Page 89 of Your Two Lips
“What did you say?” My heart was beating so hard I felt it against my ribs.
“I want you. Your warm hand in mine, your voice in my ear, your lips.” He focused on my mouth and caressed a thumb along the seam. “You are what I need. With or without kids, my life is whole because you’re in it.”
I finally let myself sag against him, and he held me, all brawny arms and gentle caresses, as I let his words wash over me. This time, as the misty tears again encroached on my vision, I welcomed them, and I whispered into his chest. “I love you, Finn.”
“Sweet words on the sweetest two lips.” He lifted my face to his and kissed me.
54
FINN
“Emily,it’s so nice to see you.” Mom was restraining herself and practically vibrating. I rested my hand where it belonged, low on Emily’s back, and closed the big door to the farmhouse behind us with the other. It was a sign of new days, this new door, installed after the paramedics had to break down the old one the night of Dad’s heart attack.
“We can’t stay long, Mom. Em is working this afternoon, and we were hoping to get in a ride before.”
Emily had brought a few things to my house recently, which meant we could wake up, grab a bite, get in a ride if the weather was nice, and she could leave for work from here. A couple of days ago, she brought a bag and asked if she could leave it. I contained my enthusiasm, barely, then shifted some clothes in my closet to make room for her. I wanted to shift a lot more.
Mom took Em’s hand and pulled her into the kitchen. I followed on the periphery and greeted Dad. Sitting at the island, he flipped through a travel brochure. True to his word, he was staying retired, and they were already planning an Alaskan cruise next summer.
“Good job getting your girl back.” He nodded at me. “I knew you could.”
“Thanks, Dad.” He never asked about the business. He said he would be available if we needed him, but otherwise, we were on our own.
Mom wanted to talk to Em about the night of the cookout. I told her things were fine, but she wouldn’t let it drop.
“Emily, I want to apologize for the night on our deck,” Mom said.
“Oh, Donna, please don’t. My reaction was about fear and the shame I let myself feel. I want to hear those stories. I want to learn about this family’s history and all that goes with it.”
“Please know, if you’re Finn’s future, we would be nothing but proud and happy.” Her voice rose, and I knew from experience that tears were not far behind. Dad and I exchanged a glance as they hugged, and then I saw Emily’s teary eyes over Mom’s shoulder.
I was in no way uncomfortable with my mom essentially giving us their blessing. I would marry Emily tomorrow if I thought she would say yes, but I wouldn’t rush her. Again, I was a patient man. As long as I was holding her more nights a week than I wasn’t.
I pulledmy bike off the back beam in my shop and set it upside down on the worktable. I wanted to check it before our ride this morning. The gears were getting worn and needed to be replaced soon.
On my workbench by the wall, the most recent copy ofMountain Bikingmagazine was still open to the page I’d been reading for days. The article reviewed ten new bikes for the coming season, and each bike was better than the last. I couldn’t have been more entranced if it were a swimsuit edition.
Emily strolled into the garage wearing those tight bike shorts I loved and the pink cycling shirt she wore that first day. Still disruptively beautiful. Even more so now.
“How’s the bike?” she asked. She knew the gears weren’t working well, and some of the other wear was obvious.
“Good. I may need to replace more than a couple of these gears. November rains are coming, so I’ll change them out then. She’ll be ready for next year, and we’ll win that SkyRamp race this time.”
Her eyes sparkled, then she cleared her throat and glanced down. “What about a new bike? I may have noticed a dogeared page in your magazine there. Maybe one bike in particular.” She looked at me and continued. “I may have called Pacific Bikes in Seattle to see if they had one, and it turns out they do.”
I returned to the gears while waiting for the rest of her reveal. “You want a new bike?”
“Not for me,” she said.
I gave her the dimples. “Em, I can buy my own bike.”
“Yes, but I want to buy it for you because I love you and you love me. It’s not payment for howwellyou love me.” That smile was so mischievous and tempting, and she didn’t even realize it. “It’s my money, and I want to spend it on people I care about.”
“Those bikes are expensive, Em. Are you sure you can afford it?” I was teasing her. I wasn’t sure how much money she had, but she had said she had enough.
“Yes, Finn.” She put her hand on her hip like she was scolding me. I liked it. “Twelve million dollars invested provides a decent enough monthly return to buy the man I love a new bike.”
“Damn girl. Twelve million.” I put down my tools. “My girl is loaded. What else can you buy me?” I wrapped her arms around my neck.
