Page 187 of Delicate Storm

Easton flips it over without saying a word, and when he opens the cover, he freezes, his jaw agape, seemingly lost for words. And while I’m certain that’s a positive response, it still freaks me out.

“What do you think?” My legs bounce as I ask, and Easton places his palm on my knee without taking his eyes off the sketch, instantly calming me.

“This… The… I have no words, Paige. Except maybe when? Or how?”

“I started it when I first saw them at the pool. And the rest was done from memory.”

Easton shakes his head, his gaze locked on the sketch I drew of his mom and Isaac laughing in the pool. She’s holding him and he’s staring at her like she hung the moon and personally lit all the stars surrounding it. I have to admit, it’s the best piece I’ve ever created. But it’s intimate and raw and maybe a little intrusive. I wasn’t sure I’d ever share it.

“You can say no, but… ah… Do you think your mom would want it?”

“Want it? Paige, if my mom knew this existed, she’d be breaking down our door to steal it. Do you realize how incredible this is?”

“I know it’s special, yes.” I feel myself blush and laugh. “God, I’ve had my tits out in a magazine, but sharing this makes me feel incredibly vulnerable.”

I cover my face with my hands, but Easton pulls them away, his thoughtful eyes locking with mine.

“It’s because your heart and soul are here, in this work. It’s… I—” His voice wavers and he pauses, shaking his head as his eyes water. “Dammit, Paige.” I don’t say a word as he wipes at the tears threatening to fall. “They should have had decades together, not years. I hate this. And I’m so fucking scared.”

“I know.” I curl my arms around him and press a kiss to his temple. “Me too.”

Ibounce on my toes as Rochelle wordlessly stares at the sketch, completely still. And since I can’t see her face, I have no idea what she’s feeling until she glances up and her tears summon my own.

“Thhhank you, Paige. This is… in-incredible,” her voice cracks and I smile. “Sorry. I’m a little lost for words… but… this means the world to me.”

She reaches out and I take her hand, noting the shake in her palm. “I wanted to do a family one too, but I tend to draw people I know or see often. And I haven’t met Addison yet.”

“That’s great and all, but this is more sp-special. I’ve spent years looking at th-their annoying faces.” Her words falter but they're not as slurred as I was worried they’d be, and her spirits are still high. We both laugh, knowing she’s joking, but after a few seconds, her face drops.

“I think I could s-spend a lifetime with Isaac and never get over it. No amount of dayss will ever be enough and I-I hate that it’ll be cut short. But more than that, I hate that I’m aware of it. I’d rather be kept in the dark and have it happen out of nowhere.”

She laughs again and I smile. Easton told me she jokes when she’s emotional.

“I can bring him around more often if you’d like. Easton wanted to give you time to yourself, but I’m happy to come around. I don’t want you to think I’m monopolizing his time.”

“Oh, Paige. I don’t think that. I love seeing the two of you together, hearing I-Isaac talk about you. You’re the mother he always needed, the mother he deserved.”

My stomach knots but I smile through it. “I don’t know about that, but I’m trying. And praying I don’t fail them.”

“You won’t. I’ve never seen those boys so happy and that’s all thanks to you.” The slower she speaks the clearer it becomes, and I can see her working hard but also willing me to continue. She doesn’t want us to act differently around her.

“I love them both so much. All of you. But sometimes I wonder if that’s enough.”If I’m doing enough.

“Easton told me you don’t want to get married.” Rochelle misunderstands me, or perhaps she knows me better than I know myself because when she says it, I realize it’s been playing on my mind.

“Oh. Ah…” God. Maybe I’m being selfish. Dad always said I was a brat. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, not knowing what else to say.

“Why are you sorry? I made the same decision. And so did Easton. Why do you think he and Macy never married? He’s cynical because of me and his dad. True, we never tied the knot, but it wasn’t because we didn’t love each other. God, I loved that man more than I’ve loved anyone else, apart from my kids and Isaac. At least, until I met Phil. Marriage wasn’t something I ever wanted. Istilldon’t want it. The thought of being locked into something…” She shivers and I panic.

“That’s not it. I…I don’t mind being locked into something with Easton and Isaac. I have no plans to ever leave, but I—”

“Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I completely understand, Paige. I do. That piece of paper doesn’t change anything. Nor should it.”

A thought hits me, and I gasp out loud, because… “Actually, it does.”

“What?”

“It does change something. I’ve got to find Easton.”

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