Page 83 of His Forever

Eleven Months Later

She smiled as she woke up and stretched. It was good to be home, in their own bed again. As much as they had loved being out on the road, there was “no place like home” as the movie said. They ended up coming home a month early so they could be home for Christmas, but she would never regret doing so since they found out that Mamá was battling cancer.

Ready for the day, she looked at her schedule. When Mamá heard they were coming back, she had let her customers know and her book was already full, something she was beyond grateful for because she needed to get back into the swing of things.

***

Walking into the salon with her hands full of donuts and coffee, she called out a “hello” as she made her way into the breakroom. Within minutes, she was engulfed in Paulie’s arms. “Hey, chica, so good to have you home,” he said.

“Glad to be back, Paulie. We missed y’all a lot, but that time away? Priceless.”

“I bet,” he replied as he wiggled his eyebrows at her. “You’ve gained a little bit of weight too, chica. Looks good on you and I’m sure your hubby isn’t complaining about your curves.”

She grinned as she swatted him on the arm. “Nope. Not at all. He worships all of this,” she said, sweeping her arm down her body.

“Too much information, chica. We may be besties but I don’t want to know about your sex life.”

As she doubled up laughing, she said, “Good because I don’t sharethosedetails with anyone, thank you very much.”

“Always a wise decision, chica, especially in this age of people sharing every little thing.”

“Alright, let me get to work. I’m sure we’ll talk later.”

***

Done for the day, she headed back out to the front and said, “See you guys tomorrow at Mamá’s for Christmas?”

“Couldn’t keep us away,” Paulie said. Coming closer, he whispered, “You gonna tell him tonight?”

“Tell him what?”

“C’mon, Marleigh, I know you better than anyone except maybe your husband by now. You’ve got a glow.”

“Whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

***

On her way home, she stopped and grabbed what she needed for dinner after sending him a text to see what time he planned to be home. When she saw his response, she smiled and thoughtperfect.

Once home, she got dinner going and turned on the Christmas lights. Humming along to the Christmas music she had playing, she didn’t hear him come in until he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. “Hey, handsome, how was your day?”

“Better now that I’m with you, mi siempre hermosa.”

“You’ve got some time if you want to clean up.”

“Care to join me?”

“Absolutely, handsome.”

One delicious shower later, they were sitting down to eat when she said, “Can we sit on the swing for a bit after we’re done?”

“Si, mi siempre hermosa. I have missed our swing time.”

Once dinner was done, they headed out to the swing and he lit the wooden heater. “Come here, Marleigh,” he said to her after he had sat down.

“I’ll be right there,” she said before she darted back into the kitchen. When she came out with a package, he raised his eyebrows at her.

Straddling his lap, she kissed him before saying, “I know, I know. We said we would wait until tomorrow, but I want you to have this now.”

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