I wanted to cook her dinner. I wanted to make her coffee every morning and wake her up with a kiss. I wanted to open the windows and blinds in the mornings so she woke to a cheery room while she sipped her coffee.
I wanted to buy her favorite snack when I was out running errands and surprise her when I pulled it out of the grocery bag. I wanted to learn her favorite flavors of ice cream and her least favorite chips so I never made the mistake of buying them. I wanted to kiss her salty lips after eating popcorn and watching a shitty rom-com simply because she wanted to see it. I wanted to use the same cheesy lines from the movie on her as I carried her to bed and laid her down.
I wanted to worship every inch of her body every fucking day until I was too old to get in and out of bed on my own. By that point, I wanted to sit on a front porch with her in our rocking chairs we could hardly get out of, holding hands while we sipped earl gray tea and told each other stories neither of us could hear because our hearing aids would be turned off and we hadn’t noticed.
Yes, that’s what I want.
Katie came to join me on my side of the tub and settled between my legs with her back to me. She leaned back, falling right into the place she belonged against my chest. She sank low so I could rest my chin on her head, and she pulled my hands out of the water so she could wrap my arms around her shoulders.
“I could stay here with you forever,” she whispered.
I kissed her wet hair. “Me too.”
She craned her neck back to peer up at me. From this angle, her eyes looked huge, and her breasts poked out of the water. “But I’m looking forward to going back to the island.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
“Do you think your dad remembers we’re coming back tonight?”
“I think the better question is does my brother remember we’re picking him up in two hours,” I said.
She giggled. “Fair point. We should probably get ready. I want to shower and wash my face and get changed.”
“Five more minutes.”
She settled back against me. “Deal.”
Katie sat in the passenger seat of my rental car with paper bags full of takeout on her lap. There was a plastic bag with our drinks inside, including a bottle of red wine that she’d insisted on bringing for my dad. Apparently, a steak dinner wasn’t complete without a glass of cabernet. She’d brought wine glasses from the hotel room as well, which I suspected was a big no-no but she didn’t seem all that worried about it.
Mike was in the back seat sniffing the air like a bloodhound. “What you got in those bags that smells so good?”
Katie kept her fingers pinched on the paper bag to keep the heat in as we turned around the corner and headed for the parking lot of my father’s care home. “Four tenderloins all cooked per our preferences, mashed potatoes, a side of peppercorn sauce, and some vegetables.” She twisted around to look over her shoulder at him. “I know your dad doesn’t like his greens but I brought some anyway. Asparagus, broccoli, and zucchini. And some carrots in case he wants those instead.”
“Where’d you guys get all this stuff?” Mike asked.
“The hotel we’re staying at,” Katie said. “We ordered room service and had them leave it packed up for us.”
“Katie’s a genius,” I said, meeting my brother’s eye in the rearview mirror.
I couldn’t believe I’d been nervous to come back out to LA and see my family—or introduce them to Katie. She was blowing them away with her big heart, just like she had me. Somehow, she was pulling us all back together after years of strain and grief. Somehow, I would have to find a way to thank her for this.
I pulled into a parking space and we all piled out of the car. I took the takeout bags out of Katie’s hands as we made our way to the front doors.
Tiff was still working behind the desk. She beamed when she saw us come in and her big brown eyes slid to the bags in my hands. “What have you three got there?”
“We brought my dad dinner,” I said. “I hope that’s all right.”