“She was so young,” he said sadly. “It’s hard to believe so much time has passed. I wonder how her parents are doing.”
“I visit them when I’m home. They’ve never been the same, but I don’t think anyone who knew Tory was ever the same after she was gone.”
“Yeah,” he said, sounding choked up. “You should hang that up, keep her spirit alive. We had a lot of fun with her and Beau.”
“You’re right. Those were really good times.” She reached into the box and pulled out a picture of her and Zev taken the night of the Maroon 5 concert. He was holding her from behind, kissing her cheek, and she was smiling from ear to ear, reaching over her shoulders and holding his face. She set the picture on his lap and said, “I’m definitely hanging this one up.”
“The concert. That was a fantastic night.”
“You just liked making out in the car afterward.”
“Damn right, I did. And as I remember, so did you.” He looked at the pictures they’d set aside to hang up and said, “I guess you need to buy some frames.”
“I stopped at the craft store on the way home. They had frames on sale, so I bought about twenty of them.”
“Great, let’s hang some of these up,” he said, pushing to his feet.
“You don’t mind? It’s our last night together. You sure you want to waste time putting up pictures?”
He helped her to her feet and held her against him. “It’s not our last night together. It’s our last night for now, and bringing our memories into your home is not wasting time. It’s honoring our relationship.”
“You always know just what to say.”
“No I don’t. Most of the time I’m just hoping I don’t mess things up. But some things come easily, like being honest with you. I want to be here with you, Carly, and it doesn’t matter if we’re making out, making love, or hanging pictures. I want you to have happy memories of us that make you feel good when I’m not here with you. Memories of going through these pictures and of the way we suck at doing normal adult things like sitting at a regular table.” He glanced at the coffee table and said, “You worked hard to make a special dinner, and we haven’t even finished it yet. Some guys would feel guilty about that, but I know that you know how much I appreciate your efforts and that this is who we are. We follow our hearts wherever they take us, and sometimes that means we forget to eat. Right now your heart needs pictures on the walls. Later, we’ll heat up dinner, and we’ll enjoy every last bite.”
She kissed the center of his chest and said, “See? I told you. You know just what to say to make me happy. Come on, let’s get the hammer and nails.”
“I’ll wield your hammer if you wield mine,” he said, following her into the dining room.
“Okay, Thor.” She pulled a pink-handled hammer out of the hutch, set it on the table, and began taking the frames she’d bought out of the shopping bags.
“It’s pink,” he said. “And tiny.”
“You said it, not me,” she said with a giggle, earning a scowl. “If you can’t handle the pink handle, maybe you can’t handle the girl who owns it.”
He pulled her into his arms and said, “There’s nothing about you I can’t handle, Carly Dylan, except maybe that smart mouth of yours.”
“But your massive hammer loves my smart mouth.” She wiggled out of his arms and said, “Come on, Thor. Let’s frame the pictures and see how well you bang nails. Then maybe later you can bang me.”
“Now who knows just what to say?”
She flashed a cheesy grin. “You’re lucky I’m not making you do it wearing nothing but a tool belt.”
“You think I’d complain?” He started to unbutton his jeans.
“I’m kidding!” She fell into his arms, laughing. “I love that you would do that for me.”
“I’d do anything for you, and to you.”
He squeezed her bottom and went to let Bandit out to play in the fenced backyard, leaving her to mull over all the naughty possibilities.
“I’ll be right there. I bought Bandit a few new chew toys. I’m just going to throw them outside for him.”
She watched him as she paired frames with pictures. When she’d been cooking dinner, she’d wondered how it would feel to have Zev in her home after all the years she’d spent denying