48. Wren

48

WREN

T onight, I borrowed a yellow summery dress from Kate that hugged my chest generously and flared out at the waist. Over the top, I wore a simple jean jacket that pulled it all together. My hair was in fresh curls down my back, while soft, minimal makeup covered the small imperfections on my face.

Overall, I felt beautiful tonight.

I only wished Mal were here to see me.

I hadn't expected to miss him as much as I did, but I felt like a part of me was missing. And I could only imagine what he was feeling.

I anticipated at least a few text messages or maybe even a call, but every time I would check my phone, there would be no new notifications.

My heart had sunk every time, but maybe a part of me was just as irrational as Mal was. But with everything that we had both been through, could you really blame us?

Once you have lost someone, the reality of death weighs heavily on you, and the fear of losing another loved one becomes a new constant in your life. With Greg and Shelia, it was a constant worry, but with Mal, it plagued me to my core.

A hidden thought in the back of my mind that could become destructive if I let it.

"God, is this not the best ravioli you've ever had in your life?" Kate moaned around her fork as she took the final bite of food off her plate.

Tearing me out of my trance, I smiled at my best friend.

"Do you want mine?" I offered on a laugh as she tore through an entire basket of garlic bread and a large plate of pasta before I had even finished my meal.

Pregnancy cravings were apparently no joke.

Wiping the sauce that was stuck in the corners of her mouth, she shot me a menacing glare.

"No, I'm full now, thank you very much." She lifted her chin, causing her boobs to practically spill out of her top.

The subtle differences in her body were not so subtle any longer. The more progressed she was in her pregnancy, the fuller and curvier her body got. Even her cheeks had plumped up a bit, but in all my years, I don't think I've ever seen her more beautiful than she looked now.

And she didn't seem to mind that her body was changing. Neither did James.

If anything, he can't seem to keep his hands off of her now.

"I'm teasing you." I narrowed my eyes playfully at her. "My godson was hungry too."

Rolling her eyes, she leaned back in her chair and ran her palm over her growing belly.

"Your godson is the size of a cauliflower, can you believe that?"

I stared at her stomach in awe.

"Really?" I asked.

Where had the time gone? It seemed like yesterday when he was the size of a bean and here he was now, three months away from making an appearance.

"Yeah." She smiled proudly. "It's going by too fast."

I couldn't agree more.

"Way too fast," I mumbled just as our waitress came by to check on us.

After declining a dessert menu and paying our bill, we were finally walking out the door when something had caught my eye on the busy sidewalk. Even though it was dark and crowded, I could recognize that tall, broad frame anywhere.

Mal.

And next to him was a grinning James.

My heart rate began its ascent as our eyes had finally connected over the shoulders of strangers walking past them. A look of relief spread over his face, but it was the tilt of his mouth that had me melting into the floor.

God, he was so handsome.

The need to run to him overwhelmed me, but when Kate rushed past me and flew into her husband's arms, I decided not to make an even bigger scene.

"What are you doing here?" She lathered his face in kisses until he gently pulled her off to lay a claim on her mouth.

"Thought we'd crash your little girls' night." He gently poked her on the nose. "It was Mal's idea." He motioned with his head toward Mal, causing my focus to immediately snap over to him. Already, he was watching me but he tossed a glare over at James for ratting him out.

I should've been annoyed with him. I should've felt something other than intensely happy that he decided to come here, but I was.

I was beyond happy. Beyond relieved that he missed me just as fiercely as I had missed him.

Closing the distance between us, I forced myself to not throw my arms around his neck and cover his face with endless kisses. Instead, I peered up at the man I was falling so easily for and watched as his entire body softened from my presence.

"Is that true?" I teased while holding my hands behind my back.

His chest puffed out as if he refused to admit he was the mastermind. Even his eyes wavered from mine for a brief second before they trailed over the length of my body.

My skin ignited.

"I was struggling," he admitted on a low whisper, causing my heart to flutter.

His heated eyes continued to roam over the length of my dress and seconds later, he was taking a step toward me when he fingered the yellow fabric.

"Is this yours?" he asked, his nostrils flaring with each passing second he held on to the dress.

My breathing had caught in my throat at his closeness, causing all my senses to go haywire.

"Kate let me borrow it," I whispered. "Why? Do you not like it?"

A spike of uncertainty twisted in my gut, but when I caught his eyes darken, I knew I had it all wrong.

"Do I like it?" He laughed. "Fuck, I more than just like it, Doe, but so does every hot-blooded male that gets his eyes on you."

His palm connected with my hip, and in seconds I was pulled in flush against him.

"They can look all they want, but only one man gets to see what it looks like off." I raised up onto my toes and only halfway there, Mal's mouth crashed into mine.

It was a lay of claim and I fell right into it as our tongues lashed.

With his hand still protectively covering my waist, the other found my cheek where he guided our kiss where he wanted it.

It was exactly what I needed.

What I wanted.

And finally on one last nip along his bottom lip, we pulled away, desperately trying to catch our breaths.

"Fuck, I missed you," he groaned.

Just from the gleam in his eye and the way he caressed my face like I was the most precious thing in the world made me realize just how deep we were.

The raw honesty of this beyond-vulnerable man never ceased to amaze me.

And it was all solely for me.

His affection. His tenderness. His protectiveness.

Every ounce of what the world had never seen, I did.

And it made me feel like the luckiest woman alive.

"I missed you too."

Then hand in hand, Kate and I decided to part ways for the night after Mal and James showed up. James had even hugged Mal, which had my eyes bulging out of my head, but to my utter shock, Mal had hugged him back.

The biggest, brightest smile filled my face, which caused Mal to roll his eyes. Although he shrugged me off as if it were nothing, I knew it was something.

A step toward something more.

A step toward letting the light in after being stuck in the darkness for so long.

When we finally got back to Mal's, the second we walked through the door, he was on me. Warm lips trailed over my neck and along my shoulders as his desperate hands lifted me off my feet.

We didn't make it far as he tripped over the corner of the living room rug, causing us to topple over onto the ground with him hovering over the top of me. Luckily, his hand protected the back of my head, but his worried eyes still scoured mine for any pain.

"Jesus, are you okay?" he panted.

Brushing away the strands of hair that fell over my face, I couldn't help but laugh. A burst of giggles fell from my mouth as a look of confusion spread across his face.

"I'm fine," I reassured him as my laughing continued. Then finally, when he realized that I was okay, his mouth curved at the sides and a beautiful rumble of laughter escaped Mal.

There was something so unique, so powerful about this moment of pure, genuine laughter, that I never wanted it to end.

Together our laughter intermingled until eventually it subsided into smiles. When there was only silence left in the air, Mal looked down at me as if there was nowhere else in the world he'd rather be. His eyes were heavy with adoration and warmth, and he began to lovingly caress the top of my head and down the side of my face with his hand.

"Tell me you're mine, Doe," he demanded.

With a smile and a hammering heart, I responded.

"I'm yours. Always."

We then made love on the floor all hours of the night until our bodies were spent.

Until our souls became one.

Until there was nothing else left besides the undeniable love that was so effortlessly taken by the one man who I should have never wanted.

If only he actually felt the same…