We follow them, Ella, and Vicki to the door. After more tears are shed, they all say goodbye, and I close the door behind them. My arms immediately engulf Jules, and I pull her to my chest, where she snuggles against me. It feels so damn good to have her there. I’ve held her multiple times since she came to stay with me, each time more perfect than the last, but it’s different now. There’s nothing holding back our feelings. No shame, no remorse, no guilt, no doubt, and no uncertainty. It’s pure and real and precious and there’s not a damn thing wrong with it. I’ve loved this woman for years. We may have forgotten for a while, but even before we got our memories back, I felt it, and I know she did too. Because of that, it’s stronger than it ever was before.
“Tired?” I ask, gazing down into a pair of eyes that captured me from the first moment I saw them and countless times while I slept.
She releases a sigh, and I have my answer before she speaks. “Exhausted.”
“Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”
I bend and scoop her up into my arms. I’m in heaven when she throws her arm around my shoulders and nestles close. She yawns and then kisses my neck.
I take us to the bedroom and gently place her on the bed. We both need showers, but that’ll have to come later. Jules’s body needs rest at the moment more than it needs to be clean.
I help her out of her clothes then she helps me out of mine. I snag something out of my pocket before my pants hit the floor. It’s not in the cards right now, but I want nothing more than to make love to Jules… my wife. Fuck, I love the sound of that.
As soon as my body is settled against the sheets and before I get the chance to reach for her, Jules is on me. We lie facing each other, arms wrapped around the other, chests smashed together, and legs tangled. You couldn’t fit a piece of paper between us. Just the way I like it.
“My wife,” I whisper, and watch Jules close her eyes. When she opens them next, happiness shines in the beautiful orbs.
“My husband,” she whispers just as softly. Those two words center me. They give my life meaning. We never got the chance to live as husband and wife before we were cruelly ripped apart. Now though, we have all the time in the world, and I plan to cherish every single second of it.
“There was something else Kale found on Theo’s bedroom floor and gave to me.”
Her brows lift. “Isn’t it illegal to take stuff from a crime scene?”
“It is, but I’m sure there’s enough evidence against Theo that they won’t need this or the sonogram.”
There’s no fucking way I’m handing them over anyway. There’s no telling if I would get them back, and I’m not taking that chance.
“What is it?”
I pull my arm from behind her back and lean back just enough to fit my hand between us. I open my palm. When she sees what’s resting there, she gasps and tears spring to her eyes. They jump to mine with hope.
“Is that…?”
I nod and smile. “Your wedding ring.” The same one that was in the bag at the hospital in the nightstand. Theo must have found it after the first time I saw it and put it in his box of fucked-up lies.
“Oh my God,” she breathes.
Without prompting, her hand appears, and I slip the simple woven diamond ring on her finger. It’s inexpensive, she certainly deserves more, but it’s what I gave her when we married, and it has the word ‘infinite’ inscribed on the inside. From the loving look in her eyes as she gazes down at it, I know the value is meaningless to her. It’s what it represents.
“I don’t know what happened to mine.” The thought saddens me.
Some of her happiness dims, so I kiss her sweetly, wanting that euphoria back.
“We’ll get another one for me. I want to marry you again. This time we’ll have the family there.”
She smiles, and once again my world is perfect.
“You saved me. You saved us.”
“Always. No matter what.”
“I love you.”
Her words are music to my ears and my heart bursts with happiness.
“I love you, Jules.”
It’s been way too fucking long since we’ve said those words to each other, and I promise myself I’ll say them at least a hundred times every day until I draw in my last breath.