I quickly follow her up the stone path and onto the pergola covered porch. It only takes seconds for me to see myself out here tomorrow morning sipping on iced tea. Tucker didn’t buy this house for himself; he bought it with Claire and I in mind. He knew I’d love the porch.
Claire knocks and stands at the door with her foot tapping. I want to tell her knock it off, but it’s sort of cute. I don’t know if she’s thinking the same thing I am, but I figured he would’ve been waiting at the door for us as soon as we pulled up.
The door swings open and a freshly showered Tucker is standing there with just his shorts on. His chest is wet from his dripping hair and I find myself swallowing hard as I gawk at him. It’s been far too long since I’ve been able to see his perfect, for me, body in the flesh.
“You’re early, you said five.”
I pull out my phone and look, noting that he’s right. “We can leave.”
“Don’t be silly. Let me get your bags.”
He walks by us and toward my rental car to retrieve our stuff. When he first suggested we stay with him I didn’t want to. I thought it’d be awkward and uncomfortable, but he insisted, saying he’d sleep on the couch. And now that I’m standing here, I’m sort of pissed he didn’t pull me into his arms and give me a sweet welcome.
He comes back with his arms full, so the thought of a hug still isn’t possible. He pauses long enough to give me a smile that makes me weak in my knees and winks at me.
“Come this way, ladies,” he says, motioning with his head.
I walk in after Claire and take in the beauty of this home. This is exactly the type of home we talked about owning one day when he was retired. The living room is lit by natural light through multiple skylights and a large ceiling fan circulates the air. The kitchen is off to right as you walk in, and is white with light blue accents, giving it an ocean feel.
“This way to your rooms.”
We follow Tucker down the hall, stopping behind him when nods to the right. “This is the bathroom,” he says and both of us look inside. It’s a soft yellow and very feminine with a window facing the side yard.
“This is your room,” he says, glancing at Claire. A while back I told him she wanted to be called Chloe, but he refused and I know why. I was hoping that after his grandmother visited us, she’d change her mind, but she hasn’t said anything. I don’t blame her really since all her friends know her as Chloe.
The both of us step inside and I hear a slight intake of air. Her room is decorated in pink, her favorite color. There are mounds of pillows piled high on top of her bed, but it’s the bear that grabs my attention.
“Where did you find that?” I ask him.
“It was in the storage unit.”
“I always wondered where I lost it.”
Chloe walks over and picks it up. Her fingers rub over his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth before she sits down on her bed and stares at him. I can’t help but wonder if she’s remembering him or if she just knows it was her toy.
Tucker sets her suitcase down, but doesn’t say anything as he leaves the room. I want to stay and watch Claire with her toy, but know I should follow him.
When I step into the room, it looks like ours, except it’s different. I was in the process of updating our bedroom before he deployed and had shown him a comforter I liked. It was white with an array of purple flowers. The one on the bed now is purple with white flowers cascading over half the material. I know he did this for me because no man would want to sleep in this, unless he has a girlfriend. The thought of him being with someone else hurts and makes my stomach turn. I know I have no right to ask, but I have to know.
I catch him taking a picture off the dresser and sliding it into the drawer.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“It’s nothing, just a photo.”
“Of your girlfriend?”
Tucker turns around and I can see that I’m wrong. His face is pinched and his cheeks are red. He reaches blindly for the frame and shows it to me. It’s our wedding photo. I’m dressed in a flowery summer dress and he’s in his dress whites.
“I’m sorry. I thought—”
He doesn’t let me finish my sentence before he’s standing before me. My heart is thundering in my chest, the sound clearly audible in the room. The moment his lips touch mine, I’m a heap of nothing as he takes me in his arms to hold me up. This is unlike the kiss we shared a while back; this one is full of passion and heat. My toes curl when his tongue traces the outline of my lower lip and when I sigh he uses it to his advantage by letting me taste him. With his hand on my back and the other pressed against the nape of my neck, Tucker kisses me with abandon. Our lips move together, in sync and with rhythm, making up for all the time lost during the past seven years. That’s how long it’s been since this man kissed me like he owns me.
And he does, heart and soul.