He turns to face me and takes hold of my hand. “I can’t do it, either. You’ve ruined me for anything other than being with you. I still have major concerns about bringing kids into this world and maybe leaving them far too soon, but I also heard what you said last night about them having a life because of me, even if I’m not there to enjoy it with them. That’s not nothing.”
“No, it isn’t. And our kids would be surrounded by a big loving family and men like my dad, my uncles, my brothers and friends like Jason and Austin. It wouldn’t be the same as having you, but they’d be okay. I’d make sure of it. And it would leave me and everyone who loves you with a piece of you here with us forever.”
“That’s true,” he says with a small smile. “I feel better about it when you remind me you wouldn’t be alone, and neither would they. They’d have my family, too, and speaking of them, you should have a text from my parents.”
“Really?”
He nods as he gets up to retrieve my phone from where I left it in the kitchen. He brings it back to the sofa and hands it to me.
Sure enough, there’s a text from a phone number I don’t recognize. I glance at Wyatt before I read it.
Hi Dee, this is Gary Blake, Wyatt’s dad. I’m here with my wife, and we wanted to apologize for the way we behaved last night. It’s not like us to be unwelcoming to our kids’ friends, especially one who’s as important as you are to Wyatt. We’re upset he’s moving and worried about him for reasons you can certainly understand. However, none of that is about you, and we hope you’ll forgive us for a dreadful first impression and give us another chance. We’re happy you and Wyatt have found each other and that he is getting to have this experience with you. He seems very happy, and we’re determined to be happy for him. Anyway, we’re sorry, and we hope to see you again soon. Gary and Dawn
“Wow, you must’ve given them one hell of a talking-to.”
He smiles, which makes his eyes twinkle. “My dad and I had a conversation.”
“Thank you for smoothing things over with them. I hate to get off to a bad start.”
“You didn’t. They did, and my dad sounded genuinely remorseful about it. I can’t promise there won’t be more bumps with them because they worry about me at extremely unhealthy levels. But he promised they’ll make a genuine effort to get to know you and to be part of this.”
“I suppose I can’t ask for anything more than that, and I understand they’re overprotective after what you all went through.”
“Overprotective isn’t a strong enough word to describe them. Again, I remind you my mom texted me when I was in Miami to make sure I was taking my antirejection meds.”
Although he’s seriously annoyed, I can’t help but laugh at that.
“It’s not funny!”
“It’s kinda funny.”
He shakes his head. “Not even a little funny.”
I pinch my fingers together. “A tiny bit.”
“Just don’t you get any ideas about making sure I take my meds.”
“I’ll refrain from nagging you about that as long as I’m allowed to nag you about everything else.”
“Nag away, baby.”
“So, we’re good?”
“We’re fantastic.”
“I want you to know I appreciate the way we dealt with this like two adults and didn’t turn it into a multiday nightmare that undermined all the good stuff.”
“Is that how it worked for you in the past?”
“Sometimes. Trust me, this is way better.” I glance at my phone. “Let me respond to them, so they know there’re no hard feelings.”
Thank you for your message. I appreciate it, and I hope you can visit us in Miami soon. I promise to do my best to make Wyatt happy and to take very good care of him. It means a lot to me that you reached out. Thank you again. Dee
I show it to him. “Is that good?”
“It’s lovely and more than they deserve after the way they acted.”
“They’re frightened parents, Wyatt. We can’t hold it against them. That could be us someday. You just never know what might happen.” Another thought occurs to me that I should’ve had before now. It’s so big it takes my breath away for a second. “The condition that led to the transplant. Is it hereditary?”
“No, it’s not. My issue was determined to be a rare birth defect that led to damage to my heart. My siblings and parents don’t have it, and there were no genetic links, either.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Indeed. If it were a hereditary thing, kids would’ve been a hard stop no matter what. I’d never want to subject a child to what I went through, but our kids will need screening. If they have a defect, we can correct it before it causes damage. The damage had already occurred when mine was discovered.”
“Would they need heart surgery if they have it?”
“Yes, but it’s a pretty basic procedure that would prevent a world of problems down the road.”
I swallow hard as I try to imagine my child having heart surgery.
“It bodes well for our kids that no one else in my family had the same issue, so we shouldn’t worry about that until we need to. Hopefully, we’ll never have to.” He tips my chin up so he can kiss me. “All good?”
“All good.”
“Now about this dinner you made. It smells fantastic, and I’m starving.”
“Then let’s eat.”
Hours later, I’m lying in Wyatt’s arms, watching him sleep and marveling at how much my life has changed in a few short weeks. My one-night stand has become my once-in-a-lifetime, and I couldn’t be happier to know we get to be together from now on, for as long as we can. Maybe it’ll only be a short time. If it is, I’ll be thankful forever that I knew him and was loved by him.
Giving your heart into someone else’s care isn’t something any of us should do lightly. It’s a big deal to give someone the power to hurt you. I learned that lesson the hard way, but I already know I’ll never have to worry about Wyatt wanting someone other than me. He’s sowed those so-called wild oats with his history of fleeting encounters with women. We’re both ready for something more lasting.
“What’re you staring at?” he says in a low grumble.
“You.”
“Do I have something on my face?”
“Yep, a whole lot of handsome.”
The side of his face that I can see lifts into a smile. “You need to sleep. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to sleep. I want to look at you.”
His eyes open, and he draws me in closer to him, our bodies intertwining as if we’ve been doing this for years. “You’ve got a little line between your brows. Right… here.” He leans in to kiss the spot. “What’s that about?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Are you scared, sweetheart?”
“Of what?”
“Of all the unknowns and what-ifs?”
“Maybe a little, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”