Seeing the expression on her face, he eased off his attempt to get out of the conversation. He'd known she'd wanted to but hadn't realized how badly this all was bothering her. Of course it did. She knew that he and Eve had once been together and having the ex of her spouse show up sure as hell wasn't going to be easy. But he'd been so lost in his own thoughts that he'd forgotten to consider her own romantic past. That son of a bitch, Jamie.
The laughter started after she finished. He didn't mean to, knowing how it could look, but considering the rushed nature of the past few days and the emotional rollercoaster he was on, he was hard pressed to stop it. It hurt too but he couldn't stop. It felt a damn sight better than what he'd been dealing with the past couple of hours.
"Babe," he finally choked out, patting her knee again as the laughter slowly died to a point where he could speak again. "No one changes me." He snorted in wry amusement, staring up at the ceiling. "It's the excuse they're going to keep on using because they can't figure me out." And let them. The less they knew about how his mind worked, the better. It still didn't make the excuse any less amusing.
He wiped at his eyes as he sobered, a few tears escaped from laughing so hard. "Sorry. That doesn't get any less funny everytime I hear it. Someone changing me." He shook his head. "Cathy, I'm here because I want to be. I love you because I want to love you. The rest holds uncertainty but there's one thing I can say without a doubt. I belong with you, all right?"