Just a year ago, she was happy with her life. She had been comfortable living with Nick. They had been happily in love. Then Katelin came along, and, as much as she hated to admit it, that was when the problems started. She was overwhelmed. Somehow, he had managed to back her into a corner, she had ALLOWED him to back her into a corner, and there was no pleasant way out. Either she stayed with Nick and left herself wide open for heartbreak if he didn’t love her, or she ran away with Katelin and gave up on love altogether. Neither option was particularly appealing.
A tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another one, then a steady river. What was she going to do? Nick had left for the day so she could figure out what her heart was telling her, but nothing was happening. Nothing. Maybe she was a heartless bitch.
She faintly heard the back door open and close, followed by footsteps in the hall. There were no baby wails. Maybe Katelin had fallen asleep, she thought hopefully. Someone tapped on her door. “What do you need?” she called.
“Babe, can I come in?”
She looked down at her naked body and felt ashamed for some reason. ‘God, it’s not like he’s never seen you naked before, Michelle. He kind of got you pregnant,’ she thought. “Yeah, sure, go ahead,” she replied. The knob turned, and Nick stepped in. She drank in the sight of him. A thought flashed through her mind. Were his looks the only reason she hadn’t left him sooner? ‘No, of course not,’ she decided quickly. “Yeah?”
“Brian and Leigh offered to take Katie for a couple days so we can figure things out.”
“Great. Is that it?”
“I thought maybe we could talk?”
She groaned. “I’m kind of busy here, Nick. Can we do it when I’m not naked or something?”
He looked hurt. “Sure, sorry. I’ll be in the bedroom.”
A flicker of remorse sparked somewhere within her, but she quickly blew that guilty flame out and continued to soak in the hot water. After washing her hair and shaving her legs, she finally got out. She was as shriveled up as a prune.
She came out in her robe to find Nick waiting for her on the bed. “Hey,” she said softly.
He looked up and smiled slightly. “Hi.”
“I don’t know yet, Nick.”
“Michelle, tell me what I can do to prove it to you. Just name it and I will do it without hesitation.”
“I can’t tell you, because like I said, then it doesn’t come from the heart.”
“I brought you flowers,” he stated, motioning to the vase on the bedside table. In it were a dozen long-stemmed red roses and a dozen white ones. “And chocolates. I know it’s not much, but I figured it was worth a try.”
“Thanks,” she said. She grabbed a nightgown and went back into the bathroom to change. When she came back in, she crawled into bed next to him.
“Do you want me to sleep on the sofa again?”
“No, that’s okay.” She looked over at him and quickly closed her eyes to hide the tears gathering in them, but he caught her.
“Look, Shelle…” he said quietly. “I’ve never been good with words. I can’t express myself with words. It just doesn’t work. That’s probably why I sing. Still, I’m gonna try to say this.”
“Okay…”
“I love you, and I know you love me. If you didn’t love me, you wouldn’t be so upset right now. And because of that, I don’t understand why you would let this go. People search for true love their entire lives and never find it. Here we’ve found it, and you’re about to give that up?”
“How do I know you’ve found it?”
“You just have to trust me. Love isn’t something you can prove.”
She stared into his eyes as he waited for some sort of response. As hurt as she still was, she couldn’t not believe those eyes. Finally, she nodded. “I guess you have a point.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yeah, I do.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”