How Much I Love by Marie Force
Chapter 18
WYATT
I’m at the airport two hours early. The word is out among my family, friends and colleagues that I’m moving to Miami. My phone has been buzzing with texts all week that I haven’t answered yet. I’m waiting for Dee to get here to take a new selfie of us together that I’ll send to everyone wanting to know what’s in Miami that we don’t have in Phoenix.
Overall, people seem to be taking the news well. Even my mom has been somewhat restrained this week, checking on me only once since I saw them on Monday, rather than the usual three or four times. I suspect my dad advised her to go with the flow after seeing how intent I am on having this life with Dee.
I can’t remember the last time I was more excited about anything than I am to see her. Thank God her flight is on time. A delay would send us both over the edge today.
The anticipation is killing me until they finally announce the arrival of her flight from Miami. Another half-hour goes by with no sign of her—pure torture.
By the time I see her coming toward me, I feel like I can’t wait another second for something I thought I didn’t need. She was right. It would’ve been a damned shame to miss out on ever feeling the pure joy that overtakes me at the sight of her beautiful, smiling face. She walks into my outstretched arms like she’s coming home, and in a way, we both are.
She hugs me as tightly as I hug her. “So happy to see you.”
“Me, too. I was about to spontaneously combust, waiting for you to get here.”
“Don’t do that. I need you all in one piece.”
I let go of her only long enough to take her backpack and the handle of her suitcase. I put my arm around her again to walk out of the airport. When we leave the air-conditioned airport, we step into a hot, sunny day in the desert. “What did you think of the view from the air?”
“It’s so different from Miami.”
“It looks like Miami in need of a glass of water.”
She laughs at my description. “Just a different climate. I can’t wait to see more.”
“I wish we had time to go to Sedona and the Grand Canyon. We’ll do that when we come back to visit. You’ll love Sedona. It’s the most beautiful place.”
“I can’t wait to see it all.”
When we get to my SUV, I stash her bag in the back and hold the passenger door for her.
“This is nice,” she says about the car.
“Thanks.” Because I can’t wait for another second, I lean into the car to kiss her.
Her hand cups my face, and her mouth opens to my tongue. Just that fast, I’m completely lost in her. “Hold that thought,” I tell her when I finally withdraw from the kiss to walk around to the driver’s side. Once in the car, I reach for her again, and we pick right up where we left off, both of us straining to get closer.
“Please tell me we don’t have any plans today.”
“I have one plan that involves you in my bed for many, many hours.”
“Let’s get to that.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I drive us home as fast as I dare, giving her a windshield tour of Phoenix as we go.
“I love the cacti! We need to get some to take home to Miami for our new house.”
“We can do that. Speaking of our new house, what’s the latest?”
“The Realtor set us up with appointments at both for a week from Tuesday. She said they’ve been on the market for a while, so it’s probably safe to wait. She asked the listing agent to let us know if they get other offers.”
“I told you—if there’s one you like better than the other, it’s okay to make the offer.”
“I want you to see it first.”
“As long as you’re there with me, I could live in a tent and be happy.”
“That’s crazy. You can’t buy a house without ever seeing it.”
“Yes, I can. Carpe diem. Isn’t that our motto? If you like one of them better than the other, make the offer.”
Her nervous laughter fills me with a lighthearted, breathless feeling I’m beginning to recognize as joy. It’s the best thing I’ve ever experienced.
“Are you sure? Like a thousand percent sure you want to buy a house without seeing it?”
“I’m ten million percent sure. Pull the trigger, babe.”
“Gulp.” She gets out her phone and calls up a listing on Zillow that she shows me at a stoplight. “This is the one I liked the best.” In the time it takes for the light to change, she gives me a tour of the house I’ve seen once before online. “The kitchen is to die for, with two ovens, a gas range and top-of-the-line appliances. I like that it has two master suites, so if your parents come to visit, they’ll have their own space.”
“That’d be perfect because I told them they ought to consider wintering in Miami.”
“They totally should. There’re also four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, a media room and an office we can share.”
“There’s no one I’d rather share an office with than you. Show me the pool again.”
She flips to the picture of a fenced-off pool surrounded by lavish, mature landscaping and palm trees.
“I loved that one, too. That pool is gorgeous. Text the agent. Tell her we’ll take it.”
Again, she laughs, but there’s a higher tone to it that tells me she’s excited but nervous. I love that I already know these things about her. “Are we really doing this?”
“We’re really doing this, and it’s the very best thing to ever happen to me. Buy the house, Dee. Let’s make a home there together.”
Her eyes are bright with excitement when she shows me the asking price at another stoplight. “What do you want to offer?”
“Full price, so they’ll take it.”
“No one offers full price, Wyatt. We’re not doing that.” She shaves a hundred thousand off the asking price and sends the offer by text to the Realtor before dropping her phone into her lap like it’s suddenly too hot to handle.
“You’re not going to puke, are you?”
Smiling, she looks at me with gorgeous eyes filled with happiness. “I don’t think so, but I reserve the right to puke later.”
“It’s all good, love. I’ll get a pretty penny for my place here, and I’ve been smart with money. We’ll be fine.”
“Plus, we have my new job, too.”
“That’s right.”
“I know it’s nothing compared to what you probably make—”
I lean over to kiss the words off her sweet lips. “It’s not nothing. It’s fantastic, and you’re going to be the best general manager in the history of GMs.”
She rolls her eyes. “If you say so.”
“I say so. There’s no way your aunt and uncle would’ve asked you if they weren’t as sure as I am that you’ll be great at it. They have a lot on the line entrusting their very successful business to someone. You can bet they gave it a ton of thought before they asked you.”
“I’m sure they did.”
“They asked the best person for the job. No question.”
“As I’ve told you before, you’re very good for my ego.”
“If you knew how often I thought of you this last week, your ego would be too big to fit in this vehicle.”
“Is that right? So how many times are we talking?”
“You want, like, a number?”
“A number would be good.”
She’s been here fifteen minutes, and already everything is better. The sun is brighter, the sky is bluer, and my heart is lighter than air. “Maybe, like, a thousand?”
“Hmm.”
“What? Is that too low?”
Her laughter delights me. “Of course not. Were you thinking of me when you were doing surgery?”
“Yep.”
“Is that safe?”
“For who?”
“The patient!”
I lose it laughing. “Some of these surgeries I do so often, I could do them in my sleep, even if every one of them is different in some way or another. It’s safe for my mind to wander to thoughts about my favorite person.”
“I’m your favorite person?”
“Hell yes, and you were before last weekend. I’ve never thought more about another person in my life than I have about you since the day we met. The whole time I was on the flight to Miami, I was telling myself to stay far away from you, because if I saw you again…”
“What?” she asks, sounding breathless.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t have the willpower to do what was best for you, and it turns out I was right about that.”
“No, you weren’t. What’s best for me is more time with you, as much as I can get for as long as I can.”
“And you wonder why you’re my favorite person.”
“You’re mine, too.”
“You don’t have to say that. You’ve got a lot of people in your life.”
“But there’s only one you, and you’re my new favorite. I thought of you nonstop this last week, too. I thought Sunday would never get here.”
I push on the accelerator, dying to get her home so we can spend the rest of the day in bed.
“Is there a reason you’re speeding?”
“Yep.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“I’d rather show you.”
