“Duck, I love you. I’ve never had a week like this. I haven’t laughed this much in my entire life. I’ve been wearing a smile every day since we got together.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “That’s the sex, baby.”
Again, how could I not love her?
“You make me happy, Duck, so I want you to marry me. Will you marry me?”
“You’re crazy.”
Not exactly the response I was looking for.
“So that’s a no?” I ask, not even trying to hide how hurt I am right now.
She shakes her head and sighs. “I think I must be crazy, but I love you too, Marius. Yes, I will marry you.”
I stand up feeling like the king of the world. Pulling her up off the sofa, I take her in my arms and kiss her. I’ve never wanted to marry any of the women I’ve dated. I don’t know what it is about this one, but I’m enchanted by her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.
“So we’re getting married. You can wear that white dress.”
Eden leans away from me and smiles. “It sounds like you have this all figured out.”
I wish that was the case, but I’m pretty much flying blind here. All I know is when this week ends, I don’t want to live without my Duck.
Remembering that day makes me smile. I’ve never regretted for even a single moment marrying my wife. I know it doesn’t seem that way, but I don’t and never have. I’m not sure we have the perfect love you read about in books and see in movies. I don’t care if we do. What I know is I love her and she loves me.
Now to figure out how to show her that so she sees I’d be lost without her.
By the timeI get back to the house, I’m still unsure how I’m going to prove my love. Matthias is sitting in the kitchen with Matty asleep in his arms, and my brother looks like he’s about to pass out too.
When I sit down at the table, he straightens up and looks around like he expects Ava to walk through the door any minute. The baby remains fast asleep, thankfully.
“Hey, what happened?” Matthias whispers sleepily. “Did you get the girl?” he jokes.
I’d be pissed if he didn’t sound exactly like I would in this very instance. “I will. Not to worry. What’s going on here?” I ask, pointing at his younger son.
He looks down and smiles at his namesake. “Lynn has Theo upstairs, but this little guy was making it impossible for his big brother to sleep, so I brought him down here.”
“Have you guys considered the idea that they need two separate rooms?” I ask, wondering why with all the bedrooms in this house they haven’t tried that solution to the no-sleeping problem plaguing them.
Matthias blows the air out of his lungs and shrugs. “We wanted to keep them together like Mom and Dad did with Theo and me.”
Ah, that explains it. My brother isn’t remembering the past as clearly as he thinks.
“Dude, Mom and Dad didn’t put you guys into a room together until I came along. Dad used to talk about how they had all these rooms, but he thought young boys should share a room. You two had separate nurseries, and when I was born, I went into yours and you and Theo were moved into his room to share.”
My brother stares at me for a long moment and then shakes his head. “Holy shit! You’re right. We’ve been torturingourselves the whole time for something that never happened. I have to tell Ava this little guy needs to move into my old room.”
“Sounds good. Hey, how is Eleanor tonight? I feel like with everything that’s been happening that I haven’t been paying enough attention to her.”
Finally, my brother has something to smile about. “She’s good. It’s been impossible trying to keep her from cooking, but she promised she won’t overexert herself. Her doctor has her on some new medication, and he’s happy with the way things are working out so far. He still wants her to relax, so I’m thinking about hiring a cook.”
I shake my head, unhappy with that idea and sure Eleanor will hate it too. “Matthias, you can’t take that away from her. Eleanor loves to cook. You bring someone new in, and she’s going to be crushed. Don’t do it. If she needs to take it easy for more time, then I’ll help in any way I can and I’m sure Ronan and Kellen feel the same way. Just don’t take that away from her.”
All the while I’m speaking, he nods his head, and I see his expression grow sad. “I should have realized that. What the hell is wrong with me?”
With a smile, I point to the ten pound bundle of joy wearing a blue sleeper with a dump truck on his belly. “You’re running on too little sleep, man. Get that kid into your old bedroom and stat!”
“You know that room is close to the room you stay in.”
