A Broken Soul(90)

"Do you still have Vikings on your DVR? I kind of got hooked on that show when I babysat Sophia that one time."

He chuckled and moved further into the living room. "I do. But first, there's something I want to show you. Will you let me?"

His question caught me off guard. "Of course."

"Wait here." He leaned down to the couch and kissed my lips before heading off in the direction of the hallway. He returned a minute later, carrying a cardboard box in his hand. "I want you to see this," he said, as he took a seat next to me, setting the box on the coffee table in front of us. "I need you to see that I want you in every single part of my life. And in order to do that, I need to open up, talk to you about my past."

My heart was in my throat and tears began to well up, clogging my throat and making me unable to speak.

"This is Addison, my wife," he spoke quietly, removing the lid off the box and pulling the picture out that I knew used to sit on his nightstand. He'd moved that, too. God, he was killing me. 

I took the picture that he handed to me and looked down at it. Feeling myself smile at the sight of his own radiating out from the photo.

"I met her my first year of college after I moved to Seattle. We got married shortly after we graduated. She was … " A variety of emotion flitted across his face.

I rested my hand on his thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze, trying to offer comfort. "Quinn, you don't have to do this."

When he looked back at me, his eyes were shining brightly. "I want to." His voice was hoarse. "It's sad, and I still miss her all the time, but it doesn't hurt like it used to." He pulled in a long breath and I waited, giving him time as he composed himself.

Eventually, he continued, taking a different picture from the box and studying it as he spoke. "She was amazing. A great wife and mother, a fabulous daughter. There wasn't a single person she met who didn't instantly fall in love with her." He turned his head and gave me his eyes. "You would have really liked her."

"I have no doubt," I whispered. "She sounds wonderful. And she helped to make you the man you are today. That takes someone truly amazing."

His smile touched his eyes as he leaned into me, touching his forehead to mine. "And she really would have liked you."

At that, I lost the strength to hold back the tears and let one …  two …  three slide down my cheeks. But these were different. For the first time in months, I was crying because I was well and truly happy. "I hope she would."

"I know it," he replied earnestly. "Lilly, I want …  I want to keep Addy's spirit alive here, for Sophia's sake. I want her to know her mother. She was so little when she died. I-"

I reached up and pressed two fingers against his lips, silencing him mid-sentence. "For you and Sophia both," I told him. "I don't want her memory to be a bad one for you. Sophia deserves to know her mother, and you deserve to remember the woman you loved with all your heart. It's tragic how she was taken away from you, but we don't have to let it stay that way.

"She's an important part of both of you. That should never change. I wouldn't want it to."

"You mean that?"

"With all my heart, honey. I never want you to feel like you have to choose between the two of us. You gave her a part of you years ago." I rested my palm flat against his chest, staring down at it as I said, "I'm not going to try and steal it back. That's hers always. But I'm lucky, because there's another part that's just for me."

"God, I love you," he rumbled, his lips moving against mine as he asked, "You believe me, right?"

I gave him a small nod. "I do. And I love you, too."

"Thank you," he breathed against my skin. "Thank you for giving me another chance, for believing in me, for loving me."

"You're welcome," I smiled, giving him that dimple I knew he loved so much. "And thank you for fighting so hard to be the man I deserve."

"Always, baby. Now, about Vikings … "

"Yeah?" I asked on a soft moan as his lips skated across my jaw and down the throbbing vein in my neck.

"It's going to have to wait. Because I'm taking you to bed, right now."

I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck. "You won't get any argument from me."





Quinn

Thanksgiving



I TOOK IN the view of the chaos happening through the glass French doors that led inside as I stood on the back deck of my new house. Well, mine and Lilly's, seeing as she agreed to marry me when I proposed a few months back, and didn't put up much of a fight when I told her we were buying a house and moving in together.