Page 77 of Under the Radar

“Yeah?” He gathered her hair in a pile on top of her head and massaged.

“Do you still want to be with me? I’ve been a real pain in the ass the past couple weeks. Not on purpose, but I don’t want you to stay with me because you feel like you have to protect me.” Her insides trembled as she waited for an answer.

“I do,” he cleared his throat. “Want to be with you.” He grabbed the shower wand and started to rinse her hair. “Do you still want me?”

“I love you, Commander. I should have told you so many times, but I’m so used to protecting my heart from men who want me only for my money. Your unconditional love takes some getting used to.” She leaned against the wall and let the tears flow. “I don’t know how long I was in the water trying to find which way was up, but it was you I thought about. You and the suburbs and a soccer field filled with kids and some of them were ours and I wanted to live. My goodness, I wanted to live.” Her voice broke.

Mac wrapped his arms around her as she cried. “It’s okay. Let it out, honey. It’s over now.”

“I’m angry with myself. How could I have been that stupid to leave the ship without you? He would’ve killed me for the money.”

His chest heaved against her back. She turned and cupped her hand to his face. “I’m sorry. You’re hurting too.” She kissed his neck and face, and he met her kiss for kiss. “We’ll get past this, right? We’ll heal each other and build a life together. I won’t be perfect.”

“Neither of us will be perfect, love. But we’ll be awesome anyway. As long as we have each other.” He smoothed the hair away from her face and tenderly kissed her lips.

She squeezed his bicep. “I don’t know where to start fixing this mess.”

“I know exactly where to start.” Mac smiled at her. “We’re going to finish washing, and then I’ll make you one of my famous grilled cheese sandwiches and tuck you into bed.”

Her eyes widened. “Alone?”

“No, Mo. You’ll never be alone again.”