Wound tight, I climbed into my truck, drove home and let myself into my quiet, dark apartment. I waited until I was in my room with the door shut before I kicked my dresser drawers and fisted my hands.
“Motherfucking piece of shit bastard asshole.”
“What’s wrong?”
I gasped and whirled around, not expecting someone to be in my bed. “Jesus Christ!” Pressing my hand to my heart, I gaped at Caroline as she sat up, the sheets sliding down to reveal she was wearing one of my T-shirts. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I came over to see Zoey earlier, and just...forgot to go home.”
A blinding, uncontrollable love swamped me. Feeling as if the grains of my time with her were slipping away, I hurried to the bed, freshly awed by how beautiful she was to me, inside and out. “And how is Blondie doing?” I asked, crawling onto the mattress with her to lie on top of the covers next to her.
She shrugged and slipped my hair across my forehead with a gentle touch. “She’s scared. Both she and Quinn are freaked out. They’ve gone to three different doctors, and all of them have said she’ll probably be put to bed rest at some point in the pregnancy. They’re good for now, but I think it’s going to be a stressful nine months.”
I nodded as I kicked off my shoes. “Yeah. I can only imagine how much this is going to suck ass.”
When I arched my face in to kiss her cheek, Caroline pulled back as soon as my lips touched hers. Setting her hand on my jaw, she squinted at me thoughtfully, sympathy filling her gaze. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Shaking my head, I gazed into her eyes, scared that soon I wouldn’t be able to look into them like this ever again. I’d never be able to stretch out on a bed with her, or pull her hair while I made her come.
“I love you,” I said, meaning it more than I’d ever meant it before, feeling it work through every fiber of my being, and realizing this woman was it for me. She was my soul mate.
Her eyes filled with worry. “What’s wrong is that you love me?” she guessed, probably trying to make me crack a smile, but I nodded seriously.
“Yeah,” I said. “I love you, and that’s why I felt this irritatingly noble urge to broach the subject of us to Noel.”