Committed to You

Chapter 19 The Unbroken Circle

Twelve long-stemmed roses were sitting in a vase on the kitchen table when Elise came back from grocery shopping. She smiled. There was a note dangling from one of the roses. She sat the bags down and read the note. Never been good with the girly stuff, but hope you like these—Dillon. Her lip turned up in a grin. Elise dipped and smelled the fresh cut roses. The perfume was light and lifted her heart.

She couldn't believe that her old bear had done something so nice. It must have had something to do with the book she'd found hidden in the garage. She'd spotted it when she went to put a tool back in his toolbox. The title of the book was How to Love Your Wife. The pages of the book were highlighted and dog-eared. I should have threatened to leave him a long time ago, Elise chuckled to herself. She quickly put the groceries away and went to find him.

It didn't take long. The trail of clothes leading to the shower and the smell of fresh-cut grass gave her the answer. She always loved it when Dillon cut and edged the lawn. It made their home one of the nicest ones on the street. She picked the clothes up along the way. Steam humidified her face as she opened the door and tossed the clothes in the hamper. Dillon hadn't noticed because of the high force of the water and because he had a shower radio tuned to a sports channel and was yelling at some call from one of the referees. Elise's voice lifted above the noise. "Thank you so much for the roses. They are beautiful."

She heard the water turn off. Dillon wiped a circle to clear the fog from the glass shower door. "Did you say something?"

"I said: Thank you for the roses. They are beautiful. You did good with the girly stuff."

"I did?"

"Yes, you did. That was very nice, Dillon."

He started grinning and then turned the water back on. "Care to join me?"

Elise must have turned crimson. They hadn't showered together since Sloan and Renatta were in elementary school. He looked at her and laughed at the woeful expression on her face. "Well?" he teased.

"Dillon Jensen, you wait until my hair is gray and breasts are failing and my arms sag to entice me?" She was shocked and heady at the same time. Her husband was alive again, and she didn't know how to handle it. Elise had settled for what she'd always heard about marriage in older age: You just become the best of friends. Here she was, in the throes of menopause, feeling like her life was about to end. Then she looks up one day and finds out that it's about to begin again. Her mind went back to the night when serious lovemaking was restored to their marriage.

Woman, you made my heart stop. You will kill me if you ever leave me. I may not say it, but I still love you, Elise. This is the only bed that you will ever sleep in. You will not be leaving our bed for the rest of the night.

That reunion had been more than she would have ever dreamed. Things had been pretty consistent since that time. Then she thought about Nora. She could never be like Nora—all decked out and delicious. The woman had always been stylish, kept up her image, never gained a pound and not a strand of gray in her hair—she probably colored it, but it was just the thought of how young and vibrant she looked.

No, Elise was comfortable in a duster and house slippers, and nothing else about her appearance seemed to matter. Dillon's proposition made her want to look good like Nora. She watched as Dillon smiled at her, waiting for her to answer. The steam filled the room more and more thickly, like the heat that was suddenly flooding her body. She looked down at herself. Their restoration had begun in the dark. Now she'd be standing in front of him in broad daylight with the bathroom light on. She was perplexed.