“You need to find a job doing what you love.”
“I like working at the bar,” I respond truthfully, and he shakes his head.
“You might like it, but you don’t love it. It’s not what’s going to keep you happy long term,” he states, and I blink at him. “I want you to start a life here with me, in this town, and in order for you to do that, you need to find a job working with kids.”
“You want me to live here with you for good?” I ask stupidly, and his head tips to the side.
“Yeah,”
“I—”
“Either that or I’m moving to Chicago with you,” he inserts, holding my gaze, and that feeling in my stomach expands throughout my entire body.
“What?”
“I’m not going to live my life without you, so you move here, or I move there. Either way, we’ll be together.”
“You’d do that, move to Chicago just to be with me?” I whisper, and he frowns.
“I’m in love with you, and I know that isn’t going to change. I don’t want to be without you, so if you said you wanted to live in Chicago… fuck, if you said you wanted to live in Hell, I’d follow you there and do it happily.”
“You’re in love with me,” I repeat. Yes, I heard him tell his dad he was, but hearing him say it while looking me in the eyes is different. It makes it seem completely impossible.
“With everything I am, baby.” He rests his hand over his heart and my eyes fill with tears.
Shaking my head, I close my eyes briefly. “I don’t want to move to Chicago. I like living on the lake with you and Loki.”
“Then we’ll stay here.”
“Also, I love you, too,” I whisper, and his face softens as he leaves the kitchen and comes toward me.
Bending over the back of the couch, his hand wraps around the back of my skull. “Do you think you can be happy here?” he asks, dropping his face close to mine.
I pull in a breath then answer honestly, “As long as I have you, yes, I know I can be.”
“I love you, Gia. Had no idea what love was until you, but I know now, and I know I’ll always cherish everything you’ve given to me.”
“You’re going to make me cry.”
“Please don’t. I’ve seen enough of your tears today to last me a lifetime,” he says, and my eyes close.
Dropping my forehead forward, I rest it against his abs. “How is one of the worst days of my life also one of the best?” I ask him, and his hand on the back of my head tightens. Then he pulls my head back and touches his mouth to mine. When he pulls away with one final touch of his lips, I look into his eyes and know without a doubt that as long as I have him, I’ll have everything.
~**~
Standing at baggage claim at the bottom of the escalators waiting for Nat, I tighten my hold on Colton’s hand. It’s been four days since Grandma passed away, and in that time, I’ve made funeral arrangements and plans for Grandma to be buried next to Grandpa. I’ve talked to what feels like everyone in town, and grieved the loss of a woman I loved and cared about for the second time in my life. I wouldn’t say it’s any easier to let her go this time around, but it’s different. Long before she was gone, she had faded away with her disease and become someone I didn’t recognize anymore. What has made a world of difference this time is having people to lean on, people who care about me, like Nat, Ned, and Nina, plus Colton and his family. They have all let me cry on their shoulders and lean on them for help when I’ve needed it. I don’t know what I would do without them, and thankfully, I doubt I ever will.
“There she is,” I say when I finally see Nat as she steps onto the escalator. She’s wearing sneakers, jeans, and a sweatshirt with “Kinda Classy, Kinda Hood” on the front of it in bold white lettering. The moment she spots us, her whole face lights up.
Letting Colton’s hand go, I tip my head back, smile up at him, catching his returned smile before I rush toward my friend, who is rushing down the escalator toward me with her arms out. The second Nat and I connect, our arms go around each other and we rock from side-to-side.
“Girl, you did not lie. He is H-O-T with all capital letters,” Nat hisses against my ear while hugging me so tightly that it’s almost painful to breathe. “Now I know why you didn’t want to send me a picture of him. I’d want to keep him all to myself too if he were mine,” she continues, and I laugh, holding her tighter. I missed my best friend. I knew I missed her, but seeing her again, I know I really missed her.