I scoff. "I sell e-readers at my store, and no I didn't cheat, or do anything wrong." I shrug. "I just wanted to be wifey today."

He laughs. "You were wifey enough last night when you let me blow—"

"CAM!"

"Seriously, Luce, what's going on?"

I pull out plates from the cupboard and start loading on the salad. "Put a shirt on, let's eat out on the dock."

*

"Is it nice?" I ask, trying to supress my laugh.

He finishes chewing, eyeing me sideways the way he has been since he got out of the shower. He nods slowly, and then sniffs his plate.

"I'm not trying to poison you!" I chuckle.

"You're confusing me, Luce! I don't know what's happening."

I don't respond.

"And you're being evasive!"

"The sun's about to set."

He grunts in frustration, but doesn't respond. I pull out a beer from the cooler and hand it to him.

He throws it in the lake.

I laugh.

"Who is he?" he asks.

"Who's who?"

"This guy you're cheating with?"

I laugh so hard my sides hurt. He starts to stand but I pull on his arm to sit him back down. "You're being an idiot."

He crosses his arms and looks away. "I don't care."

"Babe," I get on my hands and knees and kiss him softly. After a minute, he begins to relax. "I heard from the doctor today," I say against his lips.

He pulls back, the color of his normally dark eyes matching the orange of the sunset. "And?"

"And they said we could start the IVF treatment as soon as possible. They want us to come in on Monday so they can go through the steps with us."

He looks away and blows out a shaky breath.

"Cam?"

He sniffs once, his eyes glazed when they focus back on me. "So we're really going to do it? Are you sure, Luce, because I don't want you to do this for me. I want to make sure that you want it, too."

"Of course I want it." My words are strained but I continue, "I could live a thousand years with just you and me, and it wouldn't be enough. But what we have, the love we share, it's more than enough to go around. If IVF doesn't work, we can adopt, we have options." I sit across his lap and look out to the lake.

He leans his head on my shoulder.

My fingers reach up and twist his hair.

"Are you sure?" he whispers.

"It’s not fair to the world to limit your love to me alone. Your heart's too big, Cameron."

He looks past me, and to the sun, now half hidden by the water.

"I love you, Luce," he whispers. And it doesn't matter how many times he says it, the words have never lost their meaning. And they never will. Because it's more than just words spoken, it's his arms around me when I feel like I'm falling. It's his lips on mine, kissing away the pain. It's our hands holding as he leads me into the water to let me break. It's us—chest to chest—helping each other heal. It's us—giving each other Hope.

I turn to him now, letting the sun set behind me. "Forever, Cameron. I love you, forever."

THE END