Page 113 of I Knew You
“Now that you mention it?—”
“Stop!” Bram yelled, and Mel and I fell into exuberant fits of wine-tinged laughter.
“Goodnight!” She made her way up the stairs, Lakey on her heels.
“I think I lost my dog,” I whined, lifting my wineglass off the side table and taking it with Melanie’s into the kitchen. Bram came up behind me with his empty beer cans.
“She’ll come back around. Her three favorite people are all under one roof. She’s probably confused about where to land.” He chuckled, stretching after throwing the cans in the trash. “I’m so damn tired.” He yawned, full and deep, as I put the glasses into the dishwasher and closed the door.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Bram said, leaning against the counter. “I put in an offer on a few acres of land right outside the city limits. The realtor called this morning and said it’s been accepted. We’ll break ground in a month for the community center. Once I can get everything back into place.”
“That’s great news!” I exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“I’ll take you out there tomorrow,” he replied, and put his hand over mine.
I had Bram. He loved me. We were married, and I was home.
I turned around and let my hand fall as tears spilled onto my cheeks. His face fell when he saw them, and he rushed to pull me into his embrace.
“Hey. What’s wrong, sweets?”
“It’s the wine.” I sniffled into his solid shoulder, then pulled back to meet his eyes. “It’s making me sentimental. I lost my job and don’t have another one yet. I no longer have a car. My best friend is three hours away. My back is still healing. All of that,yet I’m so happy that I could burst.” I pointed at my face. “And I guess I did.”
He kissed my forehead and gently rubbed my back, his strong arms holding me tightly and expertly.
“Have I told you how happy I am? How much I love you?” His words were low and quiet, meant only for me. I pulled back to look up into his eyes.
“I still can’t believe we’re married,” I said. “I’m a little nervous about this whole thing. I know it’s for the insurance and your inheritance, but I…”
“I want it to be real,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine, his hands dropping to grip my hips. His lips lined up with mine, and he spoke sensually against them, “Say it’s real, Julianna.”
“This is real,” I whispered, letting the tears fall from my eyes without wiping them. “But my life isn’t easy. I don’t know what the future looks like yet. And with my back, I don’t know what it means for kids, for my abilities…”
“It means we’ll have each other and weather every problem and decision together. I can live without many things, but I will never trade you for anything.” He ran his hand lovingly through my loose hair.
“I feel the same.” I sniffled.
He kissed me, slow and deep, so sensually that I felt the tingling of want in every nerve of my body. Finally, he stepped back and took my hand.
“Come on. Let me show you how a husband makes love to his wife.”
We walked up the stairs, and instead of leaving the door open as he had every other time, he shut it. I was surprised to find myself nervous as we faced each other in the dimly lit room. Although I was comfortable with Bram and his space, I hadn’t fully been integrated into his bedroom yet. It still felt likehis, but I was sure that would change with time.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Bram asked. He read me so easily.
“I was thinking that it still feels like I’m sleeping over at a boyfriend’s house.” I giggled but sobered before speaking again. “Are you sure you want me moving into your space, Bram? I?—”
“I bought this house because of you.”
I froze and stared blankly at him.
“What?”
“Whit told me you loved it, so I bought it. I didn’t care if the house was falling apart or if I had to fly out of state to get the papers signed. I wanted it, and fell for it, because you loved it.”
“That’s crazy,” I said, trying to be practical, but my heart raced. He’d bought all this and fixed up this whole place because of me?
He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “In my mind, I couldn’t be with you, so I got closer to you in any way I could. It was half-grown up with weeds and seed trees, but I kept every notch of character I could. Every paint color, the floor stain, the restored interior doors, that vintage woodwork on the banister of the stairs…all of it was for you. It kept me going. It kept you close. Knowing I was bringing something you cherished to life. I didn’t know if you’d ever see it, but I hoped. Somewhere deep down inside me, I always hoped.”
