Finding Eden(44)

Eden let out a small breath. "Okay."

"My sweet Morning Glory. You've been carrying that around all this time, too?"

She released a shuddery breath. "I had accepted it," she said very quietly. "Before . . ." She trailed off.

I moved a piece of hair off her cheek and smiled what felt like a sad smile at her. "Is that why you cried last night?" I asked. "When I put on the—"

"Partly," she said. "Mostly."

"I understand." My voice sounded gravelly.

She nodded, looking away for a second and then back to my eyes. "This date is really all over the place, isn't it?" she asked on a small laugh.

"That might just be us for a little while."

"Us," she said softly, a light coming into her eyes that hadn't been there a moment before.

"Yeah. Us," I repeated, smiling. I took her hand and pulled her up. "Now let's get us home."

She nodded and we left the bowling alley and walked out into the crisp night air. I pulled her into me as we crossed the parking lot and then helped her up into the truck.

We drove to my apartment mostly in silence, the radio playing softly in the background. I only lived about ten minutes away.

When we walked into my apartment, the city lights glowed outside and the entire place was bathed in soft light. I really did love this place, despite the fact that there was still no electricity. I loved the open feel of it, the view, but most of all, I took pride in the fact that I'd done the hard work to fix it up myself. I'd made it my own, picking out and installing the hardwood for the floors, choosing the countertops I liked best, and learning how to hang cabinets. I didn't actually own it, but it was the first thing that had ever been mine.

Eden put her purse down and looked at me almost shyly. A flash of her standing under moonlight looking at me in the same way skittered through my mind, bringing not sadness as it had these past few years, but a warm happiness and a sense of deep gratitude.





CHAPTER EIGHT




Eden



"I have something to show you," Calder said, taking my hand.

I cocked my head and looked at him curiously, but he just smiled and led me down the hall. Calder pulled me into a room and I looked around at the semi-small bedroom, the only furniture a big bed against the far wall with a gray and white striped comforter and a few pillows. I looked over at Calder and he was looking expectantly at me.

"What am I looking at?" I asked.

"That," he said, pointing at the bed. "I bought it for us today. All the bedding, too." He let go of my hand and walked over to it, pulling the comforter back to reveal light gray and purple flowers on the other side. "It's reversible," he said. "You can put it on whatever side you like better."

"Calder," I said, walking over to him and taking the hand that was holding the comforter so that he dropped it back to the bed. "This is your house. You should pick what you like."

"I want it to be your house, too," he said quietly, vulnerability moving over his expression. "I want my home to be your home, my bed to be your bed. I want your nighttime heat to be within arm's reach."

My heart skittered to a stop and then took up an erratic beat as I made a small choking sound, emotion moving up my throat. "Our letters," I said.

He smiled tenderly at me. "Please move in here. Live with me. Let me protect you. Not just for tonight, but for always."

I chewed on my lip for a second, uncertainty filling my chest. "I want to. I do. I don't ever want to be apart from you again. It's just . . . you were living in another woman's house yesterday and I worry . . . I worry that us moving too quickly will be us reacting out of desperation." I looked up into his deep brown eyes. "I want to make sure we're starting out right here. I have to be sure about the way you feel," I finished.

"Then ask me," he said, emotion filling his voice, making it more raspy than usual. "Just ask me. All you ever have to do is ask me."

Tears pricked my eyes as I stared up at his intense expression, his body perfectly still. I took a shaky breath. "Do you still love me, Calder? Am I the only woman you want?"

"God, yes," he said before I'd even gotten the last word fully out.

I breathed out and then sniffled. "I love you, too."

Warmth filled his eyes. "I never stopped loving you. I never will. Ever."

My shoulders relaxed and I wiped the tears out of my eyes. "Do you think we're making a mistake rushing back into this too quickly? We've both changed . . . we have issues."

He considered me for a minute. "It's because I cried on our first date, isn't it?"