“You’re still here. It wasn’t a dream.” Eli wraps his arms around me, buries his face in my hair, and breathes in deeply.

“No, it certainly wasn’t,” I say in a sleepy voice. My body hurts because there’s such a small space on the couch, and Eli is so big, but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. “I went to the bathroom before going to sleep, but your cum has been randomly leaking out throughout the night.”

Eli chuckles. “Well, cum tends to do that.”

“I’ve noticed.” I turn around on my side to face him.

I can’t help but smile when I see the way he’s looking at me, his eyes twinkling like it’s the most incredible thing in the world that I’m here with him.

“What time is it?” I ask.

“Time for us to fuck again? Speaking of, when did you put your clothes back on?”

I laugh. “When did you put your clothes back on?”

“When I woke up and realized you were already clothed. Now, are you going to get naked again or what?”

“Don’t you have to pick up your niece or something?”

Eli’s smile spreads wider. “No. The school bus must’ve taken her home by now, and my mom was already waiting for her.”

“What are you looking at?” I ask, giggling as I grow self-conscious under his intense stare.

“You’re always thinking about other people. I love that about you,” he says.

I pause. “Love, huh?”

“Too soon?” he asks, his sharp gaze studying me as his hand rests lazily on my waist, his thumb stroking my skin under my shirt.

I shrug. “Don’t you want to . . . I don’t know, make sure you get to know me again before you say something like that? I could’ve changed.”

“Nah.” Eli gazes deep into my eyes. “I know you, Sophia. I always have. And, I love you. That’s never going to change.”

Before I realize what’s happening, tears spring quickly to my eyes and roll down my face, seeping into the fabric of the couch.

“Don’t cry,” he says, wiping my tears with his big thumb. With a confused frown, he asks, “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, you idiot.” I laugh as my tears dry on my skin. “That was the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“There’s plenty more where that came from.” Eli grins.

I gaze into his eyes and find nothing but sincerity there. He’s not lying. He’s smiling again, like that has just become his default expression, even though most people know him as a gruff, unfriendly guy.

“What do you see in me?” I blurt out.

“Is that a serious question?” he asks. “Do you seriously not see how amazing you are?”

I shake my head. “Tell me. Tell me all about how amazing I am.”

Eli bursts out laughing. He pulls me close until my ear is pressed against his chest and I can feel his heartbeat on my ear. “Oh, I’m so glad to have you back in my life.”

It’s funny how few people realize Eli’s just a big softie. He’s a cuddly teddy bear—or at least he is to me.

“Are you going to tell me or what?” I ask playfully.

“I’m going to tell you exactly when I fell in love with you.” Eli strokes my hair softly with his big hands.

“There’s one particular moment?” I ask, surprised this has never come up before. I pull away to stare at Eli’s face.

“Yeah.” Eli looks into the distance, then gazes at me with adoration in his eyes. “I remember the exact moment. It was late in the afternoon. You were sitting on this swing in the park by your house.”

“Magnus Park?” I ask.

“Yeah. The sun was setting. You were crying into some tissues. I remember looking at you and thinking even your shadow looked long and sad.”

“It was probably a weekday,” I say.

“Yeah. After school. There was a backpack lying on the ground by your feet.”

“So many details,” I tease him, trying to lighten the situation.

Eli just smiles.

It doesn’t sound like a pleasant memory so far. I was probably bullied at school and stayed at the park so my parents wouldn’t hear or see me crying at home.

“It was an important moment in my life. That was the one and only time I fell for someone,” he says.

“One and only time? You mean, this whole time, you—”

“Shh . . . I’m trying to tell a story.” Eli grins. “So, as I was saying, you were crying. And I . . . kind of felt responsible, I guess.”

“Because you knew Angela probably had something to do with it?”

“Because I knew Angela probably had something to do with it.” Eli pauses. “I was just passing by. I was on my way to work, you know, at the diner.”

I nod, remembering how he used to make me sweet, creamy smoothies while I was waiting for him to finish working.

Because his dad had passed and his mom was struggling to raise two kids, Eli decided to start working as soon as he finished high school, planning to go to college when he could afford it but the right time never came.

“I wanted to tell you it was going to be okay. You were a smart girl and you were going to college. It was going to get better as soon as you did.” Eli stops to look at me. “Did it?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good to hear.” He smiles as he gazes at me. “Anyway, before I could approach you, a kid walked past you. He was crying, too. You saw him, and you stopped crying.”

“I don’t remember this.”

“Well, I do. You went over and talked to him. I couldn’t hear what you said to him, but he stopped crying when you took his hand. You picked up your bag and you both went deeper into the park. I’ve always thought you were helping him look for something. A missing toy, perhaps.”

“I can’t tell you. I really don’t remember anything like that,” I say.

“It happened. And, it doesn’t matter what you were helping him with. I just . . . I loved how easy it was for you to shrug off your own sadness to help someone else. It struck me how kind you were.”

A lump forms in my throat. I didn’t expect such a poignant answer.

Again, I joke, “Maybe I was part of a kidnapping ring, and I was delivering him to a human trafficker for money.”

Eli’s boisterous laughter fills the air. He kisses the top of my head. “I love you,” he says. “I always will.”

A drop of hope enters my system.

“I thought, at that moment, that it would be so amazing to build a family with you, to have someone like you in my life, always.”

I fall silent.

“I thought you’d make a good wife. And, a good mom.” Eli pulls me into his embrace again, and I’m just glad I can bury my face in his chest because I feel like I’m about to cry.

I don’t like crying in front of people. I never have.

“You’re so quiet.” Eli rests his chin on top of my head. “Am I scaring you with all this family talk?”

I shake my head.

I mean, I am scared, I guess. But, not in the way he’d think.

It scares me how much I want the thing Eli just described. It terrifies me how much I want us to be a family.

And, I know it’s not going to happen. Not unless I want to deprive Eli of the future I know he deserves.

“I hope you mean that, princess because I won’t stop feeling this way about you. I can stop talking about it if it makes you uncomfortable, though.”

“You don’t have to do that.” I look up at him, hesitating, wondering if I should tell him the truth. “Eli, has it ever occurred to you that I might not be as amazing as you think?”

“Nah,” he says, grinning. “Nice try, but nothing will change the way I feel about you.”

I give him a smile and hide myself in his embrace. I’m too much of a coward to tell him, after all.

“It’s around one,” Eli says.

“Huh?”

“You asked for the time, remember? It’s one p.m. So, what do you want to do the rest of the day?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug.

I don’t want to do anything. I don’t want to go anywhere. Guilt weighs me down and makes me lethargic. Or, maybe I just can’t bear the thought of us leaving this cabin when everything is perfect here, in this moment.

“Want to meet my niece?” Eli asks. “She’s probably home by now.”

“No,” I answer, probably a little too quickly. “I mean, I’m sure she’s lovely. I just—”

“Don’t worry. I get it. It’s too soon,” Eli says. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I know I’m moving fast. I’ve just missed you so damn much. I feel like I have to make up for all that lost time. But, I shouldn’t force it.”

I’ve spent so many nights dreaming about growing old with Eli that the notion of him moving too fast seems ridiculous. But that explanation seems to satisfy him.

“Can we just stay here?” I press my body against him, kiss his neck, and whisper in his ear. “I’ll make it worth your while . . .”

Eli chuckles. “You know I can’t say no to an offer like that. But, I have one condition.”

“What is it?” I ask, nibbling on his ear lobe.