Page 46 of My Trainer Neighbor
She laughed."Best decision I ever made was knocking on your door instead of just calling the landlord."
"We're both pretty smart."
"We are."She propped herself up on one elbow to look at me."Can I tell you something?"
"Anything."
"I'm really happy.Like, genuinely, stupidly happy.I didn't think I knew how to be this happy."
The admission made my chest ache in the best way."Me too, baby.Me too."
My phone buzzed on the nightstand.I ignored it, but Nicole reached over and grabbed it.
"It's from Justin."She handed it to me."You should read it."
I opened the message.
Mom would have liked her.Just thought you should know.
I stared at the words, feeling my throat tighten.Justin rarely mentioned our mom.The fact that he'd thought about her, thought about Nicole, thought about how they would have connected.
"What does it say?"Nicole asked softly.
I showed her, and her eyes got suspiciously bright.
"He really thinks that?"
"Yeah."I typed back quickly.Yeah.She would have.
His response came immediately.Happy for you, brother.You deserve this.
I set the phone down and pulled Nicole closer.She settled against me with a contented sigh, trusting and open in a way she never was with anyone else.
I did deserve this.We both did.
And I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure she knew it.
"Hey," she said, her voice sleepy."Let’s go apartment hunting tomorrow."
"No, I want to take you out to dinner to celebrate that Times article."
"We can do both."
"Deal."
She yawned."Love you."
"Love you too, baby."
I lay there listening to her breathe, thinking about how much had changed in six months.How a woman in a silk robe had shown up at my door ready to murder me, and somehow become the center of my entire world.
