“I’m fine.”
“Everything’s fine? Baby too?”
She sat on the side of my bed. “Baby too. I had a very thorough check. Too thorough, if you ask me.”
I laughed. “Sorry about that. Better to be safe than sorry. Have you heard about Lyric and Jensen?”
“I did. Lyric is okay. Just a broken leg and smoke inhalation. Jensen is a little shaken up, but he’s okay. He’s staying with her until her sister comes in from San Francisco.”
Relief poured through me. It all could have gone so much worse.
She pressed her hand into the mattress on one side of me and leaned down. “Are you okay?”
“A new scar to add to my collection.”
“I don’t care. This chick digs scars.”
I grinned up at her. “Good thing, because I seem to keep collecting them.”
“Can we stop that, please?”
“I’ll try.” I lifted my good hand up to cup her face. “When you were pinned, it gave me a hard moment.”
“And how do you think I felt? You don’t get to push me away like that ever again.”
“I can’t promise that one. Nothing mattered but you right then.” I lowered my hand to her middle. “And this Little Bean.”
She covered my hand. “What am I supposed to say to that?”
“I wouldn’t mind that ‘I love you’ thing again.”
“Heard that, did you?”
“I sure did.”
She pulled my hand up to her cheek. “I love you. Even if you drive me crazy.”
“Just had to add that caveat, huh?”
“Can’t make it easy on you.”
“I’m damn sure that you’ll never make it easy on me, but we’ll always be interesting.”
She leaned down to kiss me. “You really going to wife me up?”
“Meet me at the courthouse when it opens.”
“Oh, no. You are going to have to deal with a whole wedding with my crazy-ass parents.”
“Crazy?”
“My mom is a lot. Sorry in advance.”
“I don’t care. Just as long as it’s you, me, and the Bean.” I rolled her into the bed with me.
“Nolan!”
“Shh, just let’s stay here for a minute, okay?”
She sighed and rested her head on my chest. “Don’t forget Gizmo.”
“How could I ever forget Gizmo?” I stroked my hand down her hair.
“Am I hurting you?”
My back was on fire, but I wouldn’t move her for the world. “Nope. You’re right where you belong.”
“Just for a few minutes,” she said with a yawn.
“A few minutes.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Sounded perfect to me for a start.
Then we could work on forever.
EPILOGUEDAHLIA
I used the toe of my sneaker to push the hammock swing my husband had put on our sandy beach for me. I have no idea how he and Archer got this thing all the way down here, but I would miss it dearly when we had to pack it up for the winter months.
