Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“I have to let Whiskey in,” I tell her, walking away from her instead of kissing her like I want to. I walk away before I get down on my knees and beg her to stay with me. I walk away before she walks up the stairs probably to pack her things. Something I don’t think I can take right now. I let Whiskey in and he bypasses me right away, going straight for her.
“Hello, my prince,” she coos. I slide the door closed and lock it before walking back to the kitchen, while Whiskey basks in her hugs and tries to lick her face.
I place the water bowl down next to his food and he comes over. I stand with the island between us. It’s exactly the same position we were in this morning when I blurted out I am in love with her. I know I shouldn’t have said anything, but I just couldn’t not say it. It was like I told myself not to say it, but my mouth completely ignored it. “Good day?” I ask her.
“That depends.” She looks at me and I wish we would be having this conversation with me touching her. My hand on her neck so my thumb could feel her heartbeat.
“On?”
“Well, on you, really.” She gazes into my eyes and all I can do is look at her. My eyebrows pinch together in confusion. “You laid out a pretty big declaration this morning.” She puts her hand on the island. I see one of them is shaking a bit and I want to hold it to make sure she’s okay. “And then my mother sort of came in and derailed it a bit.” I swallow as I just listen to her. “Which might have been the perfect thing.” All I can do is take a deep breath in. “Right time, right place.” I look down and my heart feels like it’s literally going to explode in my chest. “You see, when we left here, instead of going shopping, we went to have coffee.” I look back at her. “We had a little bit of a heart-to-heart.”
“Is that so?”
“That is so.” She smirks. “It was a good talk. You see, she asked me a question that made me violently ill.” I stand up straight, wondering if she is sick. “Not physically, metaphorically. You see, she asked me how much I love you.” My mouth opens but not a sound comes out, not even a breath. “Then asked me how I would feel if I stepped on that plane and walked away from you. She asked me if I loved you so much, would I be okay with you having a family with someone else.”
“Elizabeth,” I say her name, my voice cracking.
“I told her that it made me sick. Just the thought of leaving you and you loving someone else, it makes me fucking ill.” She swallows down and she lifts her hand to wipe the tear from the corner of her eye. “So I had to make a decision.” I walk around the counter to stand in front of her, but not touching her.
“What?” I swear all I can hear at this moment is my heartbeat echoing in my ears.
“I made a decision and my mother sort of helped me with it.” She smiles and her tears start to pour down her cheeks. “Well, I made half the decision, the other half stands with you.”
“I don’t know what you are saying right now.”
“I went to see Dr. Torres,” she explains and a gasp leaves me, “we sat down and had a nice talk.” My head spins. “I wanted to know if she would think about handing over her practice to me.” She smiles even bigger. “She said I was the only one she would think of giving it to. Which was good since I had called the hospital and told them I would not be renewing my contract that ends in two months.”
“What?” It comes out in a whisper.
“I have to go back for two months, but that will give me enough time to pack up whatever I need to pack up and sell what I don’t want and then come back.” She taps the counter. “Which now leads me to where the other half of my decision lies with you.” I tilt my head to the side. “I’m going to be moving back home,” she says the words I’ve been waiting to hear for the past seven years, even if I didn’t know it, “and if it’s okay with you, I would like to move in with you.”
“I dare you to try to stay somewhere else,” I tell her and she looks down and giggles. “Are you sure about this?”
“Am I sure I want to stay with you and I love you? One thousand percent,” she confirms and I charge her. My arm wraps around her waist, another one gets lost in her hair. “I love you, Nate,” she declares as I put my forehead on hers. “I’ve loved you since I can remember.” Her hand lies on my chest. “I think I’ll love you until I breathe my last breath.”