Page 86 of Rome
“Great. I’ll show you what I’m thinking, and maybe even make a stencil and apply it. I can wear the stencil for a day or two, just to make sure it won’t make the memory worse for you, before I have Saint ink it for me.”
“I love that idea,” she said softly. I wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and kissed her forehead again.
“I’m going to tell you something that makes me sound like an absolute fuckin’ pussy, so you can’t ever tell anybody, OK?” I wanted to get her mind off that fucking hickey, so I’d willingly make a damned fool of myself.
She tipped her head back and gave me a wary look with a fair bit of confusion mixed in. She nodded slowly, and the wary expression was replaced by a sad smile as she listened to my confession.
“I went out and bought cherry blossom air fresheners for the duplex after I moved in, so the place would smell like you. Then, I couldn’t fuckin’ sleep without you, so I bought some of that body spray you use and sprayed it on a spare pillow. I slept curled up with that thing every damned night, like a little kid with a fuckin’ teddy bear.”
She laughed through her tears as she added a confession of her own. “Or like a grown woman hugging the hoodie that her ex-husband left behind.”
“I knew it was your favorite, and I didn’t want you to get cold,” I whispered into her ear as I pulled her close again. She laid her head on my chest, and I draped her legs over my lap so she could get comfortable.
“Maybe we could just snuggle with each other for a little while, instead of pillows and hoodies?” I asked hopefully.
“I’d like that.”
So, that’s what we did. We sat there on the couch, curled up together, neither of us saying a word. I breathed in the scent of her as I felt my body relax. After about ten minutes or so, I could tell Abby had fallen asleep on me. I stayed completely still, not wanting to disturb her as I soaked up the feeling of having my wife in my arms again. It didn’t take long at all for my own exhaustion to overtake me, and neither of us woke up until Ethan came bursting in through the front door in his usual fashion, with my brother on his heels, and Molly trailing after both of them, carrying Everly.
Chapter 28
Abby
“Mommy, we’re home!”
I awoke with a start, confused for a second by the arms that were wrapped around me, holding me close to a warm body that I recognized by the faint scent of leather and the traces of sandalwood from his cologne. I sat up as Caleb loosened his hold on me, then I swung my legs off his lap so that I could stand up.
Ethan launched himself at me, and I hugged him tightly.
“I missed you, sweet boy,” I whispered as he planted a smacking kiss on my cheek.
“I missed you, too, Mommy.”
“Hey, bud, did you behave for Aunt Molly and Uncle Jag?” Ethan rolled his eyes at Caleb’s question, looking so much like his daddy that I had to hide a laugh.
“I always behave,” he responded indignantly.
“I think the better question is did Mommy and Daddy behave themselves?” I could tell Jagger had a shit-eating grin on his face before I even looked at him.
“Cole!” Molly hissed at him as she handed Everly over to me and set the diaper bag on the coffee table. My sweet baby gave me a gummy, drooling smile as she pulled on my hair hard enough to make me wince. Jagger just gave his wife an innocent look, which he couldn’t quite pull off, and she rolled her eyes at him before grinning.
“Easy there, sweet pea, you’re gonna hurt your mommy,” Caleb crooned to her as he tried to ease her grip on my hair.
She stuffed her fingers in her mouth as she looked up at him with wide eyes. She flung out her rather soggy hand in his direction and he grabbed it and pretended to nibble on her fingers.
“Nom, nom, nom,” he said, the exaggerated chewing noises making her squeal and kick her feet.
“So, what’s going on here?” Jagger asked, sweeping his arm back and forth between me, Caleb, and the couch.
“Well, we were sleeping, until you got here,” Caleb told him grumpily, then flipped him off over the top of Ethan’s head.
“I’m sorry if we interrupted,” Molly said softly as she greeted me with a hug. “Are you doing OK?”
I nodded. “We’re working on it.”
She squeezed my hand and gave me a big smile, which I couldn’t help but return.
“Hey, Abs. How’s my favorite sister?”
