Pieces of Us (Missing Pieces #3) - N.R. Walker Page 0,24

and downs. But you and me, we got this. We found each other years ago, and when the universe tried to pull us apart with the accident, we found each other again.”

He got a little teary again, but he still smiled. “I love you so much,” he whispered.

I kissed him softly. “I know.”

Chapter Six

Juss was adamant about going out to the pub with the guys. After our talk about the possibility of him getting dementia when he was older, we’d had dinner and spent the night snuggled up on the couch with Juss as the little spoon. I’d watched the footy, but Juss rolled over and faced me, snuggled into my chest for most of the game. He dozed on and off, but clearly, his day of anguish had taken its toll.

We’d gone to bed after that and he’d slept right through, so he’d woken up feeling better. I mean, he was still his usual grouchy-morning self, but he was feeling less insecure about his future.

Which was why he was adamant we go out with the guys. He wanted to enjoy all that he could now. Like I’d said last night, we should make the most of every minute of every day, and going out and being sociable, even for a little while, gave him a real sense of normalcy. So after breakfast and showers, we went downstairs to get some odds and ends done in the office, and overall it was a productive morning, without overdoing it. Juss even wanted to go back upstairs and rest for a bit before we went so he wouldn’t be too tired.

“Because it’s what we do now,” he said with a fond smile and a roll of his eyes.

I grinned at him using my words against me. “It sure is.”

So while he dozed off for a bit, I got some laundry done and cleaned the bathroom, doing all that boring housework stuff that needed doing. I didn’t mind doing it all now because I had every intention of coming home when we left the pub and spending the entire night as the big spoon on the couch again.

I wanted to do that every night for the rest of my life.

Just me and Juss, forever.

I refused to believe that he’d end up with dementia or some other degenerative disease. Okay, so maybe not refused to believe. Because I did believe that shit was possible. But I refused to live in fear of it. I didn’t want it to rob us of now, with worry and fear. I didn’t want him stressing over something that was possibly decades away.

This whole thing had taught me to appreciate every second of now.

I thought he might have a change of heart as we were getting ready to go, but if anything, he was more excited. He even put on a pair of jeans for the first time since his accident. I had to help him get his foot through the leg hole, but he smiled when he got them done up. “Feel fancy,” he said as he buttoned up his shirt. “Been a while since I wore anything but trackies and work pants.”

I looked at his reflection. “You look great.”

He smiled back at me. “So do you. I’ve seen photos of you all dressed up, but I’ve never seen you . . . I mean, I don’t remember it.”

Jeans and a button-down shirt were hardly dressed up, but I guess to him it was when the only outfits he could remember were tracksuits and dirty work clothes. “My jeans are feeling a little tight, not gonna lie.”

I turned to check out my backside in the mirror and was reminded of all the running I hadn’t done in the last three months. Justin looked down at my legs and raked his eyes up my body. “Yeah, no. I reckon you fill them out just right.”

I laughed and gave him a quick kiss before I pulled on my boots, helped Juss with his, and grabbed our coats. I took the cane, which lived behind the front door, and Juss sighed but didn’t say anything. Squish was curled up on Juss’ blanket on the couch, so we left him in charge and made our way to the pub.

It was a quick drive, though when we got there, the car park was almost full and the walk to the pub was uneven. I handed him the walking cane, and he took it with a roll of his eyes. “I hate this,” he