My heart felt too big for my chest, pounding against myribs, desperate for release. To fill the room, to expand to its full potential.
“And then, there’s your underwear.”
His chuckle thundered in time with my restricted heart.“Oh, nowyadon’t like my underwear?”
“Boxers make you look like a kid. I don’t like it.”
“Boxer briefs, it is.”
“And I know I told you I wasn’t sure if I wanted kids, butover the years, I changed my mind.”
“Meghan would love a brother or sister.”
“And one more thing.”
He laughed, kissing my neck. “Christ, remember when I saidI loved that you never wanted to change anything about me?”
I shook my head. “Shut up. Just one more thing.”
“Fine, shoot.”
“Kinsey Kinney sounds reallyfreakin’stupid.”
He laughed again, wrapping an arm around my waist and heldtight. He wasn’t letting go. “We’ll see about that.”
Patrickinney. Thatgoddamn peanut butter.
“Say it,” he said.
I opened my mouth to sigh and surprised myself by howuncontrolled my breathing was. I shuddered, and a tear trickled over my cheekand onto the pillow beneath my head.
“I’m not falling in love with you.”
Patrick lifted his head. That smile. Those dimples. Thosegoddamn eyes.
I swallowed at all the love bubbling in my throat.
That Irish bastard.
We never had a choice, we never stood a chance. Our fateswere determined the moment I stepped over the invisible line between his frontlawn and mine. No amount of time and screwing up was going to keep theinevitable from happening, and I was done running away.
It only took one night. One night to stop fighting, onenight to ditch my stubborn ways. One night to hold on and never let go.
“Oh no?” He raised his eyebrows with an amused smirk.
I shook my head. “No.”
I held Patrick Kinney’s face in my hands, found that littleboy hidden in those eyes. The little boy that fell in love with my stupidpigtails and wrapped his pudgy arms around my neck.
“No,” I said, brushing my noseagainst his. “You can’t fall back in, if you never got out.”
EPILOGUE I |
New Songs & New Rings
We were engagedwhen we were thirty-two.
Patrick bought a new truck and some boxer briefs.
