Page 100 of Hold You Close

She is so attached to him, it’s beautiful to see. He pulls her up and kisses her forehead. “I’m silly, huh?”

“Yes, because boys are funny. I’m going to be a princess and have a prince just like you.”

“You think I’m a prince?”

Oh, he’s a prince all right.

“Yup.” Ruby squeezes him tight.

“Well, you’re definitely a princess.”

I smile watching them. She seems to calm him a little, and then he leans against the counter by me.

My hip bumps his. “You know you’re really sweet when you’re not a raging lunatic.”

He laughs. “You always know what to say to make me feel better.”

“I love you, Ian. Even when you’re a little off your rocker.”

“I love you, London. Even when you’re a colossal pain in my . . .”

“Mouth!” I say before he gets it out.

Ruby told the teacher to “kiss her ass” this week. That was a fun phone call, which my husband laughed hysterically over. After two nights of him being in the doghouse, he agreed to curb his language.

“I know, I was going to say tushy,” he lies and then puts Ruby down.

“Right.”

“Well, I could’ve.”

I laugh as Ruby runs back to start that damn movie over again.

“But that wouldn’t make you—you,” I tell him, and then move over to place Brina in her swing.

“And you love the me I am.”

“For some crazy reason,” I say over my shoulder.

I get her settled and walk back over to him. His arms wrap around my middle and I touch his cheek.

His lips meet mine and I melt into him. We kiss and stay in this little cocoon for a few minutes. I love that he’s so openly affectionate with me. He and I haven’t talked about it, but he grew up in a house where his father loved his mother. They never hid it. I remember thinking how special it was, and how much I wished I had grown up that way. Sabrina always thought it was weird and gross, but because it wasn’t something I saw daily, I marveled at it.

Now, showing our kids the same level of love is important to me.

There’s no doubting we love each other beyond what I ever knew I was capable of. He’s the other half of my heart. Without him, I didn’t know I was missing anything. I thought I had a great life, but now, my life is exceptional.

In his arms, I’m safe, loved, and respected.

We’ll have ups and downs. There’ll be times when things will feel as though they’re falling apart, but we can weather those storms because we are meant for one another.

He wipes the tears that trickle down my face. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m just so happy.”

“I am too. You make me this way.”

I smile and drop my head to his chest. “Thank you,” I tell him.

Ian hooks his finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him. “For?”

“Fighting for me.”

“I will always fight for you, London. Even when you pull away, I’ll hold you close, because this is where you belong—with me.”

“Always?”

He smiles. “Always.”