Sunday sounds good. Any ideas on what you’d like to do?”

He shrugs, resuming his task. “We could go for a hike, maybe?”

The suggestion surprises me. We haven’t been hiking in years, not since before his new job, before everything changed. “That… that sounds really nice, actually.”

He gives me a small smile, and for a moment, I see a glimmer of the boy I fell in love with. “It’s a date, then.”

The phrase sends a flutter through my stomach. A date. When was the last time we actually went on a date?

As he finishes with the dishes, I find myself drifting to the living room. My gaze falls on the bookshelf, filled with photo albums I haven’t looked at in ages. On impulse, I pull out our wedding album.

I settle onto the couch, the weight of the album heavy in my lap. As I open it, the smell of old paper and memories wafts up. The first photo is of us, fresh-faced and grinning, cutting the cake. We look so young, so full of hope and promise.

“What’ve you got there?” Jeremy’s voice startles me. I look up to see him leaning against the doorframe, his expression curious.

“Our wedding album,” I say, patting the space next to me. “Want to take a trip down memory lane?”

He hesitates for a moment, but then he crosses the room and sits beside me, close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating from his body.

We flip through the pages together, laughing at the outdated hairstyles of our friends, reminiscing about the little details we’d almost forgotten. When we get to a photo of our first dance, I feel him tense beside me.

“God, I was so nervous,” he says.”I was sure I was going to step on your dress and rip it.”

I laugh softly. “I remember. You kept looking at your feet.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t want to mess up the most important dance of my life.”

The sincerity in his voice makes me look up at him. Our eyes meet, and for a moment, it’s like no time has passed at all. We’re those two kids again, madly in love and ready to take on the world together.

I lean in and kiss him. It’s soft, tentative, nothing like the passionate kisses we used to share. But it’s something. A spark in the darkness. I haven’t felt confident lately. Kissing him out of thin air or thinking about it felt like a crime. He’d just leave the room after a kiss and I eventually would give up trying.

When I pull back, his eyes are wide with surprise. “Lex…” he starts, but trails off, seemingly at a loss for words.

“I’m sorry,” I say quickly, embarrassment flooding through me. “I shouldn’t have?—”

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