Page 54 of You & I, Rewritten

“I’ve never believed in fate or in happily ever after’s…or at least I didn’t until you came along, Will.” His voice is soft as he cups my face. “But loving you and knowing you love me back has fundamentally changed me. It’s like being seen for the first ever…like I am free of the man I thought I needed to be and Ifinallyget to be who I’ve always wanted to be - happy, spontaneous and so hopelessly in love with the man of my dreams.”

Graham leans forward, gently bringing his lips to mine once more, a whisper of a kiss but full of so much love and tenderness my heart might explode.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that I struggle connecting with people.” I don’t have the heart to make a joke about that being an understatement. “But you came barreling into my world out of nowhere, forcing me to see and feel things differently than I ever have before. You, Klair and even Dean…you all have made me feelwholein a way that has never made sense to me. In the books that we publish, the idea of found family and meeting your person never really resonated with me…until you.”

I’m his person - his words and the emotion behind them make me visibly sag against him. “Oh baby, I’ve known from our very first kiss that I was a goner. What we have…” I say, my lips now pressed against his neck.“…it’s the kind of love I’ve been silently praying was in the cards for me. The kind of love I’ll never stop being thankful for.”

Graham kisses my temple, wrapping me tighter in his arms and begins to sway ever so slightly to the peaceful sounds of the water tanks surrounding us.

“You had the audacity to come rushing into my life with your big and beautiful feelings, Will Cowen, and you decided that I was worthy - worthy of your time and your heart.” Graham places his large hand across my chest, his warmth flowing straight to my core in a moment I know will be ingrained in my mind forever.

“And if I have any say in the matter, I hope to be worthy of every second of your always.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

“Mmm…wheredo you think you’re going,guapo?” Graham wraps his arms around me, pulling me tighter to his chest, kissing my shoulder and nuzzling deeper against me. I will never get sick of hearing him call me handsome in Spanish. His warmth envelopes me, creating the coziest of cocoons, but Ireallyhave to pee.

“I’ll be right back,” I say, extracting myself from his deliciously naked body, which he responds to with the cutest sounds of objection. I hear the buzz of one of our phones vibrating on the nightstand as I head to the bathroom.It’s probably nothing.

Last night was everything I could have ever hoped it to be. My lips and skin are still tingling from the trails of kisses Graham left as we made love, slowly and intentionally.He loves me.His words play over and over in my head…words I’ve been waiting my whole life to hear, and now that I have, I know I’ll never be the same. The moment Graham told me he loved me, something shifted. He wishes for a forever with me and while that scares the hell out of me, spending the rest of my life with Graham, and now knowing the depth of his love for me, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.

I pad back to the bed, eager to be in Graham’s arms. We have zero plans this weekend, and if I have anything to say about it, we will not be leaving this bed.

“Your phone keeps ringing, babe,” Graham groans, throwing an arm over his head. He’s usually such a morning person, butsomeonehad a little too much wine last night.

I reach over, grabbing my phone.Holy shit.Thirteen missed calls from the same number? A slight panic begins to creep in.

“Does this number sound familiar to you?” I ask him, repeating the number. “They called me a bunch of times.”

He shakes his head. “Just call it back.”

At that precise moment, my phone vibrates in my hand, signaling another incoming call from that same number.

“Hello?” I quietly answer, unsure of who is going to be on the other end.

“Good morning, I’m trying to get a hold of William Cowen,” a rushed voice says, her tone soft but laced with urgency.

I swallow. “Yeah, this is him.”

“Mr. Cowen, my name is Anne, I’m an ER nurse at New York Memorial Hospital. We’ve been trying to contact you this morning regarding your father who was recently admitted…”

Dad’s hurt. Admitted?I don’t…what? I’m not sure I’m hearing her correctly.

I sit on the edge of the bed, feeling woozy. I look back at Graham, who must have sensed a change in my body language, and see he’s now sitting up, his naked torso on display.

What’s wrong, he mouths.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Is my mom with him? Can I talk to her?” Surely, she would have called me.

“No…your father came in alone.” I can hear a commotion in the background, Anne’s focus is pulled. “Mr. Cowen, it’s imperative that you come to the hospital as soon as possible. As his next of kin, there are forms that need to be signed and medical decisions to be made.”

I am so confused. My mom and dadneverdo anything without the other. Utter fear rushes through my veins. “Is everything okay with my mom? I don’t understand why she isn’t with him.” My voice is trembling, and I can feel myself beginning to shake. Graham places a hand on my back.

“Hold on,” Anne says. I can hear the clicks of her keyboard. “No, we don’t have any record of your mother. Just to confirm…Scott Russell is your father, right? You’re listed as his next of kin.”

My heart stops.ScottRussell. My father, Scott Russell. He’s in the hospital.But for what? Did she even say?How did he get my phone number?

I let out the breath I’d been holding since I picked up her call.Thank God.

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