Page 113 of A Game Plan for Love

Every sacrifice, every late night crying in the bathroom, the highs and lows, it was all worth it for this moment; watching Nora’s every dream come true in the arms of the man I love, who loves us so unconditionally it should be a fairytale.

They hand Nora her accessories that come with the outfit and guide her out for a photoshoot.

“How much did this trip cost?” I ask under my breath.

His responding smile is mischievous, and he takes my hand and places a kiss to the back. “Sometimes relationships thrive on ignorance. Like your ignorance on how much this vacation cost.”

“Declan. That isnothow this is going to work.”

“You wouldmurderme if you knew what I spent, and I prefer my head on my shoulder.”

“How. Much.”

He sighs. “Are we really doing this? Look at how beautiful Nora looks right now.” I pause to look at my daughter, who is spinning around as the photographer snaps pictures. Who knows how much those photos are going to cost. My second born child, probably. “I’ll tell you, but you’renotallowed to get mad at me, or threaten castration.”

“What? Why would I threaten that?”

“You don’t know the price.” I raise an eyebrow and he concedes. “About fifteen grand.”

Oh god, I’m going to faint. That’s outrageous.

I place a palm over my heart to still the racing. That’s the price of a nice used car.

“This is why I didn’t tell you,” he hisses, voice shrill as Nora runs over. “We have the money.”

That is not the—We?

“What do you mean ‘We’?”

“I added your name to my bank accounts last week. Card should be in the mail when we get back. It’sourmoney now.” His smile is shit-eating, and full of smug male pride as he realizes I have no room to argue as Nora reaches us. “I plan to spend the rest of my life spoiling you. Better for all of us if you get used to it now.”

“Daddy!” Nora crashes into Declan’s legs for a brutal hug and when Declan’s eyes meet mine, they’re shining with tears. “Look at my purse!”

It’s really hard to be annoyed with a man who cries when your daughter hugs him.

Declan diligently listens as Nora explains the purse, and when she’s finished, we walk back down Main Street, walking through crowded gift shops and stopping for sweet treats at the bakery even though it’s barely ten in the morning.

“Sweet treat time is all the time on vacation”, Declan says as he hands Nora a castle-shaped ice-cream with one of the spires missing where he took a large bite.

I snap a handful of photos of them with ice cream dripping down their chins, then offer baby wipes.

When they’re content with their sweet treats, we work our way back toward the castle, and the photographer snaps photos of families. We wait in line, and when it’s our turn, Nora takes our hands and we all smile brightly.

We’re collecting our photo ticket from the photographer when I spot a head of hair and an arm of tattoos I would know anywhere, hiding behind a light pole, like it could hide his three-hundred pound frame. I scan to the left, and find his wife, and beside her, four more people who mean the world to Declan.

Nathalie notices me first, and offers a small wave. That’s when I notice the shirts. The ones that match ours. Declan is preoccupied with Nora, and I beckon them over, giddy excitement bubbling in my chest.

There’s no way he knows about this—not with the mischievous smile on Maren’s face, or the gleam in Henry’s eyes as he leaps on Declan, scaring the shit out of him.

“Agh!” he yells, shaking to dislodge Henry from his side.

I’m going to cry again.

“That’s not the way to greet your best friends,” Henry chides, and Declan pauses. His eyes blink a few times, scanning each of his friends before he barrels into Henry’s chest.

When he lets go, there are tears brimming in his eyes. “What are you guys doing here?”

“You really think we would miss a family vacation?” Nathalie asks, stepping forward to replace Henry and hugging Declan. “My family is pissed they couldn’t make it,” she says quietly, and Declan laughs softly.

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