"Youknowwhat."
But before I could respond, he said, "Wait. Let me say it right." He lowered his head and brushed his lips against my forehead. "Melody?"
"Hmmm?"
"I love you."
I melted against him. "I love you, too."
His arms closed tighter around me. "You bet your ass you do."
I burst out laughing. "Well, aren't you the cocky one?"
"Nah. I just know a good thing when I see it." His voice grew quiet again. "You're my good luck charm, you know that?"
It was a nice sentiment, but he was giving me far too much credit. My own voice grew quieter, too. "No. It's all you."
I felt his hands in my hair and his lips on my forehead. "Sorry, but you're wrong. Before you? My life was shit."
"Oh come on," I said. "There had to be good things, too."
"Maybe. But they all ended the same way."
"How?"
He gave a humorless laugh. "In flames." He pulled back. "And as far as your question…"
"What question?"
"About guests," he said. "There's only one I want." He grinned down at me. "The rest can piss off."
I couldn't help it. A giggle escaped my lips. "Oh yeah?"
"Damn straight." His gaze warmed. "Because I don't want anyone here but you."
I felt my gaze shift to the floor below us. In the guest house there was a bed. And it was freshly made with clean sheets.
When I looked back to Joel, he was still smiling. "What?" he said. "You want me to prove it?"
I did, in fact.
A minute later, we fell, laughing, onto the double bed in the guest house. Something in Joel had changed. I could see it in his eyes, and I could feel it in his touch.
We were still fully clothed – me in shorts and a thin tank-top, and him in his tattered jeans and white T-shirt, with all those streaks of dust.
Maybe I should've cared. I had, after all, just washed the comforter.
But I didn't care. I couldn’t, especially when he trailed his fingers along the side of my face and whispered so sweetly, "I love you."
I wanted to burst with joy. "I love you, too."
I didn't care how many times we said it, it would never be enough. We were laying side-by-side in the quiet room, simply gazing into each other's eyes.
It felt like one of those moments, a scene from a dream, where everything stands still, like a still image, to be remembered always. I heard myself say, "I can't imagine life without you."
He smiled. "Good, because I'm not going anywhere."
I smiled back, wanting to savor this moment, along with the certain knowledge that this was the guy I wanted forever, and the way it sounded, he felt the same way.
