“There you are, Mom!”

Exhausted from running and trying to find her, I impatiently made my way through the crowded restaurant, trying to get her attention.

“Oh, Katie! Hi! Why are you all sweaty and shaking?”

“Mom, we have to go.”

“Go? I just sat down. Justin’s in the bathroom. He should be out any minute.”

“Get your order to go, Mom. We have to leave. Grab Justin, and then let’s head to your place.”

“What’s this all about, Katie?”

Making no effort to move from her seat, Annie watched her daughter twitch with anxiety as Justin returned to the table.

“Hey Katie, are you joining us for lunch?”

He sat down in a chair with his back to the window. Patrons passed by with little concern as her mother and brother both looked up at her from their seats, menus in hand.

“We need to go. NOW!”

Her shout drew the attention of the people around them, and heads turned to witness the exchange.

“Lower your voice, please. We are in public, with people all around us,” Annie scolded me.

“I’m sorry, Mom, but Randall is here somewhere, and we need to go right now!”

“Oh honey, we told you before that this paranoia is all part of the PTSD. Maybe Justin can give you something to calm you down?”

“What? No! I don’t need to calm down!”

“Katie, there you are! Come on, we need to go.”

Zack marched suddenly toward the table, just as anxious as I was.

“Honestly! The two of you?”

“Mom!”

“Mrs. Sullivan!”

The Sullivan part had Annie standing up so abruptly that her chair fell to the floor.

“What did you just call me?”

My heart was pounding out of my chest as I watched my mom realize that Zack knew everything. I couldn’t think about anything other than getting everyone out here and somewhere safe.

“Zackary Collins, you tell me right now what is going on!”

Justin stood up, too, gaping at Zack. Eventually we all made our way toward the door. Zack pulled me into a hug and kissed me senseless.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” he whispered in my ear. “I swear you scared the living daylights out of me. I think I must have aged ten years trying to find you.”

Kissing me as if it would be our last encounter, Zack took everything I had and demanded more. I was so lost in the feel of his lips that I didn’t even realize that he’d moved us to his awaiting car. Then he guided me inside as the others made their way to their own vehicles, with instructions to follow us back to Zack’s place.

 

“You just don’t get it, do you?”

I watched the trees passing us, then I turned in my seat to face him, confused by his out-of-the-blue question.

“Get what?”

He took my hand in both of his and pulled just enough so that our thighs touched.

“When I said that we are together, I meant it, with every fiber of my being. It may take you a bit longer to catch up with me, but we are in this…whatever it is—together. I don’t want to be on the sidelines while you deal with this without me. I don’t have it in me to just watch as you go through something so monumental that it may change everything for you, and maybe for us. I know this sounds crazy to you, but I have never experienced anything so profound in all my life.”

Then he placed my hand on his chest and I could feel his heart pounding. I gasped at the sensation.

“I’m so sorry, Zack. I do need to catch up. I just don’t know how to be in a good relationship after…”

“Shush. You know what the greatest part about being together is?”

“What’s that?’

“That we both feel the same about one another. We can make it, as long as we are both willing to do the work and try. I can show you how much I love you, and you can show me right back. I know how to love, I’ve seen my parents and grandparents do it all my life. The respect they have for one another is so profound that it carries over to all those around them. I know I love you, Katie. How you feel for me I’m not so sure of, but I do know that I love you.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks at his declaration. How I’d found this wonderful man, I had no idea, but maybe fate had finally given me the one person I could open my heart to completely. But did I love him? I knew I had never felt for anyone the way I did for him. I knew that when he entered a room, my world righted itself just from his presence. I could actually feel him without even knowing he had entered a room, our connection was so strong, and when he kissed me, my whole body hummed with tingling sensations that reached all the way down to the tips of my toes.

"That’s love, baby.”

“Oh, Zack.”

I cried as I launched myself into his arms, not caring we were still in the car with his security detail in the front. He held me so tight I could barely breathe, but all I felt was the sensation of security being in his arms provided.

“I love you too, Zack. We may not have been dating long, but we have been dancing around the idea of us for years. How could I not love you? You’ve been everything I ever wanted.”

He kissed my eyelids, then the tip of my nose, finally putting his lips against mine, sealing our fate to whatever struggles lay ahead. But we were together now.

 

***

 

Walking through the door, we were immediately blasted with the sounds of my brother and mother talking at one another at the same time. As soon as they saw me, they directed their attention and inquisitive questions at me at a feverish pitch. My arms flew about as I screamed right back at them. Normally we were so civilized. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Zack just watching from the sidelines, unsure when he should step into the conversation—or yelling match.

“How could you tell him? It’s not just your life that’s at stake, Katie!”

I’ve never seen my mom so livid.

“What about the rest of the family? Did you even consider them when you told him? What’s wrong with you, Katie?”

Justin’s face was so red that I was more worried he would have a heart attack than about anything he was saying to me.

“I didn’t tell him anything!”

I couldn’t just stand by and let my family think that I’d ruined everything we’d built. Everything we’d sacrificed to build.

“Now hold on, everybody.”

Zack bless his heart, was always attempting to bring peace into our chaos, but this time, no one would have it.

As my mom and I continued yelling at one another, Justin expelled several breaths, regaining his composure. Then he sat on a stool, arms against the counter, his head in his hands. When he looked my way, his attitude changed and he bolted from his seat, charging at me rather quickly. So quickly I dug my heels into the floor to stand my ground, unsure what would happen next.

Seeing my discomfort, Zack stood, too, and hurried to my side, not willing to let anything or anyone hurt me. He was my rock now, and I was so happy we had a chance to be together, for however long we were allowed.

“Damn Katie, your bandage is soaked with blood.”

He grabbed my arm to inspect the damage, but Zack quickly pushed his hand away and lifted me into his arms, carrying me to the nearby couch.

“That’s it!”

Livid was not strong enough a word to describe the look on Zack’s face. Angry wasn’t, either. He was pissed as hell.

“Baby, why didn’t you say something?”

“I just didn’t feel anything. I guess I bumped it against the counter when we were all talking.”

“Yelling, Katie. That wasn’t talking, that was yelling, and I hope you all got it out of your system, because I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not even yourself.”

Justin was so shocked at the exchange playing out before him that he just stared at us. I was in Zack’s lap as he cradled my arm.

Oh yeah. We hadn’t got a chance to tell him that we were together. Everything had happened so fast, and I didn’t realize that he’d had no idea…

Taking a few careful steps in our direction, Justin made his way toward us. Since he was a doctor, inspecting the wound was his top priority. All other questions and concerns could wait until he made sure I was okay. Zack, however, would have none of it. I didn’t even think he realized he was giving the death stare and hissing as Justin approached.

“I’m sorry, Zack. This is your house, and we just barged in screaming our heads off at one another. You must think we are all a bunch of crazy lunatics, but Katie’s hurt and I need to check and make sure she didn’t pop any stitches.”

He kept advancing slowly, talking softly as to not startle Zack even further. Justin seemed to understand how protective Zack was of me, and I was awestruck at how lucky I was to have two such amazing men in my life.

“Sorry, Justin, but I can’t let you do that until you calm down. I won’t let anyone hurt her, not even you.”

“Damn, bro, I didn’t realize…”

He paused to take a cleansing breath before continuing, then looked over at our mom, whose smile was so big it seemed as if happiness was pouring right out of her.

“I’ve wanted to be with your sister for a long time. Yesterday we were finally able to talk about it, and we’ve decided to give it a shot.”

Zack filled everyone in while we waited for Justin to relax enough to tend to my injury.

“Congratulations to the two of you.” Then he turned to face Mom. “Looks like we have a wedding coming up soon.”

“Yep, looks that way.”

Wedding? I wasn’t convinced that we’d make it past this trauma, let alone a wedding. And wasn’t sure he’d want anything to do with me once he realized how much damage this could do to his career.

“I heard that, and I’m not going anywhere, baby,” Zack whispered in my ear.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his words. He was so in tune with me, and he wouldn’t let me get away with anything.

“Smart baby. That will save us a lot of trouble in the long run, but I do intend on showing you as often as necessary. I am not going anywhere.”

Then he brushed his lips against mine in the sweetest way while my family witnessed our exchange. I wanted to pull him into the kiss further, but he was right in keeping it short and sweet in front of everyone.

“Let’s look at what damage you’ve done to yourself, little sis.”

Justin sought Zack’s permission, and Zack nodded his approval.

Justin sat on the coffee table in front of us, taking my arm into his hand to remove the bandage. I hissed as the wet cloth was pealed back a layer at a time. How I’d never felt myself smacking my arm against whatever it was that caused the wound to bleed I didn’t know, but I did know the pain I was feeling now. Damn, it hurt.

When the final layer was removed and the wound was exposed, it looked as if I had indeed popped two stitches while we were hurrying to get back to the house. Zack was not all too happy with any of us, me especially, and his furrowed brows warned of his plan to let us know all about it.

“That’s it!”

He slowly and carefully removed me from his lap as Justin retrieved his bag from the car with the equipment necessary to stitch me back up. Pacing back and forth, waiting for his return, Zack looked as though the world was resting on his shoulders once again. I never wanted to do this to him, but he seemed to not care about that at the moment.

“I think we all need to take a step back and shelf this conversation until Katie is up to it. In the meantime, let’s make sure her wound is tended to and have some lunch. Nothing is that immediate that we can’t eat first.”

Had it already been several hours since we’d last ate? Jeez, I felt like all I did around this man was eat. Last night, this morning, and now here we were, eating again! What the hell? I laughed to myself, thinking how weird it must have been for Zack to have all of us surrounding his personal space. Just yesterday morning I’m sure he never would have imagined being invaded in such a way.

I watched as he gracefully hurried around the kitchen. It took me a moment to realize that this was relaxing to him. He wanted to help. He wanted to be included in my life. He wanted to be there for me, and in turn, for my family. Then it hit me all at once. He loved this because he loved me. What did he say again? Oh yeah, we are in this thing together. If this is his together, then I am in love with him as well.

Feeling my eyes on him as he prepared sandwiches for all of us, Zack lifted his head and met my eyes, smiling that shy smile I’d known for so long. That smile that was always meant just for me. How I never realized it until this moment I had no idea. I must have been blinded by my own demons to not realize the amazing man in front of me. Thank goodness he didn’t let me get away!

In my excitement, I stood up, but Justin wouldn’t have it as he pushed against my shoulder to keep me seated.

“Easy there, sis.” He just laughed. “Let me fix you up first.”

But it was too late. Zack had already seen that I was trying to get up, and he rushed to my side.

“You okay? What’s wrong?”

The concern on his face was for me, and I was no longer surprised by it. Now I just welcomed it with open arms.

“I just realized how much you love me, too.”

Justin just kept his head down as he worked on my arm, not wanting to interfere, but unable to help being caught literally in the middle of us.

“Damn, baby. I’m so glad you finally get it.”

He didn’t come close enough for me to get my hands on him, but he just told me everything with the look on his face and the love in his eyes.

“How are those sandwiches coming, Zack? I’m starving.”

Ever the savior, my mom dispelled the situation with just a few short words that drew us back to the here and now.

“Coming right up, Annie.”

With one last look of promises yet to come, Zack turned to finish the meal.

“I think he’s perfect for you, Katie.”

Securing the last of the tape onto the bandage, Justin tossed the supplies into his bag and took my hand in his.

“You really think so?”

Encouragement from my big brother was all I ever wanted, and to have him like the choice I made has me so happy that I could barely contain the tears once again threatening to fall. It seemed as if I cried all the time nowadays.

“I know so. He’s perfect for you, and you’re perfect for him.”

Zack and Justin had been friends for years, getting together to talk football every week in the winter, playing golf together most Sundays every summer. If I wasn’t mistaken, I believed they had become best friends in the years since we’d moved here.

“Thanks.”

It was the only answer I could muster up for this conversation. Justin knew how much his approval meant to me, and to have him so upfront and reassuring about my relationship went a long way.