Page 121 of River
“Not before I show you something.” She reached for her phone and pulled up pictures that I recognized.
“My mother showed you their office?”
“Yes, you were adorable, and now I can’t wait to have my own mini Noah; maybe we should name him Viking if we have a boy.” She winked.
“I thought you wanted a William.”
“I’m not sure anymore. I like the Nordic names too.”
“I’ve never met anyone in Norway named Viking. That’s not a name.”
“I know, I was only kidding.”
Moving closer, I slid my hands up her thigh. “How about we save the decision about names and focus on practicing how to make our children?”
River laughed. “I’d say we’ve gotten that part under control by now.”
“Nah, I’m not convinced. We should go for a few more practice rounds, just to be certain.” I laughed and pulled her down on the bed. Rolling on top of her, I kissed her lips, neck, and collarbone with playful passion.
“You’re heavy,” she complained with me pressing her down.
“Impossible. I feel like I’ve lost fifty kilos from getting my secret off my chest.”
River stroked my hair and looked deep into my eyes. “I’m glad you finally told me. No more secrets, all right?”
“Actually, there’s one more thing I haven’t told you.”
“What?”
“I paid that bill at Kit and Owen’s wedding.”
Her eyes widened. “That was you? Why? It was the first time you met them!”
“I had such a good time at their wedding and… I don’t know. It wasn’t something I planned. I just thought it would be fun to surprise them.”
“It was a nice thing to do. Thank you, Noah.” She intertwined our fingers. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about.”
“You have a secret you’ve been keeping from me?”
“No, but I might have been keeping secrets from myself.”
“What do you mean?”
River played with my hair with a stern expression. “For years, I’ve feared that something happened to me when I was a child, but I haven’t felt strong enough to face it or to do the work to uncover what I’ve suppressed.
I swallowed and felt the alcohol evaporate as I quickly grew sober.
“Lately, with you in my life, I feel stronger than ever before, and I think I want to know.”
“You sure?” I was petrified that whatever had happened to River would cause her to break down when she found out.
“Now that I’ve learned to enjoy sex, it doesn’t hold the same power over me as it did before. I don’t know if that makes sense, but that’s how I feel.”
“You know that I’ll support you either way.”
There was such vulnerability in her soulful eyes. “Do you think I should do it?”
“I can’t say. It has to be your decision. How does it even work?”
