Page 59 of Next to You

Friday Night Date

There was something I hadn’t said to her yet. Tonight would be the night I told her I loved her. I didn’t care that my feelings and intentions wouldn’t make sense to a lot of people when you considered the timeline of our relationship. She was all I cared about.

Lucy had blown my world open and filled it with everything I didn’t know I needed, and now I couldn’t live without her. I didn’t want to try.

There was no such thing astoo fastwhen you were in love. Love was the only thing that mattered. I knew that now.

Time didn’t matter.

Perception didn’t matter.

Shewas the only thing that mattered.

Lucy was rapidly becoming my best friend. She was funny, smart, clever, and completely weird. I adored every crazy thing that came out of her mouth.

We had spent every night together, at her or my place, and only separated when necessary for work. Our kids got along—mydog and her fish. They loved staring at each other through the glass of her aquarium.

We were in sync. Nothing was ever a discussion or a fight because we communicated our needs effortlessly. We naturally took turns cooking, cleaning up, and taking care of each other.

I knew it was because we were ready. We found what we had each been seeking and were beyond happy to have it. We’d fallen into a seamless rhythm as if we’d been together forever.

Tonight, I would tell her everything. How I felt about her, how much I needed her in my life, and that I was in love with her. She probably already knew, but words were almost as important as actions, and I hadn’t said them out loud yet.

She was at her house getting ready for the date I’d asked her out on before we left the cabin. And I was at the cabin doing the same. I was also here getting everything ready for our date.

I’d cleaned the place from top to bottom, decorating it with candles and flowers from the Misty Meadow Flower Shop in town. Then, I ordered Lucy’s favorites from The Honeybrook Inn’s restaurant—I had asked her grandmother what to get since we hadn’t eaten there together yet.

This night had to be perfect, and I’d done everything I could think of to make it so, including replacing the box of condoms in the bathroom.

I bent to stuff the paper bag into the cupboard, frowning when I saw that a bag with a note written on it was already in there.

Spencer,

Maybe I messed things up for you by not replacing these sooner.

But I will never ask, and you will never tell.

I’m sorry. Or not. I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.

We will never speak of this.

This never happened.

-Deacon

I dumped it on the counter.

Condoms.

I huffed a laugh, then put the boxes in the back, wadded up the bag, and tossed it in the trash.

After one last look in the mirror, I grabbed my keys and headed to my truck to pick Lucy up.

It was cold, but the skies were clear as I drove to her place.

I wouldn’t mind getting stuck up there with her again, though. My life made more sense when it was just the two of us.

As I pulled up, I saw her peeking through the curtains. When she spotted me, she closed them with a swish, and I smiled in anticipation.

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