I felt tears pressing at the backs of my eyes, and I sniffled a little.
“This is what you did to me,” he said softly. “You showed up in my life, and I thought it would be something small, but then every time I turned around you were there—on my phone, in my thoughts, in my dreams.” He reached out and took my hand. “And in my heart.”
I gave him a weepy smile.
“You’re a part of me, now and always,” he told me, reaching out and wiping the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. “And I love you.”
I grabbed him, half twisting and sitting up to kiss him, pulling his lips to mine. “I love you,” I whispered against his lips. “So much.”
He pressed our foreheads together. “Stay,” he whispered.
“As long as you want,” I promised.
When he spoke again, it was a breath, a sigh, a promise in return. “Forever.”
