When I'm With You

“She’ll be fine. She’s a strong one. Just needed to get it out. Don’t be surprised if she never brings it up again and just moves on like she hadn’t just been betrayed by a man she had spent the last few years loving.”

“That’s not healthy, baby.”

“I know it’s not. She works on things her own way and I just make sure I’m there if she needs me.”

“And what do you need?”

Her smile is instant. “Just you.”

“Always.”

She curls back against my body, her hand going still a few minutes later as her exhaustion wins. It’s been a crazy night, but hopefully, it helped distract the nerves that she’s been fighting as her show gets closer.

It’s been on the tip of my tongue the last few nights, especially after the fire, to tell her how I feel, but because of the bullshit I had done in the past to hurt her, I know that she needs to be shown. I fucked up and because of that, my biggest fear is that my words won’t be enough. Actually, that’s a lie. The thought that I might feel what she did all those years ago when she bared her soul and I let the pain come to it is a very real insecurity for me. I know deep down that won’t happen, but until I can make her say it again and prove to her that I won’t take that gift for granted, I’m going to keep proving my feelings for her.

Hell, any fool can say those three little words but not all can show it. It took me a while to figure out what I needed to do was demonstrate that having all of her is something I not only want but also crave. Turning her down will always be one of my biggest regrets—even if it was the best thing for her at the time—because now that I have her, I know the only way I would have ever felt true happiness is in her arms.

Everything I have ever wanted is coming true. I have Dirty, and already, I know with no doubts that place will continue to thrive. My family is healthy. I have my own home, a badass truck, and friends with a bond that most people would kill to have. Everything that money could buy, I have. But getting the gift of Ember’s love will without a doubt solidify that I’ve made it.

Nothing in the world is worth having if it isn’t with her.

I know that now, and it’s my job to make sure that any lingering doubts she might have are erased.

With a smile on my face and a plan forming in my mind, I pull her a little closer and drift off to sleep.

Tomorrow is going to be fun.

“WOULD YOU SIT STILL!” MY sister yells, throwing another Q-tip down on the kitchen table. “I swear to God, Ember, you act like you’ve never put eyeliner on before.”

Blinking back some of the tears in my eyes, I look up at her and smile, or try to, but my nerves are going nuts in my gut and I’m too focused on trying not to puke.

“You’re lucky I love you,” she fumes.

Nate wisely left when the girls showed up earlier. I think he would have stuck around, but when his sister started talking about her night with Cohen, he gagged and left with the promise to be back in time to escort me to the gallery.

“When is Stella getting here?” Dani asks, twirling another lock of my hair around her flat iron. I’ve always wondered how she got those amazing curls to stay so long but never thought it would be a flat iron doing the trick.

“Dunno,” Maddi hums, her breath hitting my face as she attempts to put my liner on—again—and I fight the urge to blink when she starts to come at me with the pointy end again.

“She had better hurry; she’s got my dress,” I mumble. When I realized that the fire had destroyed the one I had picked out, I knew Stella, or her father rather, was my only hope.

“What happened to the one you bought?”