Page 192 of Not Another Yesterday
“Alright,” he says, then looks me dead in the eye. “I want you to move in with me.”
I blink. “I thought I already kind of… did?”
“No,” he says, grinning. “I meanreallymove in. None of this back-and-forth stuff. I want all your crap and all my crap in the same place. I want my apartment to be your home. And if you don’t want to live with Shane and Tori, we can look for somewhere else. But I want to wake up next to you and fall asleep next to you every single day.”
His words are so sweet, my stomach feels like it’s full of fluttering wings.
“My dad is not going to love this,” I tease.
“Baby, with all due respect, I don’t really give a shit what your dad thinks,” Ronan says, eyes intense and unwavering. “What matters to me isyou. What you want. What you need. I already broke your heart, and then I got you pregnant. I’m not sure how I could possibly fuck up more, so I’m willing to risk it.”
“Wow,” I say, mock-swooning. “So romantic.”
He grins. “Admit it, you’re swept off your feet.”
“Completely,” I say. “And because you’resoromantic, I will absolutely move in with you.”
“Sweet.” He kisses the top of my head. Then he glances across the room and frowns. “But… you can’t bring that thing.” He points to the porcelain doll propped up in my rocking chair.
“That belonged to my great-grandmother,” I say, mock-offended.
“That’s great. Really. But that thingdefinitelycomes alive at night, and I’m not having it in my place.”
I start laughing so hard, my C-section incision hurts. “You’ve seen too many horror movies.”
“Honestly, that doll scares me more than my mother ever did,” Ronan says with complete sincerity, and I lose it. I can barely catch my breath, clutching my stomach to hold my insides in place.
“You are unbelievable,” I manage between gasps, my voice high and wheezy.
“I really think Sammy would love to have this doll,” he says, deadpan. “You should definitely pass it down. You know, since you’re such an amazing big sister and all.”
“I can’t with you,” I say, tears streaming down my face. “You really don’t want me to bring it?”
“I’m one hundred percent serious. Baby, I will burn that thing if you even think about packing it.”
“Oh my god, Ran, stop.”
“Not until you promise not to bring Annabelle,” he says, and I collapse into another round of laughter.
“But I was really hoping to give her a special place in our bedroom,” I say, voice breathless and giggly.
“Did I say ‘move in with me?’ I meant I think we need to end our relationship for good. This just isn’t going to work out between us.”
My laughter spirals out of control again, my abs screaming from the effort, but it’s the best I’ve felt in days. It’s the kind of laughter that empties you out and fills you back up at the same time. I needed this. I needed a little levity, even though part of me feels guilty at the burst of joy after I just lost my baby. Like I don’t have a right to feel happiness. Not yet. Not for a long time.
“Okay, okay,” I wheeze. “I won’t bring the doll. I promise.”
“Good deal,” Ronan says, satisfied. “I’d really hate to have to murder a doll, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”
“I can’t breathe,” I say, still shaking with laughter.
“That’s not good,” he says with a mischievous grin. “Need me to give you mouth-to-mouth?”
“Hmm, yes, I think I might.” I lean back against my pillow as his lips find mine.
His kiss is slow, soft, his tongue brushing against mine in a way that makes my whole body hum. It’s deep and warm and comforting. It’s everything I need.
Ronan
