Page 145 of Paper Hearts

She eyes is suspiciously. “It looks like it is.”

He smiles at her, my only view of them shadows by the low lighting. “You think?”

She nods. “Can I try it?”

He sets her on the bed, and she immediately crawls up to where we’d been laying. My cheeks burn. I’m so embarrassed, but Eddie pats the bed on either side of her. “Come on, Mommy and Daddy. Lay with me.”

Ender’s eyes find mine. “I think she played us.”

“Oh, she most certainly did.”

We settle next to her, and Eddie snuggles closer to Ender who places a pillow near his hips. I know why and hide my smile in the pillow.

Curling up to Ender, Eddie sighs. “I love you, Daddy.”

She catches him off guard and I’m thankful I can see a small flicker of the emotions on his face. While there’s that same sadness he might always carry, there’s relief too. She’s accepted him without much effort on his part. We both have because sometime love is forgiving when you know a second chance is worth it. He presses his lips to her forehead. “I love you, darlin’,” he whispers to her.

Did your heart explode? Mine did.

54

WHEN WE MOVED IN TOGETHER

Iknow, you still want the happy ever after. But it’s my experience that happy right now is way more satisfying. So I’ll give you that.

I live one day at a time. Okay, I try to live my life one day at a time. I am a mother of a five-year-old. Most weeks I don’t even know what day it is. I know what today is though.

The day Ender and I move into our house together. One we bought in Savannah on five acres with live oak trees lining the driveway and a majestic oak in the background I imagine our kids climbing in one day. Did I mention together? He helped build it even. Did all the tile work in the kitchen and bathrooms, because he said he didn’t trust anyone else to do it.

How’d we get here? Well, eight months ago I flew into Mobile Alabama, unsure what the future held, scared, excited… all of it. I know, we moved a little fast there, but were we? Maybe it was part of the healing for us. Maybe that was how we connected again. I’m not sure.

What I do know is I left Mobile two weeks later and Ender flew to Savannah every Friday night, and back home late Sunday. He did that until his job started at the end of August.

From then on, we were inseparable.

Eddie starts kindergarten in late August and her first day of school, I cry like a baby. Ender holds strong. He teaches her to ride a bike and kisses her knees when she falls. He’s attentive, gentle, and everything a father should be, but wasn’t taught how.

And I fall in love all over again with Ender Nathan James.

You’re probably wondering about his dad? He moves to Texas. We don’t hear anything from him, and Lana moves to Savannah to be closer to us. Does Ender have a relationship with her? No, not really. He tries, she tries, but I think there’s more damage there than they realize.

We take our first family trip to Jackson Hole and ski for Thanksgiving break. Ender teaches Eddie how to ski and I spend most of my time snowboarding, and on my ass. I suck at it, but watching Ender hold Eddie by the fire every night will forever be one of my favorite memories.

Aside from us making love in front of it after she fell asleep.

I start writing another book, and we spend our first Christmas together as a family, and Ender buys Eddie her first baseball mitt. Between the hat, and the glove constantly in her hand, she’s looking more like Ender every day. He even signs her up for T-Ball and she squeals with excitement.

Arya and Roman buy the lake house and bring their first-born son into the world right after Christmas. They name him Booker Myles Miller and he’s so freaking adorable. He’s precious and nothing like my little bratty Eddie Rose. Though he looks really similar to Eddie and Ender, but has Roman’s dusty blond hair and brown eyes. By February, Arya’s pregnant again. Unexpectedly.

My mom still lives in Savannah, but my dad moved to Nashville with a girlfriend. I don’t ask details because she’s not much older than Hazel. So gross.

My sisters… well, Hazel is married to the football player and living in Arizona.

Brenna is living in Savannah again, don’t know what happened to her husband, but she had one, and now she doesn’t. Though Eddie doesn’t like Ben getting all her grandma time with my mom, she tolerates him.

Becca, well, Becca will always be Becca. She’s living in Texas still and I never hear from her. Saw her at Christmas, she yelled at Ender, and he simply ignored her.

Harper has her baby. A girl she names Gracie and she’s so cute and innocent. Nothing like Eddie.

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