Page 59 of This Is Love (The Light to My Darkness 3)

“I think sometimes when you spread out your hope all of it feels a little fleeting.” She took a deep breath. “A good night’s sleep would have helped to recharge my positivity reserves, but I couldn’t fall asleep.”

“Me either.” I ran my hand up and down her back. “Liam will always be a part of this family. No matter how long he’s with us.”

She tilted her head up and kissed beneath my chin. “I like the new tattoos. Always desecrating your perfect body.” She kissed me again. “Thank you.”

I held her tightly against my chest.

“We should get going. Liam’s results will be in soon.”

“You have no idea what time it is.” I kissed the top of her head, not letting her move an inch.

“The sun is up. If the sun is up, that means we get the results soon.” She squirmed in my embrace.

“It’s barely 6 a.m. and Dr. Hughes said he wouldn’t be in until 10.”

“Then we can wait at the hospital. Just in case he comes early.” She ducked out of my arms and shoved the blankets off of us. My t-shirt that she had worn to bed rose up her legs, showing just enough of her ass to make me forget what we had even been talking about.

“I think we could both use a distraction,” I said.

She laughed as I dragged her back down onto the bed, pinning her in place just where I wanted her. She looked up at me with that smile I loved so much. Her hair cascaded over the pillow in pure perfection as she pretended to push me away again.

“How did I get so lucky?”

She winked. “By breaking all the rules.”

I felt like I had been carrying the weight of the w

orld on my shoulders for weeks. Now that I had Penny back in my arms? Anything was possible. But first, I was pretty sure she was asking me to break a few rules. Our house had always been pretty lawless though. So she’d have to suffice with a tickle war that would definitely end with us both naked on the floor.

She broke into a fit of giggles before my hand even reached under her arm.

“Don’t even think about it!” She tried to squirm out of my grip again. But she wasn’t going anywhere this time. She was all mine. Her heart. Her soul. Even her armpit.

***

Penny’s leg bounced up and down as we waited in Dr. Hughes’ office. I placed my hand on top of it so that she’d stop, but she proceeded to bounce her knee up and down, moving me with it.

“It’s five after ten,” she said. “Do you think that means something’s wrong?”

I squeezed her knee, but that still didn’t stop her. “No, he’s a busy doctor in a busy hospital. That’s why he couldn’t come to New York, right? His schedule wouldn’t allow it?”

“Right.” She finally stopped bouncing her knee.

I wanted to distract her. I reached into my pocket and felt her engagement ring and wedding band. But not with that. This wasn’t the time or place for a proposal. Instead, I reached into my other pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “I meant to give this back to you a while ago. I should have given it to you right away. I was just worried that you might try to reach out to someone you knew from your past instead of trying to connect with me.” I handed it to her.

“You probably made the right call. I was so scared of you.” She shook her head. “Scared is probably the wrong word. I was more intimidated than anything. And confused about how someone like you could end up with someone like me.”

You could do it now. I could get down on one knee and put a smile on her face instead of a frown. I could distract her from our fears. But it just didn’t feel right still. Not like this. “You mean someone truly and utterly perfect for me? It was an easy decision.”

Her cheeks turned red. “I don’t know how you did all these doctor check-ins by yourself while I was unconscious,” she said, trying to subtly change the subject, but failing completely. “I don’t think I could stand it.”

“I usually didn’t. Rob or my dad came to a lot of them with me. Liam and I were rarely ever alone in the hospital. With all our family and friends visiting you and him, I'm surprised there were ever any empty seats in the waiting room.”

She smiled, but her lips were pressed tightly together. “I can’t believe I didn’t remember everyone. How empty my life would have been.”

“But you did remember.”

“I still need to apologize to everyone. Especially about trying to run away.”

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