Page 40 of Remember Me

“And back again,” I finished our little ritual. “Sweet dreams, baby.”

“Not yet! The game's not over!” She reminded me, scandalized that I'd suggest bedtime before finding out who won the Super Bowl.

“Right, of course. Just one scoop of ice cream, then, okay?”

But she had already hung up, no doubt racing toward whatever elaborate sundae my brother was concocting. I shook my head, pocketing my phone as Adam made his way over to me, still holding Reign’s son.

“Let me guess,” he said, sliding into the seat next to mine and I automatically snuggled in. “Darren's breaking every rule we set before we left.”

“Sugar at nearly midnight? What gave it away?”

It was getting late and the Walker kids were feeling it. It wasn’t just Adam holding a sleeping child. Reign, Chloe and Devin’s mom all had a child each sleeping on them, with Matty also taking his uncle duties seriously and holding Georgia while she slept on his shoulder.

Britt was right next to him, stroking Georgia’s hair, looking at the little girl adoringly. Her eyes were welling and she was exuding happiness without even realizing. Those two had so much love in them just waiting to give to a child.

“Isn’t it crazy to think that just a few years ago, we were all trying to pass classes and get on with life?” Adam whispered, rocking Jace softly. “Look at us now.”

I followed his gaze around the suite. “Feels like a lifetime ago.”

“In some ways, it was. We were different people back then with different dreams.”

“And yet, we all ended up here.” I turned to look at him. “Still together. Still friends. Probably even closer now.”

“Well, I’d argue knowing what color glitter is in my jockstrap would be pretty close, so I’m not sure I can agree to that statement.”

I raised a brow. “Do I want to know?”

“No.”

His eyes softened as they met mine, and I was struck again by how lucky I was to have found my way back to him. We'd been so young when we first met, too caught up in our own insecurities to recognize what was right in front of us. It had taken years and other relationships for us to finally find our way to each other.

“You know,” I said, keeping my voice low so only he could hear, “Devin and Reign's kids are pretty incredible.”

Adam nodded as he looked around the rest of the room. “They’re something else.”

“Have you noticed how good Autumn is with them?” I ventured carefully. “When they visited last month, she followed Georgia and Delaney around like they hung the moon.”

“She does love having playmates her age,” Adam agreed, his tone casual, though I detected a note of something else beneath it.

I hesitated as I gathered my courage to talk about this. It wasn't exactly the ideal setting for the conversation I wanted to have, but something about tonight, surrounded by our friends and their families, watching the people we loved achieve their dreams, made it impossible to hold back.

“Do you ever...” I paused, suddenly uncertain. “I don't know...want another?”

Adam stilled, and for a moment, I worried I'd crossed some invisible line. We'd talked about having more children, of course, but it had always been in the abstract. It was something for “someday” when life was less hectic, and when we were more settled in our jobs.

But his face, when I finally dared to look up, held no surprise or resistance. Instead, I found a thoughtful openness that made my heart swell.

“For Autumn?” he asked softly.

“For her,” I nodded. “It would be nice for her to have someone to find shapes in the sky with.”

“Sounds a lot like we’re robbing her of our meet cute. Good idea.” His smile softened before he threw a wink my way. It was how we’d first met all those years ago. I was looking at the sky for answers, he was standing on the grass offering them. I was just too young to realize he was the solution.

“But I have thought about it,” he admitted. “More so in the last few months.”

“You have?” I felt a flutter of hope in my chest.

He nodded, his expression softening. “Ever since we moved to Rome. Seeing how Autumn's had to adjust to a new place, make new friends... sometimes I wonder if having a built-in friend might make transitions like that easier for her.”

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