in twenty. This was followed by a kissing face emoji.
He was running late, but it didn’t make me mad in the slightest. Patrick’s bandages had remained over his eyes for a few days longer than we’d anticipated. Now that they were off, there was no stopping him from enjoying every last thing that he could see.
First stop had been to the car dealership where he’d picked up a brand-new Jaguar convertible. I’d encouraged him to take it easy, of course, to not jump right into risky behavior. But he refused to listen – he wanted to live.
I turned my attention back to the stove, some top forty playing on Alexa as I glanced over at one pan, then the other. I was cooking eggplant parmesan for me, chicken for him. I hadn’t eaten a bite of meat in years, but I had to admit Patrick’s smelled pretty darn good.
As I cooked, my stomach tightened with the combination of worry and excitement that had been brewing in me since I’d decided today was the day I’d tell Patrick he was going to be a dad. I still wasn’t sure how he was going to react but considering how high on life he’d been since getting those bandages off, I had a good feeling about his reaction.
The twenty minutes flew by, and before too long a knock sounded at the front door. I turned down the music and hurried over, so excited I worried I might trip over my own feet. When I reached the door, I threw it open, eager as hell to see the man who more and more I’d begun to think might be the love of my life.
And damn, did he look good. Patrick was dressed in dark jeans and a black Henley, a rugged leather jacket on over top. But the accessory I was most interested in were the black Lucite glasses he wore.
“Evenin’, beautiful.” He swooped in for a long, deep kiss to greet me.
I didn’t want to let him go. He felt so good, tasted so good, that nothing else mattered in that moment but him and his touch.
When the kiss finally ended, I turned my attention to his glasses. “Have I told you how good those look on you.”
He chuckled as he stepped into my condo. Though, truth be told, with as much time as he’d been spending over, it was quickly becoming our condo. And if that were the case, we’d have to start looking at new places before too long. I couldn’t wait to see what life would bring us over the next few months, the next few years.
I brought my mind back to the present. After all, I had some big news to break.
“Don’t get too attached to them,” he said with his usual cocky smile. “As soon as I can, I’m gettin’ contacts.”
“Aw, but they’re so darn cute. They make you look just the right amount of nerdy.”
He cocked his head to the side, sniffing the air. “Is that…meat I smell?” Patrick hurried to the stove and saw what was on the burners. “Lola, my love, you’re too good to me.”
“Don’t I know it,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Figured I’d give you a break from the tofu.”
He turned around in my arms and kissed me. “I’d eat bean curd for every meal of my life if that meant I’d be with you, gorgeous.”
“You’re such a freaking smooth-talker.”
He didn’t have any words to say to that. He kissed me, his mouth opening and his tongue finding mine. I fell into the kiss, forgetting about dinner and the triplets and everything else.
The triplets. The moment they came to mind, I focused on the matter at hand – all three matters.
“Anyway,” he said. “I was thinking my first day back behind the wheel was a cause for celebration.” He opened the fridge and stuck his head inside, rooting around. “So that’s why I got this.” He pulled a bottle of champagne out, holding it in front of me. “What do you say – a little bubbly to mark the occasion?”
My eyes locked on the bottle of booze – the bottle I couldn’t drink from – and I realized it was as good of a time as any. I turned back to the two meals on the stove and turned the temperatures down to simmer, my stomach tightening into a knot.
“Come over and sit down with me,” I said.
“You wanna talk? Whatever the subject, I’m sure some fizzy wine would