Every Kiss(109)
She whirls around and clasps her hands loosely at the back of my neck. “I’m not depressed. You’re the one that got me thinking about the past—how we met, how much of an irrational ass you could be, how incredibly hot you were when you were being an irrational ass.”
“Hey, I’m still incredibly hot.” I nod my head toward the entrance of the restaurant. “I just saw myself in that mirror over there.”
Callie rolls her eyes playfully. “You can also still be an irrational ass . . . but I love you.”
“Love you, too,” I say before kissing her forehead. “So what were you thinking about that had that nasty scowl on your face just now? Don’t get so wrapped up in the past that you make me pay for my mistakes again. I make you mad enough on my own, so I don’t need any help from your little trip in the time machine.”
“I was just thinking about the day that you took me to the clinic to talk to Casey for the first time. Remember? We were arguing back and forth—well, it was more me than you—and you asked me what I wanted to do.”
Damn, I haven’t thought about that in a while, but her answer to my question nearly killed me. I thought we were done for good. “I won’t ever forget that day. You told me you wanted to go home. I just knew it was all over.”
Callie flashes my favorite mischievous smile. “But I only let you think that for a few seconds. I couldn’t let you off too easy.”
Oh, she didn’t. I remember starting my jeep and shifting into reverse, wondering how I could drive her all the way home without completely breaking in half. I was a wreck on the inside, and I knew it was only a matter of time before it all showed. But her hand covered mine, shoving the gear shift back into park, and she turned to kneel in the seat and flung herself at me. “What you said then . . . those five words are, to this day, the most special to me.”
“You’re my home, Wesley Baxter,” she says dreamily, remembering the moment just as well as I do. “You still are, you know.”
“And even though this makes me sound like a girl, you’re my Tiffany’s.”
She screws up her face and raises a perfectly manicured brow. “What?”
“This,” I explain, touching her new necklace. “The movie I watched with you on the day we met. She said that when she’s down, the only thing that can bring her happiness is to go to Tiffany’s. And that’s the way I feel about you. No matter what kind of day I’m having, you’re always the best part of it. Whenever I see your face, all of my stress, all of my worries, everything melts away. All that’s left is you.”
The color in her cheeks amplifies a little, and she stretches up on her toes to kiss the corner of my mouth. “What did you do with my husband? You haven’t said anything like that to me in a long time.”
She’s right. I don’t tell her what she means to me nearly enough. But seeing everything that’s happened with Makenna and Sawyer lately, it’s all made me truly appreciate the life I have. The love I have in it. Callie has changed my life completely. Without her, I wouldn’t know what it’s like to truly love someone. Sure, she drives me crazy sometimes with her opinionated, pushy attitude, but she keeps me in check, and I need it. And I love being the one that she turns to when she needs a hug or a laugh after a rough day. I think we balance each other.
Without Callie, I also wouldn’t have had the year to get to know my biological mother before the cancer took her. We never got close like a mother and her son would be, but she became a friend, and that’s more than I could’ve ever asked for. I needed that time with her to heal my heart, and I think she did, too. And once she was gone, I realized how much my mom and dad mean to me. They were right there by my side at the funeral, just as they’ve always been there to support me in everything I do. Eve is still, and always will be, the rock of my family.
And I know that if I didn’t have Callie in my life, I wouldn’t have survived the death of my brother, my best friend. It’s still hard, and sometimes, I’ll have a lapse where I really struggle to even take another breath. It’s the times that I get the urge to call Shane to ask him what band sings a certain song or pick on him when the Cowboys lose a game. Or how I’ll get flashes of the accident scene that still has a tendency of plaguing me. Callie can see it in my eyes, I swear, and she’s right there beside me, fighting my demons away.
Without her . . . I couldn’t begin to fathom where I’d be. But I know it wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am now. Happy. Content. In love. And about to be a father.