Page 72 of The Chad Next Door
I smirk. “No, that’s Micah’s job.”
“Really?” Micah squeals and claps her hands. “I’m totally going to be planning the wedding, but you’ll let me help with the proposal too?”
I roll my eyes. “What do you think?”
While Micah squeals, Hope runs her fingers through my hair and purses her lips. “Houston will be fine,” she says quietly. “No matter what happens, he’s got you.”
Man, I love her.
And while being able to admit that is all well and good, I think I’ve reached my limit of sappy sibling stuff for the day. “Food’s in the kitchen,” I say, adding a little growl into my voice. “And then I’m kicking you all out. I have things to do.” I meet Hope’s gaze again, diving deep into her warm brown eyes as we sit there together. We need to go get the kids and figure out how this housing situation is going to work until we make things official—she presents so much temptation, and I only have so much restraint. I want to do this right. But for now, I just want to be with her and enjoy these last few moments we’ll get on our own.
As soon as we leave this bubble we’ve been in, I have a feeling we won’t get many more moments alone. Not with Link and Zelda and hopefully more kids on the way.
I’m totally okay with that.
Epilogue
Hope
December 11
You know those moments whenyou are convinced you’ve died and gone to heaven because everything is so perfect and there’s no way it can be real?
This is one of those moments.
“That one is the Big Dipper. See the handle?” Chad lifts his arm to point at the sky, his words overlapped by the sound of frogs calling to each other in the darkness.
“Hope says it’s called Ursa Major. Ursa means bear.” Link, who was already about as close to Chad’s side as he could get, somehow snuggles in even closer on the blanket they’re sharing. “I don’t think it looks like a bear, though.”
Chad laughs. “Me neither, but Hope is probably right.”
“I’m always right,” I say, pulling their attention up to me where I stand on the porch. I got distracted by the sight of them on my way back from using the bathroom; otherwise I would have joined them. “Besides, Chad sounds like a bear, so that’s close enough.”
He glares at me while Link giggles. The two of them have basically been inseparable since the day I moved the kids to Chad’s house in Sun City, which was absolutely a good move. The school is way better, his house has more space, and Chad bought memberships to the wildlife center before we’d even started packing our stuff, something that pulled Link out of his shell more than I could have hoped for. Now, if we get him talking about animals, the kid won’t stop talking. Everything about Chad has been good for us.
“Which constellation is your favorite?” he asks Link, though he’s still looking at me.
“I like the one you like.”
“I like the stars in Hope’s eyes.”
I snort. “Cheesy, much?”
“Guys,” Zelda hisses from her own blanket, “stop talking. Duke is sleeping.”
Based on the thump of his tail as he cuddles with her, he’s wide awake, but I don’t correct her. I just take in the moment, marveling at how perfect everything is right now. Three months ago, I never could have predicted this for my life, and it all feels like a dream.
Chad looks at me again after grinning at Zelda, and in the moonlight I can see the fire ignite in his eyes. “Okay, kids, it’s time for bed.”
They whine and grumble, but Chad and I both stay silent. It’s a weirdly effective way to get them to stop arguing, and I can only hope it lasts as they get older. I am not prepared for actual fighting or disobedience, so I’m more than okay with avoiding it while I can. When their protests yield no results, they both trudge into the rental house with Duke right behind them.
Chad doesn’t move from his blanket, though he’s giving me some serious eyes.
“Let me put them to bed,” I say with reluctance. It’s better to make sure they’re good and tucked in rather than risk one of them deciding they need a glass of water or a quick check of the closet, like last night when Zelda chose to be afraid of the dark for the first time in her life. I’ll blame the few hours’ time difference and the fact that this is the first vacation the kids have ever had. They didn’t sleep much the night before either, too excited about everything happening to settle down.
Chad groans, pushing himself to his feet. “I’ll take care of Link.” He runs his hand across my waist as he passes, sending a shiver through me.
When I’m thoroughly convinced Zelda is in bed and will stay there, I head back outside in the hopes of finding Chad waiting for me. The beach is currently empty, but I don’t mind having the night to myself for a little bit. For a chance to breathe and be still. We’ve been in Hawaii for a day and a half now, and everything has been non-stop since the minute our plane landed.
