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“Grandma loved that rooster.”
“It’s hideous.”
“It has sentimental value.”
“It’s still hideous.”
I laugh.
He smiles, but only for a second. “Then I came home, and you were everywhere. In my kitchen. On my couch. In my son’s bedroom. You made this place feel like a home in a way I didn’t know it was missing.”
My eyes burn.
“And somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking about you as the woman I married to be Shiloh’s mother.”
His hand comes up to cup my cheek.
“And started thinking about you as my wife.”
Oh.
“Maverick.”
“I’m in love with you, Noelle.”
Everything inside me goes quiet. The whole world. Just stops.
He brushes his thumb over my cheek. “I know it’s fast. Believe me, I know. I’ve spent my entire adult life being careful. Thinking things through. Making sure I know what I’m getting into before I commit to anything.”
His mouth curves. “Then I married a stranger.”
“A very sensible decision.”
“Obviously.”
I laugh through the tears gathering in my eyes.
“But I don’t need more time to figure this out. I know what I want.”
He steps closer.
“I want you.”
My breath catches.
“Not just as Shiloh’s mother. Not because you’re good at taking care of us. Not because of anything you do for this family.”
He rests his forehead against mine.
“I want you because you’re you. Because you make me laugh. Because you argue with me about refrigerator art and Christmas decorations. Because you look at the world like there’s something good waiting around every corner, and somehow you make me believe it too.”
A tear slips down my cheek.
He catches it with his thumb.
“I fell for you just as fast and just as hard as my son did. And I want you as my wife in every way. I want to wake up next to you. I want to raise Shiloh with you. I want to grow old with you.”
He pauses. “But I know you didn’t sign up for any of that. So if you need time to decide whether you want the same thing, I’ll give you as much as you need.”
