Purposefully Coincidental ✓

69. Week

Josephine

I haven't seen or heard from Leo in five days.

Yes, five full days.

After the dinner at my parents', where Roman thought he was entitled to meddle in my relationship, Leo gave me some half-assed excuse that he had to help Nicole with her yacht for the next few days. I knew it was a lie. He knew I knew it was a lie. But I didn't call him out on it. I understood he needed some time alone.

I've taken a few extra shifts at the hospital to help keep my mind off Leo. What he's doing, what he's thinking.

I called a few times, but the conversations were always cut short. By him.

Roman's words got to him more than I thought. Day seven of no Leo, I've had enough.

Since the moment we got together, we haven't gone more than two days without seeing or speaking to each other. And a week is more than I can take.

I've given him a full week to think, sulk or do whatever he did this week. But now I'm going to demand he talk his feelings out with me.

Knocking on the door of the mansion he lives at, his mother opens up after a minute. She looks stunning in a navy pencil skirt and a white blouse. Aurora is close to fifty-five, but she doesn't look a day older than forty. I wish I'll look half as good as her when I'm her age.

"Josie!" She exclaims, inching forward to give me a hug.

"Hi," I give her a box of homemade muffins. "Leo told me hazelnut is your favorite."

"It is." She grins, opening the box and taking a sniff. "They smell amazing. Come on in."

"Is Leo here?" I ask.

Her brows furrow for a second before she smiles again. "Yes, he's in his room. He's been in a ... sour mood for the past few days." She gives me a knowing look. "He told me you were busy at the hospital."

"I have." That's not a lie.

"I'm sure he'll love to see you." She ushers me up the stairs.

When I reach Leo's closed door, I take a deep breath and slowly open it without knocking. Leo's frame is on the bed, one hand cradling head and the other laying on his bare stomach beside his phone.

He has earbuds in his ear, listening to music, but I know he can sense someone's in his room even when he doesn't open his eyes or twitch.

Wordlessly, I toe off my shoes and lay next to him on his bed.

Taking another deep breath, I smile at his familiar scent. Oh, how I've missed that scent. Woodsy and him.

I look at his profile. His features are calm, his lips parted. But I know he's not sleeping.

Scooting closer to him, I rest a hand on his lower stomach, his muscles flexing. But he still doesn't open his eyes to look at me.

I know he feels bad for not talking or seeing me for the past week. His tone the few times I called him told me as much.

Taking an earbud out of his ear, I put it close to mine and listen to the country song about love.

I inch closer to him, rest my head on his shoulder, and stare at him. He takes a deep breath before finally looking down at me. His eyes are full of sorrow and apologies.

"Josephine." He whispers, his hands encircling me, like he can't not touch me. "I'm so sorry."

"I know." I give his chest a kiss, showing him I'm not angry at him.

"I just needed time." He explains. "To think and let you think as well."

When my brows furrow, he explains.

"What your brother said...he's right, you know?"

"No, he's not." I shake my head.

"Josie," he sighs. "I'm a soldier. When I'm deployed, it's never definitive when I'll get back home."

"So what?" I raise on my elbows to see his face better. "I'll wait for you however long you take to come back to me."

His hand gently clasps the back of my neck, his expression pained.

"I don't want you to have to wait for me."

"What?" Is he going to break up with me? I shake my head again. I won't let him. He tightens his hold on my nape.

"I don't want you to wait for me, wondering when—if—I'll come back."

"You will come back." I say it as a plea.

We're talking as if he's going tomorrow.

"You don't know that."

"I don't care. I'll wait however long it takes."

"I want you to live your life. Go out. Explore."

My throat tightens. I won't let him do this to us just because Roman put these thoughts in his mind.

"Remember that card game a week ago?" He asks.

I give him a look. He can't use my answer to that question against me.

"The question was somewhere along the lines of if you knew your partner would die in six months, would you still go through with the relationship." He wipes a tear from my eye before it glides further down my face. "You said you can't handle the heartbreak, so you'd rather live not knowing me than get your heart broken."

"Leo." My voice breaks. "I won't let you break up with me."

The corner of his mouth lifts. "I'm not."

I rest my forehead on his chest, my throat finally opening enough for me to be able to breathe.

"Like I said to your brother. That decision is yours."

"And my decision is that I'm staying with you through whatever comes our way." I declare.

His brows furrow, his eyes intent on me. "Shut up." I say when he opens his mouth to talk. "Just hold me."

I rest my head back on his chest, my leg over his lap, and my arms around his neck. He tightens his arms around me, his chest moving with a deep breath.

I've missed the feel of his arms around me, the sound of his heartbeat beneath my ear. The feel of his lips kissing my forehead.

"I missed you." He murmurs, his palm running up and down my back.

"Who's fault is that?" I glare at him, but then crack a smile when I see him wince.

He gives me a kiss and pulls me back to him. I could fall asleep in his arms, surrounded by his smell and warmth.

"Stay the night with me." He whispers.

"I can't. I have a shift in an hour." I pepper his throat and jaw with kisses. "But tomorrow I only work for a few hours in the morning since I'm covering for a colleague."

He gives me a genuine smile. "I'll drop by tomorrow, then."

"Deal." I give him a deep kiss and reluctantly sit up. There's still some strain between us, but I'm confident it'll go away in a few hours tomorrow.

"I love you." I cup his cheek. "So much. Never forget that."

"I know." He kisses my palm. "I love you."

After one last kiss, I leave his bedroom, then his house. I feel some type of heaviness in my chest that I can't explain.

But I'm sure it's all in my head.

I've seen and talked to Leo, and all is well again.