Page 89 of Contingently Yours
I chuckle at the worry lines in his forehead. Insecure Andrew is a cute Andrew. Leaning in, I decide to let up on the teasing and give him a kiss. “No. Not at all.”
Watching him unload all his monster truck crap onto his end table, I can’t keep myself from smiling. That seems to happen all the time anymore. Some days, I go to sleep, and my face hurts because I’m just so damn happy. It’s as difficult to believe it’s because of Andrew as it is to believe it’s possible to be this ‘stupidly giddy’ as Julia once put it.
Glancing up at me, he freezes for a second and then laughs. “What? You don’t like the hat? Come on. It’s a cool hat!” he exclaims, picking up one of his treasures from the show.
I don’t know why I’ve been waiting for the right moment. Every moment is the right moment to tell the person you love. Snickering, I shake my head and walk over to him.
“No, I was just thinking about the Hepperlys.”
“If Dario has a cousin who wants to buy swampland in Arizona, he can fuck off right now. I’ve decided my wilderness expertise ends at fence painting.”
Settling my hands on his waist, I shut him up with a soft kiss. “Actually, I was thinking about how grateful I am to them.”
Setting down his ridiculous hat, he cups my cheek, all traces of humor gone. “Because you were able to pay off all your loans with your commission?” he asks gently.
There is that too, but God, I wouldn’t even care if we hadn’t sold anything together if it had all worked out with us ending up like we are. I’d have lived happily, with my credit stretched, knowing I got to come home to Andrew every night.
“Yeah, but they gave me something worth a lot more than that.”
He gasps. “Did you get a fine parting gift that I didn’t?”
“No,” I laugh. “I got the same one as you.”
His face scrunches up, so I squash down the butterflies in my stomach and clarify. “They gave me the chance to fall in love with you.”
His lips part, and his eyes scan my face as though he’s looking for a punch line. My stomach feels like it just flipped over, waiting for him to say something. He hasn’t repeated the words he said the night of the wedding, but I just assumed he was playing it cool, as Andrew likes to do sometimes. Maybe I was wrong, and he thinks he spoke too soon. But then, a smile forms on his face.
“Love, huh?”
“Yeah.”
He lets out a breathless laugh and squeezes my arm, glancing down. His grip fidgets on my biceps. I wait for more, but he just glances at me and then down again on a soft intake of breath. Is he…all right?
I’m yanked closer, and his mouth covers mine, hard. He cups my face in both hands, and the kiss softens, becoming deeper and more sensual. When he comes up for air, he sucks in a breath and sniffles. My heart squeezes hearing that sound.
“You know, not to one-up you, but I told you two weeks ago. I was just waiting for the right moment to say it again.”
“I know.” I laugh, resting my forehead against his and closing my eyes to bask in the moment.
“You know? You said you didn’t remember anything after we got back to your house.”
“I was giving you an out.”
“Who says I need an out? And wait a minute…why did it take you two weeks?” Pulling back, the worried mask covers his faceagain. “Were you…not sure? Because you don’t have to say it just because I said it.”
“I wanted to spread out our happy memories.”
Groaning, he rests his forehead against mine. “You are so sentimental. You know that?”
“Says the man with his Christmas tree up in July.”
Drawing back, his face lights up with defiance. “Hey! That’s different. You held out on me. You’re a tease.”
“Patient,” I correct.
Narrowing his eyes, he challenges with, “Cruel.”
“Thoughtful.”
