“Oh.” I realize Walker’s right, so I begrudgingly put his feet on the floor and watch him scamper around in circles.
“I’ll make your coffee and meet you in the kitchen.” Walker comes to my side and kisses my temple. “We need to name him this morning. It’s important for training.”
“I can’t believe you got me a puppy.”
He lifts my chin, so we’re eye to eye, and brushes my hair back from my face. “I realized, a few weeks ago, you’ve only ever asked me for one thing. That night at my parents’, you said you wanted a dog like Micky.”
“But we agreed we had time. He needs so much.”
“This is our time.”
The words aren’t even out of his mouth and the tears well in my eyes. “This is our time?” My voice cracks.
“This is our time,” he repeats softer. “I hope these are tears of happiness.”
I squeeze my eyes as tight as possible, trying to gain control of my feelings, but it doesn’t work. The dam bursts. Tears flow down my cheeks, and when I open my eyes, he’s a blurry image. Sobs escape my throat and I throw myself at him.
Weeks of emotions come bubbling to the surface, overwhelming me as I cry for everything that has happened in the last month to bring us to this point. He’s alive, he’s healed, we’re getting married, and he bought me a puppy.
How much can a girl take before she breaks down with so much love and happiness that it shatters her heart into a million pieces?
I wail into his chest, clutching hard, telling him how much I love him. My ramblings promise him anything he ever wants, including a house full of sons, but it mostly sounds like a slobbering, blubbering mess. His body starts to vibrate as he picks me up and carries me to the bathroom, setting me on the vanity. I clutch to his shirt, still declaring my undying love and devotion, until he pries me away and runs a damp cloth over my face.
“I love you, too, but you don’t need to promise everything, because I already have you.” He somehow understood what I said.
“I’m sorry I’m crying.” I hiccup, sucking oxygen into my lungs.
“Are you happy?”
“Happier than I ever knew was possible. Are you happy?”
“I’m going to be.” His answer takes me by surprise, and my heart falls.
“You’re going to be? Does that mean you’re not right now?”
“We have one problem.”
“A problem? With us?”
“I want you to move in. Make this place your home. Do you think you can do that?”
Make this place my home? Is he crazy? I’ve been picturing myself living in this house since the first night he brought me her
e. I’ve even drawn out a diagram of how we can rearrange his deer in the living room so I can have shelves put in.
“I can do that,” I reply, almost breathlessly. This time, I’m able to keep the tears at bay.
“Today.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
“We can start moving my stuff over, but it’s going to take weeks for me to get boxes, find a storage unit for my stuff, contact a realtor…”
“It’s all covered. Marcus and Maren are getting boxes now and will meet us at your place in a few hours. We’re going to move your bedroom suit into my extra room, and set up your office wherever you want. I’ll throw shit out if I need to. As for the realtor, it won’t be necessary for a while. I’ve found you a renter, and he needs a furnished place for a bit. Marcus can have someone in his firm draw up a rental agreement.”
“Who?”