Page 174 of Seasons of Love
He’s no longer crying, but he’s retreated inside his mind. I can give him time to figure out his feelings, but there’s nothing in the rule book that says I can’t take care of him, so I wash his hair and clean his body.
Somehow, Ellis Bradford wants to love me but thinks he can’t. Does he realize he probably loved me before tonight?
All the small things he’s done for my daughter and me. That’s his love language. Taking care of people. From his students to his family and now me, Sara, and to an extent, Florrie.
I dry myself quickly, use the same towel on him, and then take him to bed.
There’s no point bothering with clothes. I want to feel him against me all night.
My first full night with the man I love.
“I love you,” he says, whispering in the dark.
“You won’t believe me if I tell you I love you too, will you?”
He lets out a choked laugh. “Probably not.”
“Then I’ll just have to show you.”
“Okay.”
“Sleep, my love.”
I hold him close and wait until he’s asleep to let my own emotions out.
I look up at the ceiling. “Thank you, Mom.”
I wake to the sound of my phone ringing, and it takes me a moment to realize where I am.
Ellis’s arm is around me, and he’s sleeping so soundly that I don’t want to wake him up, but it could be Florrie. I carefully move his arm and grab the phone from my jeans pocket.
The ringing stops by the time I get to it. I don’t have a chance to see who was calling before I’m grabbed from behind and carried back to bed.
“Who said you could get up?” Ellis asks, yawning and cuddling up to me again.
I chuckle. “You were sleeping.”
“I fail to see your point.”
He kisses me, and I forget about everything until the phone rings again.
“It’s Florrie.”
He smiles and runs his hand over my chest as I answer the call.
“Hey, Florrie. Is everything okay?”
“Good morning, sweetie. I hope I didn’t wake you up. I waited as long as I could.”
I sit up.
“What’s up? Is Sara okay?”
“Yes, yes, she’s okay. She slept all night and just had breakfast.”
I look around for a clock and see it on the other side table. It’s after nine in the morning. I must have been a kid the last time I slept this late.
“Okay, then what’s up? You’ve got me worried.”
