Page 52

It’s nine thirty when Asher pulls my car into the garage at home. He cuts the engine and neither of us moves.
I know his thoughts are mirroring mine, but he’s the first one to speak. “What are we—”
“I don’t know, Asher. I don’t know what we’re going to do, how we’re going to tell people, what we’re going to say, or when. I’m still in shock.”
He massages my shoulder. “Good shock, or bad shock?”
“Good.” I smile. “Definitely good.”
After weeks of anxiety, and let’s face it, years of uncertainty, I finally feel like I can fully breathe again. And that full breath of air comes with what I think is hope. For me. For us. For a future I never allowed myself to envision.
“And what you said earlier?” He nudges me. “That still applies?”
I squint, unsure of what he means.
“You know, about being in love with me.”
Warmth spreads throughout my body, and I smile again when I finally allow myself to think back on that conversation. I love him. He loves me. We’re in love. I nod. “It still applies.”
“Okay then.” He gets out of the car and races around to open my door. “All that other stuff will fall into place. Right now, I just need to take you upstairs.” He checks the time. “Do you think your folks have left for work?”
“An hour ago probably.”
“So if I make you scream my name, nobody will be around to hear?”
For the first time in well over a month, tingles shoot through me. It’s downright surprising considering an hour ago I was sure my life was in ruins. But now…
I take his hand and exit the car, popping up on my toes to whisper into his ear. “Not a single soul.”
He smiles. It’s a different smile than any I’ve ever seen. It’s full of passion and awe and wonder and playfulness and…love…all mixed into one perfect grin. And it says much more than any words could say.
He sweeps me into his arms and we both laugh as he carries me upstairs to my apartment.
Laughing. I’m freaking laughing.
Suddenly, the world is a different place. I’m not the same girl I was this morning. Yesterday. Last year. The future is full of possibility. My life, as crazy as it may be, is now something I’m looking forward to rather than just existing day by day. And these tiny precious beings inside of me—these pieces of Asher and me—are like the missing pieces of a puzzle I’ve been working on my whole adult life. One I didn’t even know could ever be completed.
Asher places me on the bed and stares down at me, his head cocked to the side.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I’ve never seen you look like this before.”
I giggle. “Am I glowing?”
“Like the fucking sun.”
His lips meet mine in a kiss so passionate it makes me feel bad for all the other kisses. Because no two mouths have ever come together like ours are now. No pairs of lips have been made to fit each other’s as meticulously as ours do.
He pulls back slightly. Not enough for our mouths to part, just enough to utter the words, “Say it.”
I don’t make him clarify the command. I know exactly what he wants. “I love you.”
“Again.”
I dig my fingers into his lower back. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he breathes into me.