Never Far Away (The Never #2)(74)
“Do you want kids?” She blurted out before she had a chance to think, surprised by even her own jump to a serious topic.
“Generally or specifically?” He asked. She knew he couldn’t really see her, but she drew her eyebrows together in confusion anyway.
“What the heck does that mean?” She asked and heard him laugh.
“Well, I mean, in a very general way, I’d say sure, I want kids. I like the idea of having children. I feel compelled as a person to continue my lineage and all that. But specifically, with you, I want kids so badly I can hardly wait. To see you carrying our child, Ella, that will probably be the most beautiful thing I’ll ever see. To hold our baby, to know that our love created a person, someone that will be a combination of us; it’s the most important thing we’ll ever do together, creating that child.”
Ella’s breath stole from her lungs at his words. His words. What kind of poet had he been in a past life to be able to weave words together in such a way that made her heart beat right out of her chest?
“Who are you?” She asked very seriously. “What made you the way you are? Why are you so kind and sweet? Strong and possessive? I can’t even imagine what my life would be like right now if you weren’t in it. How did you become so perfect?”
“Ella, I’m not perfect,” he whispered.
“You’re perfect for me,” she quietly replied.
“I couldn’t agree more. But honestly, we’re just lucky I think.”
“Lucky?”
“Think about everything that had to happen for you and I to be at my mom’s bar at the same time that night: if her dishwasher hadn’t broken, if it hadn’t been raining, if you had decided not to go to the beach, if you hadn’t left your lights on. There were a million different ways that night could have played out, Ella. How lucky are we that this is how our story ended up?” He emphasized his point by running his hands along her bare back, bringing goose bumps to the surface of her skin, making her shiver. “But luck only takes us so far. Now that we’ve found each other it’s up to us to work at making our life together.”
She smiled at his words, knowing that he pictured a full and complete life for them to share. As sure as she was about being with him, that he was with no doubt the only man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Her feelings of surety were only made stronger by the fierceness with which he believed in their relationship. He believed in their forever. And it made her love him even more for it.
“So,” she said, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks were hurting a little from the giant smile on her face. “Tomorrow we go back to Lincoln City?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose.
“Can I spend some time at the bar with your mom while you’re at work?”
“I think my mom would really like that,” he said sincerely.
“Good, I miss your mom.”
“Let’s go back to sleep. When we wake up we can get ready to go.”
She stretched out along the bed, turning her back into Porter’s chest as she felt his arm weave around her waist, pulling her close.
“I love you, Porter. More than I think I can even wrap my mind around.”
“Don’t worry. I know exactly how much you love me. It’s just a little less than I love you.”
She smiled and eventually found herself slipping away into sleep again.
Poppy remained closed for the day until the private security company could arrange for one of their security guards to be on site. Ella considered a one-day loss in sales to be a happy sacrifice to keep her friends and family safe. Megan was a little unhappy with the decision, offering to take Patrick with her to act as bodyguard, but Ella told her unequivocally no. That was not a risk she was willing to take.
Ella called Kalli, and even though Kalli was in no way holding Ella responsible for anything that had happened with Kyle, she couldn’t help but feel the sadness that radiated off of Kalli. She knew Kalli felt used and stupid, hating herself for thinking that ‘Scott’ had wanted to be with her, only to discover that Kyle just wanted to get information about Ella out of her. In a phone conversation that morning, Kalli told her she felt responsible for everything that had happened at the club, as if she had led Kyle to Ella. This admission broke Ella’s heart. Kyle was a bastard that had recently taken to ruining people’s lives, but the last thing Ella wanted was her friends to feel badly about his psychotic ways. They had a lengthy conversation that really only solidified they were both really sorry and that Kyle was an *. She confirmed Kalli would be at the 4th of July cookout, and then Ella tried to convince her to invite the guy she’d met at the club before all hell had broken loose. Apparently, even in the chaos of leaving the club in a hurry, Kalli still managed to get his number. That alone made Ella smile and think something good had at least come out of all their drama.
Ella sat, once again, in the cab of Porter’s truck as they drove to Lincoln City. It would be nice to live with Porter in Salem and she couldn’t wait to start that portion of their life together, but she would always consider Lincoln City a special place for them. As they neared the ocean the scenery changed, trees became more spread out, the grass became a different shade of green. Her window wasn’t rolled down, but she knew the air smelled different too. Pure. Fresh. Clean. She was looking forward to spending some time trying to relax at the beach, even if it was a forced vacation brought on by unimaginable circumstances. Ella would take it and make the best of it. She looked over at Porter and felt that any time spent with that man would be amazing, regardless of the situation.