If You Stayed

25 Kierra

25

Kierra

“I’m worried about you,” Tamera said as I walked to the front door with her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I just need to clean up a bit and then I’ll head to bed.”

“You should hire someone to clean this mess up,” she said as she tossed on her coat. “It’s your birthday, Kierra. There’s no reason to be cleaning up yourself.”

“It’s okay. I have this handled. Just have a great sleepover with Ava. And thanks for all the help tonight. Everything was beautiful.”

She smiled but it seemed to be a grin filled with questions. “Are you okay, though? Has Henry been good? To you, I mean. The last time he stopped by, we got into an argument, but I’ve heard a few rumors that things haven’t been going well at his company.”

“Oh? He hasn’t mentioned anything.” Not that he would. I knew as much about Henry’s work as the next person. Then again, I didn’t care to know. If I could, I’d erase him completely from my thoughts.

“He didn’t tell me either, but I heard a few others mention it tonight as I was strolling around. I guess a big deal just fell through.”

“Oh. Well, he seems to be doing okay.” More than okay.

“But he’s been good, right? To you, I mean? I know there was a situation tonight, but even before that…he’s been okay?”

I narrowed my eyes and slightly shook my head. “Tamela, what do you…?”

Humming was heard in the living room, which was a telling sign that Henry was in a good mood. When he was outrageously joyful, he hummed. It kind of pissed me off that he was humming. It was almost as if he was mocking me.

We both looked toward the living room. A weighted sigh fell from Tamela’s lips before she placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t mind me, love. I’m just an overthinker. Happy birthday, Kierra,” she said, pulling me into a hug. Tamela was a master at giving the best hugs. They made me feel enveloped in warmth and care each time she delivered them. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Tamela.”

Ava rushed over and hugged me from the side, holding her duffel bag on her arm. “Love you, Mom. Happy birthday.”

I kissed her forehead and snuggled her. “Thanks for the best party ever.”

She frowned. “Are you sure you had a good time and Dad didn’t ruin it?”

“No, baby. Everything was perfect. I promise.”

“Only the best for the best. Don’t eat all the cake, though. We can eat it together tomorrow for our book club.”

“You got it.”

The two headed out, and I was left with a messy house that showed the signs of a successful party. I hated that I couldn’t feel good about the situation. Because I knew what Henry had done that evening. I knew his humming wasn’t due to his love for me, but for the fact that he’d had another woman in our bedroom. Another woman who’d had her hands all over him and then had enough nerve to smile in my face.

I wanted out.

I wanted to not spend my next years in the same space with such a monster. Such a vile person who could make great toasts, then be so callous.

I hated him.

I didn’t know I had the kind of heart that could feel hate so deeply, but Henry brought that out in me.

“This place is a disaster,” Henry said as I walked past the living room to get to the kitchen so I could grab water. He was humming vibrantly as he danced around with a bottle of champagne in his grip. He walked over to me and grabbed my wrist with his free hand. “Dance with me,” he said.

Was he truly acting as if everything was okay after what had happened? How much had he actually drunk that evening?

“Henry, not now. I’m tired.”

He didn’t listen and pulled me in to him, humming against my ear. “Dance with me, my love.”

My love.

That felt like a slap in the face.

His mouth was coated in the scent of alcohol as he forced me against his body.

“Henry, stop,” I said, slightly shoving my hands against his chest. As he stumbled back, the bottle in his hand dropped to the floor. It didn’t break, but the champagne began to spill all over the rug.

“Fuck, Kierra. Look what you did.”

“Yeah, well, spills happen.”

“Clean it up,” he ordered.

I sighed. “Not tonight. I will in the morning.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “Leave the mess and dance with me now,” he offered again, reaching out toward me.

I swatted his hand away. “What’s the matter with you?”

“I’m trying to change the damn energy of this house. The energy that you caused. We were having a great night, and you just had to go and ruin it with your attitude.”

“You were screwing another woman in our bedroom.”

“Yeah, and you made sure everyone had to suffer from you finding that out. Sending everyone off. Fuck, I even got punched in the damn face because of you.”

“Because of me ?” I said, stunned by his words. A part of me wanted to argue with him. A part of me wanted to try to get through that thick skull of his. But a bigger part of me, the biggest part of me, just wanted freedom. I wanted out of the jigsaw puzzle of my life with Henry Hughes where it became more and more clear that none of our pieces were from the same puzzle. “I want a divorce,” I spat out.

He paused his movements. His head tilted. He snickered. “Go to bed, Kierra.”

I stood tall. “No. I want a divorce.”

“We’ve talked about this before. If you want out, then go.”

“I want Ava, too. She’ll stay with me, and we can work out some coparenting thing. If you take anger management courses.”

“Anger management? Oh, fuck off, Kierra.”

“I’m serious.”

“Me too. Fuck off. I don’t have anger issues. And you aren’t taking my daughter. If you want to leave, then leave. Go. But Ava stays with me.”

“She’s not only yours. She’s mine. Just like I’m hers.” If anything, I spent more time with our daughter than Henry ever had. His world was his work, and Ava received the crumbs of time that he had left after he poured all of himself into his tech company. Still, over the past few months, it seemed his anger was growing more and more intense. He seemed to snap more often, too. My greatest fear was that if I wasn’t around to be his emotional punching bag, if it was only Ava and him when he came home with his issues, that he’d take them out on her.

“Nothing about her is yours,” Henry argued. “Not her laugh, not her smile, not her DNA. And we agreed that if we ever went our separate ways, that Ava would be with me. Or do you not remember the documents we signed before we married?”

I remembered them. But when we signed them, I never imagined him becoming the creature that he had become. I thought always and forever meant exactly that when we spoke our vows—always and forever. I didn’t know it meant “always until Henry decided to become a whole different person.”

Or perhaps this was who he’d always been. Perhaps, he was just skilled in hiding his demons for a long time until they became too loud and poured out all over the place.

“Henry—”

“Go,” he ordered, gesturing toward the foyer. “Get some suitcases and get out, Kierra. Trust me, Ava doesn’t need such a weak woman around her anyway. I mean, hell. What kind of woman are you? I’ve been cheating on you for years, yelling at you, belittling you, and you just take it because you’re weak.”

“I’m not weak,” I whispered, trying to shake off his words and not let them implant in me.

I’m strong, I’m strong, I’m strong.

“No, you are. You’re fucking pathetic, too. You’re weak and pathetic, and without Ava, you’re nothing. And guess what? You just lost her forever. You’re nothing, Kierra. Nothing.”

“Stop it, Henry.”

“Nothing,” he echoed, getting right in my face. His words spat out as he said it again. “ Nothing .”

“You don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?” he asked.

“How you’re acting just like your father.”

Without a second’s pause, his hand rose and landed straight against my cheek— hard .

He slapped me.

I stood there frozen in place as the realization of his actions settled into both of us. My body broke into shivers as he stood in front of me, wide-eyed with panic. My cheek stung from the intensity of his smack, and my heart shattered into pieces as I realized one of the truths I’d held about Henry was no longer a reality.

At least he never hit me.

He took a step away from me and placed his hands on top of his head, stunned by his own actions.

“ Fuck ,” he muttered, his eyes filling with tears. “Fuck, Kierra.”

He paced slightly as I remained frozen. He then moved back over to me and forced me into a hug. He pulled me in to him, holding on as if he was trying to hold on forever. “Why did you do that?” he whispered against my ear as he pressed my body to his. “Why would you make me do that?” he cried, his tears falling against my cheek. “We were doing so fucking good tonight.”

I felt sick.

I needed him off me, but I feared the consequences of my actions. What if they sent that into a deeper spiral? What if I said the wrong thing? What if my words made the situation worse? I should’ve kept it all to myself. I should’ve never spoken up about Ramona. I should’ve shut up and sat down and played my role in our make-believe marriage.

I should’ve stayed in line, but I couldn’t. Maybe because I was tired. Maybe because I was betrayed. Or maybe because Gabriel was right.

I deserved more.

I didn’t even know more was an option until those words fell from Gabriel’s mouth. I didn’t know I could crave more than imprisonment. I thought the only moments of happiness in my life could come from my time with Ava. I didn’t know I was allowed to feel good except with my daughter.

“It’s fine,” I lied, hugging him back. Afraid that if I let go, he’d grow angry again with me for not forgiving him quickly enough. “It was my fault. It’s fine. I’m okay.”

He pulled back and placed his hand against my stinging cheek. He cupped my face and moved in to kiss it. His touch made my skin crawl in a way I wasn’t certain I could handle. He made me sick. His lips began to move to my lips, and I felt vomit rising in my throat.

“Henry,” I whispered, slightly turning my head.

“Kiss me,” he ordered, his mouth brushing over mine.

“Wait,” I murmured.

“Kiss me,” he repeated. “I love you, Kierra. I love you.”

That broke my heart.

I couldn’t remember the last time those words rolled off his tongue. I didn’t know he knew how to say he loved me anymore. What broke my heart the most was how those words were soaked in lies. If that’s what love was, I didn’t want anything to do with the sentiment. Love wasn’t meant to feel this way.

“I just need to use the bathroom,” I told him. “I just need a moment.”

He held me tight for a second before dropping his hold. His eyes looked empty. When did he lose it? His soul? All I saw was darkness as he stared so deeply into my eyes.

I pushed out a smile. “I’ll be back in a second. Maybe I can meet you in the bedroom?”

Any doubt in his stare faded as he gave a slight nod. “Okay.” I began walking to the bathroom near the foyer. “Kierra?”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to fuck you like I’m sorry tonight.”

He said that as if it were a compliment before he turned to walk to our bedroom.

The moment he rounded the corner and was out of my view, I hurriedly but quietly slid on my shoes, grabbed my keys and purse, and headed out of the house.

I drove off as fast as I could.

I drove for what felt like hours, looping around in circles, uncertain of what to do or where to go. And then I remembered Gabriel’s last words to me. Call me if you need me. No matter what.

I dialed his number.

He answered on the second ring.

***

I drove to his house.

He opened his screen door and stepped onto the porch the moment my car pulled up. The porch light cast a soft glow against his skin as he gave me a look packed with concern. “Hey. You okay?”

I shook my head.

He stepped closer. “Did something happen with Henry…?”

I flinched at the name as my heart pounded painfully against my chest. I swallowed hard as I pushed away the tears wanting to fall. “I was just wondering if you could… Can you…can you hold me?” I whispered, my voice breaking.

Without a second of hesitation, Gabriel wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face in his chest, feeling his warmth engulf me, feeling it comfort the chaos and instability of my mind.

He didn’t say a word, and I didn’t cry. Just resting against him felt like enough to keep me from completely falling apart over what had happened with Henry. I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to go back and face him at all. I wanted to stay with Gabriel in a world where I felt safe from any harm. In a world where I felt seen. In a world where a person looked at me as if I mattered more than anything else.

He took me inside and held me on his couch for hours. We didn’t talk. I didn’t even cry. I just stayed in his arms, breathing him in as he refused to let me go. He became my weighted blanket that helped slow down the speed of my thoughts.

I pulled away slightly from him and looked up into his eyes. “Gabriel?”

“Yes?”

“Can you kiss me?”

His eyes searched mine with a mix of emotions—shock, concern, and a deep unspoken understanding. He cupped my face gently and tilted my head up. “Kierra, all I have wanted to do for a very long time is kiss you. But I…”

“No buts,” I cut in. “Just a kiss. I just need to know.”

“Need to know what?”

“If what my heart is telling me is real.”

His voice dropped a few octaves. “Kierra, if I kiss you…I won’t want to stop.”

“Yeah, I know,” I murmured, moving in closer to him. “So don’t stop.”

For a moment he hesitated, uncertain if he was crossing a line that I’d regret. But he wasn’t. If anything, he was giving me more than I knew I could want. I wanted him. I always wanted him.

Then, slowly, he leaned in, his lips meeting mine in a soft kiss that was oh so tender. He kissed me slowly, placing his arms around my body as mine wrapped around his neck. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to get lost in the moment, a moment I’d craved longer than I could admit.

The gentle pressure of his lips against mine sent warmth through my whole body. He kissed me with care, and comfort, and unspoken promises that felt like always. Then one of his hands rose to the base of my neck, and he tilted my head up more, deepening the kiss, sending my mind into a flurry of passion. He parted my mouth with his tongue as he kissed me deeper, his fingers moving to my lower back, which arched toward him. He laid me down on the couch, his body hovering over mine. Our eyes locked, his dilated and hungry as he rested his forehead against mine.

“Tell me to stop and I will,” he swore, his words melting against my lips. My hips arched in his direction, feeling his hardness swipe my inner thigh. I slid my hand between us and brushed the stiffness slightly with my hand. He growled as his eyes fluttered shut. “But if you don’t say stop, Kierra, I’m going to want this. I’m going to want you forever.”

I pulled his mouth back to mine, kissing him hard, our tongues tangling as if they’d never wanted to part. “Give me forever,” I whispered against his lips, wanting nothing more than for him to have me. All of me. The good, the bad, and the broken parts.

Without another word, he lifted me from the sofa and carried me to his bedroom. He laid me down on the mattress before he tossed off his shirt. I sat up slightly, and he reached behind me, unzipping my dress. My heart pounded at a rapid pace as my fingers grazed against his rock-hard chest. I took in his old tattoos, which were intertwined with new ones I’d never seen. My fingers landed over his heart, where penguin footprints were, and tears flooded my eyes as I was transported back in time to when he received that tattoo on his chest.

“My heart can’t beat without you there, Penguin,” he’d told me.

He tilted my head up as he realized I’d paused my movement. The gentleness and care in his stare made me feel safer than ever before. “You’re crying,” he whispered, leaning in and kissing the tears streaming down my cheeks one by one. “I hate it when you cry. We don’t have to—”

“No,” I cut in quickly, shaking my head. “I want this, Gabriel. You have no clue how much I really want this.”

“Then why the tears?”

“It’s overwhelming. It’s just…” I took a deep breath as I placed both hands against his chest, against his heart. “I’ve been waiting a very long time to feel this way. To be here with you.”

His lazy smile came and he gently swiped his mouth against mine. “Kierra…I’ve been looking for you my whole life.”

More tears fell.

More kisses took them away.

“Can I stay the night?” I whispered, gently arching my core so I could feel more of his hardness against me.

“Kierra…” he groaned as his mouth fell to the nape of my neck. He trailed across it with kisses. “You can stay forever.”

He pulled my dress down and I shimmied it off my body. He stared at me, at every inch of me, as I undid his jeans. Everything moved faster than before. His hands roamed all over me, and his mouth did, too. He tasted every inch of me as my hand slid into his boxers and wrapped around his thickness. I began stroking him up and down as he growled against me.

“Just like that, Kierra. Nice and slow,” he murmured against my neck before he sucked my earlobe and slid his hand into my panties. His fingers began to rub against my clit as I moaned in bliss from the feeling. “I like that,” he whispered, pressing his mouth against mine. “I like how I make you so fucking wet.” He then slid a finger inside me as I rocked my hips back and forth against him. He slid in another finger. And another. My mind began swirling from the feeling of him inside me. I called out his name and he answered with his mouth against my nipple, sucking it hard as he brought me to the edge of an orgasm.

“You like that, huh?” he asked me, placing a hand at the base of my neck. “You like when my hands take control of you?”

“ Yes ,” I breathed out. “I like that.”

He slid another finger in, his hand still at my neck. I almost screamed out from the amount of pleasure rocking throughout my system. He locked his eyes with mine and moved to my mouth. I didn’t know when it happened, but at some point I couldn’t tell which breaths were his and which were mine. Yet it seemed like his mere existence became my oxygen. Without him and his touches, I couldn’t breathe.

He smiled against my lips, and I licked his bottom lip before biting it. “Taste me,” I murmured against his mouth. “Now.”

The wicked grin grew larger as he obeyed my orders. He moved down my body, sliding my panties down my thick thighs, and tossed them to the side of the room. He placed his hands on my inner thighs and spread them apart. He buried his head between my legs and began licking, sucking, and fucking my core, rubbing his finger against my clit as I arched up toward him, wanting his tongue to go deeper and deeper inside me.

My hands tangled in his hair as I guided him up and down, loving the way he ate me as if I were his favorite sweet.

After he finished, he pushed himself up and moved over me, kissing my lips as he balanced himself. His cock brushed against my leg as I pulled down his boxers. I tossed them to the side of the room, and within seconds his cock rubbed against my clit, making me want him more and more. His eyes stayed locked with mine. I became lost in his eyes and I wrapped my arms around his body, digging my nails into his back as he slowly slid his hardness inside me. I gasped at how each inch of him consumed me. I murmured his name as my eyes fluttered shut from the intensity of his thickness and the depth at which he slid inside me.

He picked up his speed as our two bodies became one. He wasn’t fucking me yet, no. He was making love to me. Taking his time, taking care, building up to the greatest climax of my life.

I wanted more of him, his touches, his thrusts, his kisses, his heart.

I wanted to wrap myself fully within him and never let go.

“Damn, Kierra, you feel so fucking good,” he whispered against my ear before nibbling it. “I love how your pussy feels wrapped around my cock like that.”

“It’s all for you,” I whispered back, arching my hips up as he thrust deeper and deeper. “I’m yours.”

“That’s right,” he growled, moving his mouth to mine. “You’re all mine. So now I’m going to fuck you and claim you forever.”

The speed picked up and he hammered into me as I cried out in bliss. He made love to me as if he was making up for all the lost time. He pumped himself into me so hard and deep that I couldn’t stop my legs from trembling. He fucked me so hard from the front, and then he flipped me over to my back before wrapping his hands around my curly hair and using it as an anchor point as I rocked my hips against his, dripping in sweat and wetness as I took all of him in.

Once he came, he lay down beside me, completely out of breath. I crawled on top of him and licked his lip before kissing him gently. “That was…” I sighed.

He shut his eyes and kissed my forehead. “Exactly that.” He pulled me closer. “I love you, Penguin.”

I smiled as I closed my eyes. “I love you, too.”

“Give me ten minutes,” he whispered as he nibbled my ear. “Then I’m gonna make love to you again in every room of this house.”

***

After a few more rounds, we lay in the bed naked, under the sheets, me resting against his chest, completely exhausted yet at peace from the madness that was my life outside Gabriel’s four walls. Every now and again, he’d pull me closer to him and kiss my forehead, reminding me that I wasn’t alone. I hadn’t known how much I needed that reminder every now and again.

“I wasn’t able to give you your birthday gift yet,” he whispered, trailing a finger slowly up and down my neck, which sent chills down my spine.

“You mean that thing with your tongue between my legs wasn’t the gift?” I half-joked. If I could have Gabriel’s face between my legs as my alarm clock each morning, I’d wake up a lot happier.

He chuckled. “No, it wasn’t. Want to see your gift?”

“Sure.”

He sat up, raising me with his body. He then stood, slipped on his boxers, and held a hand toward me. With the sheet wrapped around me, I took his hand into mine, and he led me out of the room. We walked down the hallway, and he took me into a spare bedroom that had been transformed into a sewing room.

A sewing room with vibrant, wild wallpaper of greens and oranges. There were three machines set up: a sewing machine, an embroidery machine, and a serger.

To the left was a closet stocked with fabrics. There were bins of needles, threads, and cutting shreds.

He made me a sewing room.

He made me a sewing room!

“This is for me?”

He leaned against the doorframe and nodded. “You brought some color to my life. Figured you could use a space for your creative projects.”

“Gabriel?”

“Yeah?”

I walked over to him, stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his as I whispered, “Make love to me in here, too?”

So he did.

***

The next morning, when daylight broke through the window shades, I rolled over in the bed and found an empty spot beside me. I pushed myself up to a sitting position, searching for Gabriel, but he was nowhere to be found. Though my nose was able to smell my way through the situation.

I pulled myself up from the bed, slipped on my panties and one of Gabriel’s T-shirts sitting on his dresser, and then headed toward the kitchen.

A smile spread my lips when I saw him standing over the stove, scrambling eggs in a pan.

“Morning,” I said loudly.

He startled and jumped slightly, dropping his wooden spoon to the floor, which flung a good serving of scrambled eggs all over the place.

“Shoot, I’m so sorry,” I hurriedly said, rushing over to start picking up the mess. I reached for the paper towel and shook my head, embarrassed by the mistake. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said, chuckling.

I still felt awful, hurrying to start cleaning up the mess. “Gosh, I’m so clumsy. I’m sorr—”

“Really, Kierra. Don’t worry about that.”

“Ugh. It’s all over the place. It’s my fault for—”

“Hey,” Gabriel said, placing a hand on my shoulder and bringing me to a halt. He leaned in, locked his eyes with mine, and gave me his lazy smile. “Hi there.”

I bit my bottom lip and slowed my erratic breathing. “Hi there.”

He moved a piece of my fallen hair behind my ear. “I made you breakfast.”

The gentleness of his touch calmed the panic in me. If the same situation had happened with Henry, I would’ve been shamed and shouted at for making him make a mess. I would’ve been called names and belittled for the scrambled eggs hitting the cabinets. I would’ve been told to clean it up as soon as possible.

Gabriel instead smiled and then kissed me gently on my lips. I didn’t think he knew how much it meant to me—his gentleness.

“Good morning,” he whispered.

“Good morning,” I murmured back.

He raised me to standing before he pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead.

I glanced at the countertop, which had a spread of bacon, hash browns, orange juice, and of course cinnamon muffins. Along with not one, not two, but four different types of eggs.

“Are you feeding two people or an army?” I joked as Bentley came into the room, wagging his tail as he ate up all the scrambled eggs on the floor. Turned out you didn’t need a robot to clean up messes; you just needed a dog.

“Well, I was cooking and realized that I didn’t know how you liked your eggs. So I made hard-boiled, over easy, sunny-side up, and an omelet. I tried poached, but it didn’t work out. And well, you saw how the scrambled—”

“I love you,” I breathed out, unable to hold the words in any longer. I had almost stopped believing in those three words when it came to the opposite sex. I had almost given up on the idea that I’d be able to whisper those words to another. Yet Gabriel made it easy. So easy that I cut off his words just so I could say it.

Maybe that was what love, real love, was. Something that somersaulted off one’s tongue. Maybe love was messy kitchens and oversized T-shirts. Maybe love was quiet good mornings and forehead kisses. Maybe love was peace. Maybe love was him.

He smiled and pulled me closer to him. I loved how I felt whenever he wrapped his large frame around mine. I felt safe. No one in the world knew how important it was to feel safe after years of feeling the opposite. “I love you, too. You know what’s crazy about that?”

“What’s that?”

“I knew I loved you before I even knew your name.” He slowly brushed his thumb against my bottom lip and said, “So how do you like your eggs?”

I smirked a little and shrugged. “Scrambled.”

“Fuck,” he laughed, raking a hand through his hair. He started for the refrigerator. “Figures. I’ll crack a few more and—”

“Gabriel.” I reached and grabbed his arm, pulling him back toward me. “Let’s eat what’s here. And next time we can make scrambled.”

He snickered and shook his head.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he replied, “I just love the fact that you said ‘next time.’ Because I really want a lot more next times with you.”

I sat in his lap as we talked and ate the whole morning. He made me laugh, too. That wasn’t shocking, though. Everything about the man made my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

The best fact about it all?

He loved me, too.

After a while, I realized I had to leave my haven and head back home to reality. After I finished getting dressed, I headed down the hallway and noticed Gabriel standing on the back porch. I pushed the screen door open, and as I walked out onto the wooden porch, he began to speak.

“You should’ve found me again,” he said as he leaned against the porch railing, staring out at the coastline. He slid his hands into the pockets of his gray sweatpants. “After all these years…I wish you would’ve found me again.”

I walked over and leaned against the railing across from him. “I know.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I thought about finding you many times…but I always talked myself out of it. I was young and stupid. I blamed myself for everything that happened. It was too hard knowing how much you lost…” I took a deep breath, trying to shake the image of Elijah from my mind. “After a while, so much time passed that I was all but certain you’d moved on and I’d missed my chance of ever loving you again. I had to put it to bed. I made up this story that you had a wife, a family, and you wouldn’t want me again. I figured that after I walked away without looking back, you’d never forgive me. Besides, you forgot who I was, Gabriel. I was nothing but a stranger.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“It does.”

“If I lost my memory every single day for the rest of my life, I would still find my way back to loving you. I’d love every version of you. I’d love the young version of you. I’d love the current version, and I’d love the gray-hair version, because loving you doesn’t take time. Loving you just is. It’s a constant in an unstable world. I’d fall in love with you over and over again, without hesitation. It wouldn’t even take years to fall in love with you, Kierra. It merely takes seconds. I think that’s why I ended up doing the architect project for Henry. Somehow my soul knew it would bring me to you.”

“When two souls are tangled in forever…” I whispered.

“Then forever is what they’ll be,” he whispered back.

I lowered my head. “I want to leave him so bad,” I confessed. “But I’m so afraid of losing Ava. That’s why I’ve stayed so long.”

“We have to figure out how to hit him. You can maybe use the fact that he’s been cheating in your case. Plus, from what I’ve learned about him so far, he cares a lot about his social image.”

I chuckled. “To say the least.”

“What if you threatened that? What if you threatened to smear his name in the media if he didn’t allow you to coparent? Do you think that’s an option? You don’t even have to do it; you can just threaten it.”

I lowered my eyebrows as I stood there in thought. That never crossed my mind, but Gabriel was right. If there was anything Henry cared about, it was his public image. It was something to keep in mind if things shifted in a direction that worried me.

“I’ll think about that,” I told him.

“Yeah. And I’ll keep thinking of other ways to help.”

My sweet, sweet hero.

“Gabriel?”

“Yes?”

“Can we stay here for a few minutes?” I asked. “Just the two of us on this back porch together? We don’t have to talk or anything… I’d just love a little more time to be here with you.”

He titled his head in my direction for a moment’s time. The sincerity of his stare made a wave of peace hit me as he nodded. “Yeah,” he said before staring back out toward the morning. “I’d love to be quiet with you.”

Who knew silence could be so loud and meaningful? Who knew comfort could come from the quiet moments of love?

After an hour or so of being still with each other, we headed to the front of the house and I kissed him goodbye at his screen door. As I began to walk away, he called after me.

“Hey, Penguin?” Gabriel asked, leaning against his doorframe, shirtless and perfect as he’d always been.

“Yes?”

“Will you come back tomorrow?”

A small smile spread across my lips. “Yes.”

“Okay.” He slid his hands into his sweatpants and rested his head against the doorframe. “Hey, Penguin?”

“Yes?”

“Will you come back the day after that?”

Butterflies. “Yes.”

“And the day after that?”

I nodded as I gnawed my bottom lip. “Uh-huh.”

“Hey, Penguin?”

“Yes?”

He raked his hand through his messy hair and walked over to me. He placed a finger beneath my chin and tilted my head up to meet his gaze. His mouth brushed against mine. “Promise…?”

“Promise.”

He kissed me slowly and I melted back into his arms as he whispered against my lips, “Good.”