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“I’ll probably never get along with him. We might never talk again. But I don’t associate this place with him anymore.”
“No?”
“No.” He cups my check with one hand. “Now I associate it with all the things I love.”
I’m still unsure. I’m nervous that he’s doing this for me and not for himself. I’ve gotten to know him so well over the last few months, and I know he does everything for those he cares about. He always puts them before himself, even if it means doing something that will hurt him. His focus is always on making others happy, but I worry he ignores his own needs.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I just want to make sure you’re doing this because it’s what you want. Not because you think it’s what I want.”
He smiles. “We want the same thing. The last few weeks were miserable. I knew that I’m meant to be here with you. To be honest, I knew that I wanted to stay here with you before I even went back to New Mexico. And once I got there and it didn’t feel like home anymore, it confirmed what I already knew. I don’t belong there anymore. I belong here with you. I needed space to figure everything out. But trust me, I’m finally choosing something I want.”
“You really love it here?”
“I might not love my history here, but I love my future here.” He leans in and kisses me. “That’s what I realized this summer. I love this stupid little town. I love getting to see my crazy aunt and spending time with her. I love working on motorcycles with Jon. I love spending time with my best friend and watching him bicker with your best friend. I love hearing you sing the most awful rendition of a song at karaoke.” He laughs, kissing me again when he notices my glare. When he breaks the kiss, he doesn’t move back, his forehead touching mine. “I love spending time with you and Mortimer. I love going to sleep next to you and waking up next to you in the morning. I love being with you, because I love you.”
My breath hitches as my eyes start to sting. I desperately try to blink the tears away.
This day is too much.
This day is everything.
I’m temporarily incapable of breathing, my heart hammering out of my chest as it tries to survive this onslaught of emotions. To my dismay, traitorous tears stream down my face again.
“You love me?” I barely get the words out.
“Of course I do.” He moves back an inch, placing one finger under my chin to lift my head until my eyes meet his. “I know we haven’t been together for that long, but I’ve known for a while. So yes, I am doing this for me. I don’t want to be anywhere else but here with you.”
“Can you say it again?” I bite my lip.
“I’ll say it as many times as you want. I love you, Robin.”
“I love you too.”
He smiles, his eyes lighting up. “You can definitely say that as many times as you want too, just saying.”
I laugh, and he pulls me into his chest.
He loves me.
I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy and emotional before in my life.
Like ever.
I’m still waiting to wake up from this dream, because there is no way this is real. There’s no way everything just fell into place so easily. That I got everything that I wanted.
“What are the odds?” I say quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“That it all happened at once. The job. The house. You.”
His arms tighten around me as he draws tiny circles on my arms with his thumb. He hums like he sometimes does when he’s contemplating something.
“Maybe good things happen in threes too.”
Chapter 41
