Page 104 of Axe-identally Married
I wrapped my arms around him and put my head on his chest. “I’d be happy to make a night of it.”
The big boyish grin he gave me made my heart clench. Being the recipient of this smile was an honor. “You could wear something sexy. Maybe that green dress. You know, the one you wore to our wedding.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“That dress is way too fancy for the Moose. I normally wear jeans.”
“Not tonight. I’ll dress up too. I’ll wear a suit.”
“You can’t wear a suit to the Moose. You’ll be laughed out of Lovewell.”
He put his hand over his heart. “I don’t care. I wanna look good for my lady.”
I scoffed, dismissive, and turned so I could change. Into jeans.
“There may be another reason.” He grasped my wrist gently, stopping me.
I spun, perking up. “What?”
He took a big breath, his dark eyes flashing with excitement.
“Okay, here goes. I met with the dean of the public policy school at UMaine last week. And I’m applying to the public administration program.”
A zap of pride coursed through me. “That’s wonderful. Are you excited?”
“Terrified,” he confessed, his shoulders lowering. “The plan is for me to audit a few classes this spring to get myself started. Then I’ll do some intensive summer courses. They have a lotof nontraditional students, and the dean thought I could be an asset to the program.”
This felt like a big step forward. He’d been stuck for so long.
“That’s so fantastic,” I said, still proud and elated for him. Though the fears I’d pushed away earlier surfaced too. And…
“Is this what you want?”
I’d given him those brochures for Christmas and talked up the program. I hoped I hadn’t pressured him or made him feel inadequate.
“Because you’re amazing with or without a degree.”
He dipped his chin. “This is what I want. I’ve been keeping a journal—my therapist’s recommendation—of things that inspire me, make me proud, or excite me. And besides you, one of the things I’m passionate about is this town. I like our rural way of life. I love our traditions and our history, and I’d love to develop the kind of skills that would allow me to help make it even better.”
His words hit me hard. He was always so thoughtful. His ideas were so much deeper than anyone realized. And he put me in the same category as his life goals?
“Watching you move throughout the world has inspired me. You’re confident yet humble. You possess skills that save lives, but you always make time for others. And you’ve shown me that it’s possible for a person to carve a path for themselves that works. You can honor who you are and what you want and still be of service. You are my inspiration. My everything.”
Choking back tears, I stepped forward and pulled him down for a kiss. This man. Every single day, he surprised me.
He broke the kiss and gave me a hard slap on the ass. “Now go shower and get dolled up. I’m taking my lady out tonight.”
With a whole lot of swagger, he headed toward the bathroom.
“You don’t need to work that hard. I’m already sleeping with you,” I said as he went into his room.
“That’s where you’re wrong, wifey. I gotta work extra hard to keep you.”
I rarely cameto the Moose. Mainly because I’d see a lot of my patients, and by the end of the night, I’d be looking at people’s moles or hearing about their constipation issues.
I didn’t want to practice medicine during my precious off time. Really, all I wanted was to be home, naked, wrapped around my husband.
This new phase of our relationship had been the highlight of my life so far. Touching him whenever I wanted to. Kissing him. Waking up next to him stretched out across my bed.
Even tripping over his massive shoes made me smile.
