Page 195 of Defend Me

“Jesus. That’s, uh, sweet and all, but a little dark.”

“No, it’s just sweet.”

“Whatever you say. Now that we’ve done all of that, will you finally leave your fucking dorm? You haven’t slept there in two months.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I loved the hell out of him, but that didn’t mean moving in with him wasn’t a terrifying idea. Six months wasn’t all that long when I thought about it. He was right, though. It was a waste of money to keep the dorm and I wasn’t going to sleep in that twin bed, even if my life depended on it.

“My dad is gonna kill me,” I noted, glancing toward the bank. I’d never seen Noah look so casual and it was kind of funny.

“Your dad loves me. And if he says anything, Miranda will give him that look.”

“Can I have the spare room?”

His eyes narrowed. “Never. I’ll booby trap it so you can’t even go in there.”

“Whatever. I guess I’ll deal with you every day because I love you.”

“Finally. Let’s go see Galadriel.”

“Pretty sure that cow already has a name.”

“Yeah, it’s Galadriel. I asked Mrs. Murray.”

“Really?”

He shot me a smile. “I’m not antisocial, baby.”

“Maybe that’s why we work so well together.”

Slinging his arm around my shoulders, he kissed my temple. “We fit because we see each other. Somewhere along the way, I learned that it was okay to be afraid. When I told you that I was choosing to be afraid to lose you, I also meant I was choosing to run toward you instead of away from you. My pain is your pain. Your happiness is my happiness.”

“It’s me and you,” I said softly.

“Damn right, it is. All because you posted a really sexy selfie on Instagram.”

“Isn’t it because you pissed Dean off at the airport, so he called me and you saw my contact picture?”

“No, we’re not crediting Dean for any of this.”

“Maybe he’ll be one of my groomsmen.” As soon as I said it, I ducked my head. “I mean…”

“Don’t you dare take that back. I’ll tolerate Dean if it means you want that kind of future. Never change, baby. Never.”

When he saw his favorite cow, he grinned at me and took off. I followed, not in the mood to run. Watching him do something as simple as petting a cow with a smile on his face was enough to make me perfectly happy with our life and, more importantly, our future.

Ourfuture. Together.

Chapter 52

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights; you are one of the lights, the light of all lights."

Brooks

4 years later

Where the first couple got hitched

I shook my head as I drained my champagne flute. “They are so ridiculous.”

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