Page 78 of The Marriage Policy

“You’re killing me,” I tell him.

“We’ll go together. Lie down.”

I collapse onto the bed, and this time, Eric cleans up my mess, then turns off the light and climbs onto the mattress beside me.

He pulls me close, my back against his front, and kisses my shoulder. “I love you.”

My heart soars. I still have no idea if he’s saying he’s in love with me, but for now, I’ll take it. I’m not willing to do anything to mess up this moment. “I love you too.”

It’s the first time I fall asleep before him, and I’m smiling the whole time.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Eric

The past fewweeks have flown by. Donovan went with me to my final checkup to get my boot off. The doc said my ankle healed nicely, and I must admit, it was cool to only have to pay my co-pay.

I haven’t found a new job yet, but I’ve been spending my time working on building my leg up again and studying for my contractor’s license. The test isn’t going to be easy. There’s a lot of stuff to remember. Donovan and I found a course I can take to help me prepare, so I’m signing up for that.

All I know is I’m really fucking happy. Part of me believes I should feel like shit being happy because I’m still unemployed, but I try to remind myself I have a plan. I’m going to put myself out there, going to attempt to do something productive, and that will make me happy. Something I can feel proud of because when I think about it, I haven’t let myself feel proud of much.

But now I’m going to make the right decision and build something of my own. Something I create and run. Something that will help me take care of Butterscotch and Donovan. Not that D needs me to take care of him, but maybe it will help me spoil him. That’s something I really fucking love to do.

I have Donovan, our cat, and soon I’ll have my own business. My life has never felt so complete—all because of a broken ankle.

I go to the counter to get my cell, and find Butterscotch curled up beside it. “You know Daddy D doesn’t like you on the counter.” Still, I just give her a pet and don’t make her get down. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

I grab my cell and shoot off a text to Donovan.

Me: Taking a study break. Are you on your lunch?

Donovan: Yeah, I’ll call you in a sec.

I smile. I can’t say why I’m smiling, really. Something about him just always makes me do that.

I lie down on the couch, and our cat comes over and jumps onto my stomach. “You’re the sweetest girl,” I tell her just as my phone rings.

“Hey, you,” I answer.

“Hey, how are you?” he asks as if we didn’t just see each other this morning. As if we didn’t climb out of the same bed, Donovan getting ready for work while I made omelets for breakfast.

“Good. My head was starting to spin from all the words, so I needed a break.”

“You don’t have to rush, babe. It’s not going anywhere, and you have the class coming up.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be a deadbeat husband,” I tease, and he’s quiet for a moment. He’s been doing that a lot lately, and I don’t really get it. Sometimes he’ll just be quiet, and I can tell something is on his mind. Others, it’s like he’s going to tell me something, but when I ask him about it, he says it’s nothing and changes the subject.

“You’re not a deadbeat husband. You literally wake up early just to cook me breakfast and pack me lunch. You’re making plans to start your own business and looking for a job.”

“And taking care of Butterscotch. Don’t forget that.” I give her scritches. “Hey, I’m basically a stay-at-home dad and husband.”

He chuckles like I hoped he would.

“Do you want more kids?” I tease.

“Only the furry kind.”

“Me too. I don’t want Butterscotch to get jealous, though, so we have to wait a while.” I grin, hoping he’s doing the same.

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