Page 45 of Forever Fallen

“Probably,” he smiled knowingly. “No one wants you to be upset and you had a tough day, Soph…”

“I had anawfulday,” she admitted, nodding and kicking off her shoes the moment she walked inside, uncaring if she got a run in her pantyhose or not. “But you made it bearable, Ryan. Thank you. This meant a lot to me and…”

“It was nothing,” he said quickly, looking away.

“It was everything,” she countered, stepping in front of him and looking at him pointedly. “I never expected you to do anything like that… and your friends were there? Then you kept my mind off of…” she hesitated, swallowing hard before speaking again. “You made an unbearable situation… tolerable. I didn’t feel alone.”

“It’s a horrible feeling,” he uttered softly, not meeting her eyes. “Let me get the tea started for us. Chamomile sounds nice and we should sleep hard… which means I need to fall asleep first, so I don’t notice you snoring like a chainsaw.”

“I don’t…” she laughed softly, staring at him in comprehension. “It was like that at your mother’s funeral, wasn’t it? You were alone, weren’t you?”

“Don’t overthink it, Sophie,” he said bluntly, looking at her, and she saw that cool mask over his face reminding her of…

She stared at him, stunned and in complete understanding.

He was hiding protectively behind that cool, devil-may-care look. This was the same expression from the plane. That arrogant cold look to keep people away. It was a protective mask he wore, just like she did when she had to face something upsetting – and she was surprised.

What had he been hiding then?

“I’m not overthinking it,” she said quietly, stepping forward and slipping her arms around his waist to hug him, laying her cheek against his shoulder and breathing in the clean scent of his cologne.

She felt his arms close around her slowly in response.

“No one should ever be alone burying a loved one – and I don’t know how you stayed so strong for so long. You’re incredible and I wish I could have been there for you when you buried your mother.”

Sophie felt him shudder slightly, feeling his throat work, as he stood there stoically, holding himself tightly for several minutes.

“I wish you had been there, too…” he breathed softly. “I hated every moment of it and could have used someone’s support to get through those hellish days.”

“Never again will you be alone,” she whispered. “You are stuck with me… for at least five years.”

“And you are stuck with me,” he replied tenderly. “For at least five years.”

They stood there, hugging and holding each other, before Sophie released him and stepped back, letting her hands slide down his arms to take his hands in hers.

He held fast to her fingers, as if he didn’t want to let her go, and she smiled softly.

“I’m really relieved that we are taking the steps together to get both of our things, you know? It feels right,” she confessed shyly. “I’m touched you thought of it, and I’ve been trying to figure out how many trips it would take me to get it done after you’d left.”

“Why would you wait?”

“Because it’s a chore and the apartment is already paid for the month, so there was no rush.”

“Except that I’m here now and can help,” he frowned. “It’s no bother at all… but I didn’t ask you about moving my things. I guess that was presumptive of me. I thought I could just put them in the basement…”

His voice trailed off at her smile.

“I liked it,” she replied openly, feeling touched. “I really did. You don’t need to put your things in the basement, Ryan. This is your home for the next five years or so…”

“Or so?” he immediately interjected; his eyes unfathomable.

“I never assumed there would be a definitive expiration date,” she stammered. “I mean, we need to get past our anniversary… but I figured it would need to wait until you got leave or…”

“What if it was… let’s say five years and a few months?”

“So be it,” she shrugged nervously, feeling her heart flutter wildly, because the thought of him being in her life longer made her feel a burst of joy she never expected.

“I’m starting to think that we get along fantastic and are growing to become very close friends,” she began evasively, trying to keep things cool and nonchalant between them.

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