the assurances I had received that you were okay. I hated I wasn’t there myself to make sure no one harmed you. It drove me crazy to have to step aside and let someone else take my place. I vowed once I was able to come home, I would do everything I could to return to where I belonged…by your side.”
“What else?” I whispered, my throat heavy with the emotion I felt from his words.
“Your love, Mackenzie. I no longer felt it and I hated myself for squandering the most precious gift anyone could give another person… Their love. I didn’t deserve your love then, and I’m not sure I deserve it now, but I promise you…” He grabbed my hand in his, his tone sincere, his eyes fierce. “I will do everything in my power to make you believe in me, in my love for you. This is so real for me, and I will spend every day from now until I’m old and gray proving it to you.”
“Tyler…,” I quivered, struggling to fight back my tears from his impassioned plea. “You broke my heart.”
“I know and–”
“But,” I interrupted, holding my hand up, “over the past few days, you’ve slowly put all the pieces back together. Even after all the heartache and tears, I will still choose you each and every time. It’s not even a choice for me. Our course was charted, even though the path was one of deception and lies. But through those lies, I found my truth. You’re my truth. That’s all I need.” It made no sense that I should be sitting here with him after everything he put me through, especially so soon, but what we had was so much bigger, so much stronger. I felt it from the very beginning. And I still felt it now.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” he said, breaking the tension between us. “Eli was getting tired of having to spoon with me.”
I laughed just as a server approached our table with two plates, placing them down in front of us. There were three small portions of some sort of meat topped with a gourmet vegetable salsa, a hint of dark gravy drawn in a whimsical pattern on the outskirts of the plate. I had no idea what it was, but it looked delicious. “Roasted duck with leek and fennel salsa, sir.” She retreated, leaving us to enjoy our appetizer.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had duck before,” I commented, picking up my fork and cutting into it.
“Well, I know you like seafood, but I did my research and found out you’re limited to how much and what kind of fish you can have when you’re pregnant.”
I glanced at him, surprised. “You did research?”
“Of course. I have to admit, I have no idea how you appear so calm about this. If I were a few months away from squeezing a bowling ball through a tiny straw, I’d be shitting bricks.”
“That’s not even the worst part.”
“Then, by all means, tell me what could possibly be worse than that!”
“Are you sure you want to know?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Of course. I’m in this with you, Mackenzie. I want to know everything. I missed the first four months and I plan on making up for that, even if it means running to the store in the middle of the night to get you watermelon and pickles.”
“Watermelon and pickles?”
“Don’t you have weird cravings?”
“Sometimes,” I admitted, taking another bite of the duck. It was absolutely decadent, the texture almost melting in my mouth.
“Like what?”
“Hmmm…” I placed my fork on the table, trying to recall some of my weird cravings over the past few weeks. “Okay, here’s one I hate to admit.” He stared at me. “Spray cheese.”
“Really?” He chuckled.
“Yeah. I always thought the stuff was absolutely revolting, but I was going through Brayden’s cabinets one day and found some. I have no idea why he even had any, considering I’m pretty sure possessing that violates some gay code of ethics. But, dammit, that stuff was heaven in an aerosol can.”
“And here I am trying to impress you with duck.”
“Yeah,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “I’m a cheap date.”
“Mackenzie, mi cariño, there is absolutely nothing cheap about you. And that’s why I love being around you, even if you eat spray cheese.”
We shared a look, the longing in his eyes causing my stomach to do somersaults. No man had ever gazed at me with the admiration and yearning Tyler did, and I doubted whether