Griff & Sophia 10 Years Later

This is for our Griff & Sophia fans. If you haven't read Illusive yet, don't read this short story because it features this couple ten years after their book and contains spoilers. 

I loved being back with these two and I hope you love reading this.

N xx

 

 

Griff & Sophia

a day in the life

 

10 Years Later

(this takes place 5 months after the epilogue in Colt’s book)

 

Sophia’s POV

5:20 a.m.

 

“What are you thinking?” Griff’s lips brush my ear as he spoons me tighter.

I place my hand over his at my stomach and smile. “Morning, handsome.”

He slides his hand up from my stomach to my breasts, cupping one as he kisses my neck. “You’ve been awake for the last half hour, and I can hear your brain thinking. What’s going on in there?”

I roll to face him. “How long have you been awake?”

“Sophia.” My name growls out of him. He knows I’m stalling, and his eyes hold the intense gaze I’ve lived with for ten years, the gaze that’s telling me he won’t let this go.

I run my eyes over the lines on his forehead. The lines I’m sure I helped put there. Reaching up, I trace a finger over them before finding his eyes again. “Do you think we made the right decision?”

“Fuck.” It’s another growl out of his mouth, along with a whole lot of misgiving. My husband knows exactly what decision I’m referring to even though it’s not a recent one. “I knew your brain was working overtime on this.”

I smile gently as I finish committing those creases on his forehead to my memory again. “I’m okay. I promise. It’s just some thoughts that have been running through my mind for a while that I’m now ready to talk about with you.”

His eyes search mine for the longest time and I give him the space for this. I know he’s been worrying over me even though he hasn’t come out and said it. After a decade with Griff, I can read him just as well as he can read me. Finally, he says, “Yes. We made the right decision.”

His words settle deep within me, landing exactly as I needed them to. I know we made the right choice, but sometimes I need Griff to reassure me.

I press my body to his and bring my face close to his while reaching a hand into his hair so I can keep his face right where it is. “I love you.”

He inhales a long breath before exhaling it. “Talk to me.”

“And tell you what you already know?” Griff usually knows my thoughts and feelings before I figure them out. “I actually don’t think I need to talk this out. I think I just needed to hear you say that we didn’t give up too soon.”

He grips my waist. “I need to hear you talk it out.”

It’s not often Griff bleeds, and not often that he lets me see his blood, but with that statement, I see the deep cut that still needs tending. And I hear his pain that lingers. Pain that I know won’t ever leave either of us.

I was the one whose body lost four babies, but Griff was the one who held us together, who carried the burden without stumbling once, who walked a million miles bloody and bruised without asking for help.

Curving my leg over his, I kiss him. Slowly, giving him what I know he needs. Even though he wants to hear me talk it out, Griff isn’t a big talker. His love language is touch. He needs me physically.

He also needs my submission, and not just physically. So, after I end our kiss, I give him the rest of what he needs now.

“Watching Magan pregnant this year has been one of the best things of my life, but it’s also been hard. It’s stirred a lot up for me and my brain has been on an endless loop of ‘what ifs’ that I thought I was done with.”

My sister delivered a healthy baby girl two months ago, and while Harper is a light in my life, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t experienced some dark days this year.

The look in Griff’s eyes tells me that he wishes I’d talked with him about this sooner. “You’re still running the ‘what ifs’?”

“Yes. But I don’t want you to worry about this.”

“Sweetheart, there’s not a day I don’t worry about you.” He brushes hair off my face, his touch gentle and loving.

“I know, and I love you for that, but I really don’t want you to worry about this. I think it’s probably to be expected that Harper’s birth would bring all this up for me. I’m going to journal and sit with it. I think it’s just another layer for me to peel back and work my way through.” I bring my hand down from his hair to his neck. “Do you ever question our choice?”

The thing that Griff has always given me that has gotten us through some bleak moments is his steadfast resolve and he gives me that again now. “I think about it, but I don’t question it. We made the right choice for you, for your body, and for us. And I would make the same decision again, without question.”

Tears that I didn’t know were close fill my eyes. I read once that sometimes when we feel unexpectedly emotional like I am, it’s the body’s way of expressing that a need has just been met. A need we’ve been neglecting.

Although Griff has said this to me before, many times, I needed to hear it again. I needed to hear that he’s okay with the fact I couldn’t give him a family. That he’s okay we put me first.

Through my tears, I whisper, “Thank you for saying that.”

He wipes my tears and wraps his arm around me, holding me close. “I’ll say that every day if you need me to, Sophia.”

God, I love this man like I’ve never loved anyone.

“I know you would.” I stay in his embrace for a long time, taking the love he’s giving me, before finally looking up at him. “I don’t need you to say that every day.” I brush my lips over his. “You’ve just given me everything I need.”

His gaze drops to my throat. “What have you got on this morning?”

“I know where your thoughts have gone, and I don’t have time for any of whatever you’re planning right now. I’m meeting the girls at seven for breakfast.”

He pays little attention to what I say as he runs his eyes down my body.

“Griff, stop thinking about what you want to do to me.”

There’s heat in his eyes when he finds my gaze again. “I’m always thinking about what I want to do to you. That’s never going to stop.” He dips his mouth to my collarbone and kisses it. He then slowly kisses his way up my neck to my mouth. “Cancel on the girls.”

Those four words and the pure filth he’s looking at me with send a whole lot of desire racing through me.

I put my hand to his chest, trying to slow all those thoughts of his down. “I can’t. We’re finalising the plans for Christmas day.” Harlow suggested we hold a Christmas Day barbecue lunch at the clubhouse this year and we’ve been planning it for months. With Christmas only a week away, there’s no way I’ll cancel on the girls today.

Before I know what’s happening, he shifts us so I’m underneath him. He takes hold of one of my legs and brings it up to rest over his shoulder. He then glides his hand down my leg to my ass while stealing a kiss that leaves me breathless. When he’s done with my lips, he growls, “I want all your Saturday mornings from here on out.”

I stare up into his green eyes. “What’s going on, Griff?” Four years ago, after one of the most difficult years of our marriage, he told me he wanted all my Sunday mornings, and apart from the weekends he’s away with the club we’ve kept every Sunday morning just for each other. I’m not sure what’s running through his mind now for him to ask for all my Saturday mornings as well. But if I know my husband as well as I think I do, there’s absolutely something going on with him because it’s unlike him to ask for anything.

“I’ve watched you all year, sweetheart, staying strong while dealing with your demons, trying not to burden me with any of them. I’ve given you space to do all of that, but I’m done giving you space.” He pauses before adding gruffly, “I need you close now.”

This man.

I will love him into my next life and beyond.

I reach for his face and pull his mouth down to mine. I kiss him so thoroughly that we lose ourselves and time until Griff drags himself away and rasps, “If we don’t stop now, I won’t be stopping.”

I grip his face. “I want your afternoon.”

He doesn’t even take a beat to think about that. “It’s yours.”

 

****

 

Griff’s POV

8:30 a.m.

 

I grab my ringing phone from my pocket and put it to my ear after checking caller ID. “Magan. What’s up?”

“I’m really sorry to bug you so early on a Saturday morning, but are you doing anything right now? I’m having a slight issue here and Henry’s been called into work, and well, I don’t think I’m equipped to handle this on my own, Griff.”

When Sophia’s sister says she’s not equipped to handle something, she’s not. Magan is one of the most practical women I know. She’s logical, calm, and almost never exaggerates any situation she finds herself in.

“I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Oh, thank God.” The relief is clear in her voice.

I end the call and grab my shit before heading out to my bike. Magan and her husband don’t ask for help often, but when a call comes in like this one, I’m fucking glad that Magan convinced Henry to buy a home a few streets away. The last time they needed us was after a bad storm a month ago. Their roof needed tarping and I was able to get there fast and help Henry stop more damage to their home. And Sofia was able to look after Harper while Magan ran around taking care of other problems.

When I arrive at Magan’s, I find her in the kitchen crying. Harper is in her arms crying too.

I frown as I take in the state of the kitchen.

The dishwasher is open and with a quick glance, I can tell it’s overloaded. A packet of dishwasher tablets sits on the counter. Tablets are strewn everywhere. As are dirty plates, cutlery, and glasses.

Another kitchen counter has piles of folded baby clothes cluttering it while the other counter has piles of unfolded baby clothes filling it.

I eye the kitchen table where Magan is sitting. Her laptop is open in front of her. The rest of the table is covered with notebooks and what look to be planning notes for her work. Magan’s a teacher and I’m well-versed in her planning notes. Over the years, I’ve watched her get her teaching degree and dedicate hours to class planning. She teaches grade one and is dedicated as fuck to her children. However, she’s currently on maternity leave so I’m unsure why she’s sitting here with all this work in front of her.

When she meets my gaze and begins crying harder, I move into action. Taking Harper from her, I say, “Tell me what you need.” As the words leave my mouth, and as I pull her daughter into my arms, I figure out the first thing she needs. “I’ll change Harper’s nappy and come back to you for that list.”

She doesn’t move, just nods as her tears keep falling.

I leave her and head upstairs to Harper’s bedroom, holding Harper close and talking softly with her in an effort to ease her cries. By the time we get there, I’ve managed to soothe her.

Settling her onto her changing table, I smile down at her and place my hand on her belly. “We’re gonna change your nappy, baby girl, and then go downstairs and see what Mummy needs me to do for her.”

Her little legs and arms come up off the table as she returns my smile.

“Yeah,” I say as I change her, “Mummy needs sleep, doesn’t she? We’re gonna get her some today. And you, too. Are you tired, darlin’?”

I continue talking to her as I get her into a new nappy and clean clothes. She continues waving her arms in the air and making those sweet sounds I could listen to for hours. By the time we head back down to Magan, Harper is happy and cooing.

“Thank you,” Magan says from the kitchen table where she’s still sitting. Her tears have stopped but she looks just as overwhelmed as she did when I got here.

I rub Harper’s back gently as I look at her mother. “You got a list for me?”

“It’s the washing machine. It’s flooded the laundry.”

“And what else?”

She gives me a quick shake of her head. “There’s nothing else. Just that.”

“From where I’m standing, there’s a fuckload of other shit that should be on that list. The mowing, for one. And the garden.” I throw a glance around the kitchen. “Not to mention the dishwasher and all these clothes. And all those boxes you’ve got piled up at the front door.”

“No, Griff.” She stands and comes my way. “I can take care of everything else. I just need you to see if you can fix the washing machine because I have a thousand clothes to wash today. And Henry’s exhausted and won’t have the energy when he gets home.”

When she reaches for her daughter, I let her take Harper even though I don’t want to. “Henry’s not the only one who’s exhausted.”

She exhales a long breath and nods. “Yeah, it turns out having a baby knocks you around a bit.”

“So how about you give me a list and put Harper and yourself to bed while I take care of that list for you?”

Magan isn’t good at accepting help when it’s offered. I’ve watched her argue with her sister many times when Sophia has tried to do things for her. Often, she stands her ground and refuses the offer. Today, she’s got no hope of me taking no for an answer. However, I’ll tread a little more carefully than I normally would because everything about her is screaming that she needs gentle right now.

“You’ve got your own things to do,” she says.

“That’s true, but there’s nothing on my list that’s more important than helping family.”

Her bottom lip trembles but still, she stands strong. “I’m okay, Griff. It was just that damn washing machine. It was the last straw, you know?”

“I know. I’ll fix it.”

Some of the tension in her shoulders eases. “Thank you.”

“Is something wrong with the dishwasher?”

She looks pained. “Maybe. I think so. The lights started flashing on it this morning, but I haven’t had a chance to figure that out.”

“I’ll take a look at it too.”

She gives me another pained look. “Thank you.”

“What’s in the boxes at the front door?”

“Christmas gifts. Amazon is my best friend this year.”

“Where do you want me to put them?”

The expression on her face turns even wearier than it already was. “I don’t want you to put them anywhere. I honestly just want you to fix the washing machine.”

“I get that, but you need to get that I’m gonna put those boxes somewhere. Either you tell me where or I’ll figure that shit out on my own.”

Ten years of knowing me and Magan knows I’m not going anywhere until I’ve sorted out all her problems. I see that understanding flash in her eyes right before her tears start up again.

I pull her into my arms and hold her tightly to me. Running my hand down her long hair, I let her cry for as long as she needs.

When I sense her tears have come to an end, I say, “There’s no shame in asking for help, Magan. You gave birth two months ago. Your body is still recovering and you’re finding your feet as a mother. And you’re doing a lot of that on your own because Henry’s work is hectic. Give yourself a break and give yourself space to figure all this out.” I pull my head back so I can find her eyes. “Sophia wants to help. And so do I. Let us.”

Her face crumples and her tears return. “Stop being you for at least a minute, Griff. I was almost finished crying before you said all that.”

I take the opportunity for what it is. Magan isn’t known for softening like this or lasting long in her softened states, so I have to make the most of it now that I’ve got her here. “What’s with the planning notes on your kitchen table?”

She stares up at me for a long moment before smiling and moving out of my hold. “Well played, Mr Hard Ass.”

I arch my brows, letting her know I expect an answer.

She sighs. “I’m helping the teacher who has taken over my class while I’m on leave.”

“She’s incompetent?”

“No. She’s a phenomenal teacher actually.”

“So, she doesn’t need your help?”

“Ugh. Why must you be so good at this? I hope you never teach Henry your ways.”

I search her eyes, holding her gaze firmly. “You only get this time with Harper once. Make the most of it.”

She lets that sink in before nodding. “I know you’re right. I do. But then my brain tells me I can do better, that I should do better, that I’m letting everyone else down when I choose to spend time with Harper instead of doing all this other stuff. It’s a mess in my head and I don’t know how to stop all that noise. I feel so overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start with all the things I have to do.”

“Right now, the only thing you have to do is be a mother. And to be the best at that, you have to take care of yourself too, which means, right now, in this moment, you need to get your ass up to your bed and close your eyes.” When she looks like she might keep arguing with me, I say, “One thing at a time. That’s where you start. Get some sleep and then we’ll figure out the next thing.”

I’m not sure if it’s what I just said that finally gets through to her or if it’s just that she’s so fucking exhausted that she doesn’t have it in her to keep fighting me, but she finally gives in. “Okay.”

Twenty minutes later, Magan and Harper are asleep and I’m in the middle of fixing the washing machine when Sophia texts me.

Sophia: My breakfast with the girls just got cut short because Madison had to rush off to the hospital. I think Willow might have a broken arm. So, I’m free now. I know you said you were gonna mow and tidy up the garden this morning, but how do you feel about a ride? It’s been a month since I’ve been on the bike.

Griff: I’d fucking love nothing more than that but I’m at Magan’s doing some stuff for her.

She switches from texts to a call. “Is Magan okay?”

“No. She asked me to fix her washing machine, but there’s a fuckload of other stuff here that she needs help with, so I’m gonna work my way through that.”

“She’s letting you help?”

“Yeah. She was too exhausted to argue with me. She and Harper are asleep now.”

“Oh, thank God you got her to let you help. She’s been fobbing me off all week. I’ll come over and help too.” She pauses. “And Griff?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, handsome. Thank you.”

 

***

 

Sophia’s POV

5:30 p.m.

 

“He’ll be leaving work in the next hour,” Magan says after she gets off the phone with Henry. “And he doesn’t have to go back in for five days.”

“That’s the best news of the day,” I say with a smile. “Do you want us to stay until he gets here?”

Magan shakes her head as she glances at Griff through the kitchen window. “No, I want you to take Griff home. He hasn’t stopped all day.” She eyes me again with a smile. “I have the absolute best brother-in-law a girl could ask for.”

I look at my husband who is almost finished tidying up Magan’s gardens. On top of that job, he mowed, fixed her washing machine and dishwasher, and helped me clean up her home. “Yeah, you do.” I look back at her. “Please promise me that you’ll ask for our help if you need it, honey. You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

She laughs. “You really think Griff’s gonna wait to be asked going forward? I imagine I’ll have him on my doorstep weekly so he can check for himself that I’m not in the same state I was in this morning when he arrived. God, the poor guy. You should have seen him. He looked like he wanted to bundle me up and lock me in my bedroom for a month straight while he took over.”

“You really think he’ll only be on your doorstep once a week?” I grin.

Before I know it, I’ve got her arms around me and she’s crying again. I wrap my arms around her and hug her, giving her all the time in the world that she needs to release her emotions.

She cries for a long while before finally looking at me. “I hate that you guys didn’t get to do this.”

I wasn’t expecting that, but I should have. I should have realised that the reason why Megan wasn’t accepting the help I’ve been offering her was because of this.

I unwrap my arms from her and take hold of her hands. My heart is squishing itself all over the place in my chest as I look at my sister with so much love. “This is why you won’t let us help?”

She swallows hard and nods, more tears sitting close. “It must be so hard to see me with a baby. I don’t want that for you.”

“Oh, honey.” I squeeze her hands as my own tears move on in. “No. It’s the most wonderful thing seeing you with Harper. You both make me so happy. And Henry too. I love you guys. If I had my way, I’d be here every day with you, Magan. Please don’t push me away because you think this is too hard for me. That would be too hard for me.”

“I can’t even imagine going through what you did.”

“I’m glad you didn’t have to.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you as much as I should have been.”

“You were there exactly how I needed you.”

“No, I wasn’t. I was too busy focussing on myself.”

“Well, you were a teenager the first time we got pregnant. And only twenty-two the last time. And that was your first year teaching. Your focus was where it should have been.” I squeeze her hands again. “I would have been more upset if my miscarriages had affected your studies and your life. Watching you find happiness helped get me through my darkest days.”

If only she knew just how much she helped me by living the life she wanted. I refused to let my pain and disappointment dictate the way I lived. I refused to drown in that pain, so I had to find reasons to get up every day. Griff, Magan, and my Storm family all gave me those reasons. Seeing my chosen family happy helped me find happiness.

When tears fall down her cheeks again, mine finally fall too. We pull each other close and hug our way through the feelings.

This is how Griff finds us. It’s his soft but gruff “Fuck” that draws our attention.

I lift my face and meet his gaze as Magan lets me go. There’s so much love and concern in his eyes as he watches us intently.

“I love you, Griff,” Magan says right before she throws her arms around him and hugs him like she might not ever let him go.

This is so unusual for her that it catches him by surprise. It does the same for me, and I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles up out of me as I watch him stumble his way through this hug and all these big feelings consuming Magan.

His arms go around her, and he returns her hug as she thanks him for everything he’s done for her today. His eyes are firmly on me, though, and I can practically see his brain processing everything he’s seeing and hearing. My husband’s priorities are me, Storm, and Magan. In that order. There’s not one thing he wouldn’t do for us, and I know that right now he’s figuring out what’s next on his list of things to do.

He allows Magan to carry on with her thanks and her hug for longer than he’d ever let anyone besides me hug him before pulling back and looking at her. “I’ll be back over tomorrow to do a couple of last things with the garden. Then, I’ll be back in two weeks to mow again. And if you need anything before then, you pick up the phone and call me. I won’t be happy if I turn up here and find shit that needs doing that I could have done.”

His tone makes it clear he doesn’t intend on listening to any argument over this, and Magan reads him perfectly. Instead of fighting him, she says, “Thank you.”

With one last nod at her, he gives his attention to me. “You ready to go?”

I smile as I move towards him. “Take me home, handsome. I’m putting you in the bath and giving you a foot rub.”

The arch of his brows at that statement makes Magan and I laugh. I’ve spent a decade trying to get Griff in the bath, and I’m still trying. I never miss an opportunity but it’s one of the only things I want that he never gives me. My husband has his boundaries and while he’s allowed me to break many of them down, he stands firm on some.

 

***

 

Griff’s POV

9:00 p.m.

 

Madison: Willow’s broken arm might kill me. If I don’t make it to the clubhouse tomorrow for our meeting, you’ll know I’m dead.

Carla: Oh, man, is she struggling with it?

Velvet: The poor little poppet. Do you guys need any help, babe? I’ll send Nash over if you do.

Chelsea: LOL Velvet. What’s he done now?

Madison: Yes, send Nash. When he gets here, I’ll leave him and J to handle all these kids and I’ll come live at your place for a while.

I walk into the en suite where Sophia is rubbing cream into her face. When her eyes meet mine in the mirror, I ask, “You’re meeting the girls at the clubhouse tomorrow?”

She nods. “Yeah, we’re gonna clean it before we set up for Christmas Day. Scott’s given the go ahead for us to decorate.”

I frown. “You girls decorate it every year.” We’ve already got tinsel and crap all over the place there.

Turning to face me, she brings her hands to my chest. “This year, he’s letting us go to town. You should prepare yourself now.”

I have no clue what the fuck their idea of going to town on decorating is, but I can imagine the clubhouse is gonna look like Christmas vomited all over it. Since Scott and Harlow had their first kid almost a decade ago, this season has slowly taken over every time it comes around. And while it’s still the time of year I don’t much like, I’ve slowly come around to it. My wife has seen to that.

Sophia loves Christmas almost as much as she loves me. She’s taken great care over the years to be considerate of my feelings about it, but there’s not much I wouldn’t give her, and I’ve given her Christmas since the day I made her mine.

I pull her close and brush my lips over hers. “Consider me prepared.”

She hits me with a smile as she threads her fingers up into my hair at the nape of my neck. “I want you to take me away after Christmas.”

“I thought you were back at work on the twenty-seventh?” Sophia has a mini empire between her brand strategy business and her art gallery, and while she usually takes time off over Christmas and New Year, she’s too busy to do that this year. Or I thought she was.

She gives me more of that beautiful smile. “I was supposed to be but I called Sonny this afternoon and asked her to free up my schedule so I can take two weeks off.” She presses herself into me and kisses me again before saying softly, “I haven’t stopped since I got back from Fiji. I need a break and I need time with you. Take me somewhere secluded. I want to be naked with you for two weeks straight.”

Sophia began a new tradition with the Stormgirls two years ago. They pack themselves up every August now and leave the kids with the men while they spend a week in Fiji. Since her last miscarriage and then hysterectomy five years ago, Sophia had to find herself all over again. Having children was something she wanted deeply. Thanks to the adenomyosis that caused severe pain and other problems for her, and meant she struggled to carry a baby to term, that dream was stolen from her. She has so much love to give, and spending time with her girls is a high priority for her. Their week away each year has become something she treasures.

I tighten my arm around her. “Careful what you ask for, sweetheart, because I’ll give it to you.”

Heat flares in her eyes. “Good.” She curves her leg around my body in the way that signals she wants me. When I’ve got her on the bathroom vanity a moment later, she lifts my shirt over my head and discards it on the floor. Her eyes are all over my body as she says, “I want you to spend two weeks fucking me until I don’t even know what life is anymore. I want to sit on your face every morning before sucking your dick. And I want you to find new ways to make me come every night.”

“Fuck,” I growl. “This mouth of yours is getting filthier as you get older.”

Something I say causes a shift in the direction she’s taking this conversation. Where she was all heat a moment ago, she’s suddenly all soft and vulnerable. “I want to grow really old with you, Griff. Like, older than old.”

I search her eyes, finding more love than I’ve ever found there, and that’s saying something because if Sophia has given me anything in the last decade, it’s more love than anyone’s ever given me. “We’re growing old together. There’s no fucking way we’re not. End of story.”

She inhales a long breath and then slowly exhales it. “The year you broke your leg, I actually wondered if we’d make it.”

This is news to me. It was a hard-as-fuck year with Magan moving out after living with us for three years, Josie passing away unexpectedly from a heart attack, me breaking my leg after a bike accident, and Sophia struggling with the emotional impact of three miscarriages in three years. However, she never let on that she thought we were struggling to the point of maybe not making it.

At my frown, she says, “You’re not a good patient, and I’m a little overenthusiastic when I’m playing nurse. I honestly thought at times that you’d leave me.”

“For trying to boss me the fuck around?”

She smiles. “Yeah, but”—her smile disappears—“also because I was carrying on about not getting pregnant again until my body was as healthy as I could get it. We fought so much that year. I never want us to fight like that ever again.”

“I’d rather you fight with me than shut down on me.” She might have thought the year I broke my leg was hard; I thought the year after her last miscarriage was the hardest because Sophia threw herself into her work and sought space from me while she worked through her pain.

“I know,” she says softly. “I like this place we’ve gotten to now.”

I do too. It’s been a long fucking journey getting here, but I’d do it all over again for her.

“I won’t ever leave you, Sophia.”

Her hands come to my chest again. Their home. “I know you won’t. I also know you’ll do anything and everything for me and our family. I love you, Griff.”

I thread my fingers through her hair. “I don’t know what the fuck I did to deserve a woman like you, but I’m fucking glad I did it. I love you, too.”

My lips crash down onto hers and I kiss her. I take everything I need from this kiss and give her what she needs. And when I finally end it, I rest my forehead against hers. “You are a fucking overenthusiastic nurse. I hope to fuck I never break another bone.”

She laughs and when I lift my head, she says, “Do you think I’ll be able to wear you down one day and convince you to get in the bath with me?”

“Not a fucking chance, sweetheart.” With that, I lift her into my arms and carry her into our bedroom, and I spend the rest of the night showing her just how much I love her and need her.