Never Been Ready (Ready #2)(46)

"Good, Millie. How have you been this last week?"

"Can't complain. Still breathing," she said with a wink. "Now, who's this? You've never brought a friend with you...and such a handsome one, Leah!"

Her husband let out a huff, and Millie placated him by placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a loving smile. He looked a little worse for the wear than she did. He was thinner, his expensive clothes hanging a bit on his frail body, and his skin appeared to be a few shades paler than it should be. When his eyes locked with hers, he smiled, and it was like the whole world disappeared.

I turned away, feeling like I was intruding on a very intimate moment.

Leah smiled as she turned away briefly, too. When she looked back toward them, she said, "This is my boyfriend, Declan. Declan, these two lovely people are Millie and William Taylor. They've been residents here for almost a year."

"It's lovely to meet you, Declan. You look very familiar," Millie said, looking at me a bit closer.

"I just have one of those faces, I guess," I said with a shrug, giving Leah a knowing smile. I wasn't about to out myself in an old folks' home.

We talked over pie, and I found it easier than I'd thought to speak with them. They were just people, and I could understand why Leah would come here. They were kind and loving. They treated Leah like a friend rather than someone coming in to check on them, and Leah did the same to them. She honestly enjoyed returning every week, visiting with the residents and learning about the different paths their lives had taken them on.

In our conversations, I learned William, or Willie as he liked to be called —it took me a minute to get over the fact that they were Mille and Willie —had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. I noticed the small shaking in his hand as he brought the fork to his mouth and when he tried to hold his coffee cup.

"When we found out, we had many options. We could have had a live-in nurse, but I didn't like the idea of having someone in our space all the time. The doctors said I could have moved Willie to a facility and stayed in the house by myself." She gave her husband a meaningful look. "But I knew that would never be an option. I couldn't leave him. So, we decided to sell our house and make the move together." She gave her husband a small smile as she held his hand. "No matter what life might throw at us, we're in it together until the end."

"Always," Willie said, his voice shaking. He carefully brought his wife's hand to his lips.

I looked at Leah, and at that moment, I knew I needed to figure out a way to close the gap between our homes because I would not lose her over something like distance. I would not lose her, period.

~Leah~

"You're amazing. You know that, right?" Declan said as we made our way to the car.

We'd had an enjoyable afternoon with the Taylors. We'd spent a few hours with them, eating pie and then taking a short walk through the halls since it was too cold to do so outdoors. Eventually, we'd said our good-byes, and Millie had made me promise to bring Declan next week. He'd happily agreed.

"Why? Because I hang out with old people once a week? That hardly makes me amazing," I scoffed.

"It's more than that. You do so much, and you don't even see it. You are constantly taking care of others and putting the needs of everyone around you first, and that makes you amazing."

"I don't do it to be amazing. I just do it because that's who I am," I argued.

"I know," he said softly, stopping as we reached the car.

He turned and wrapped his hand around my waist, curling his fingers in the belt loops of my coat, as he pulled me close. I could see his breath flowing out of his mouth, the signs of winter evident all around us.

"That's what makes you amazing."

"I think you're starting to abuse the word amazing." I laughed.

"I could use other words, like fascinating, stunning, breathtaking...beautiful."

"Shut up." I ended his verbal praise with a scorching kiss.

He pressed me against the car, a growl escaping his lips, as his hips dug into mine.

"Careful what you start, Leah," he purred, pulling back to challenge me with his fiery hazel eyes.

"You were nervous today, weren't you?" I asked, changing the subject.

He laughed, knowing I would back down to his challenge. I was kinky, but we were in a freaking parking lot in the middle of the afternoon.

"Yes, a bit."

I gave him a hard look that called him out on his bullshit, and he relented.

"Okay, a lot. It sounds stupid, but I suddenly became very panicked that I would embarrass you, that I would be unable to speak to them. I was afraid I wouldn't have anything useful to say, and you would be disappointed. I had never done anything like that. Not too long ago, my life was going from one party to the next, and my biggest concern was which club I was going to visit next. Before and after Heather, I made it a point to make my life as shallow as possible. Having a meaningful chat with an elderly couple about the trials and joys of their lives is a bit heavier than I'm used to."

"You did great. You need to give yourself a bit more credit, Hotshot. You're more than just good looks. And if you stick around me long enough, you'll find a whole world of fun outside of those clubs and bars...not that I don't enjoy those, too," I answered.