Page 95 of The Last Thing
Then Hallie slips her hand into mine. “Actually it’s somethingwewant to talk to you about.”
Sophia’s eyes go mega wide and she almost falls over. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” She jumps up and down, excitement tumbling out of her. She grabs Hallie’s hand. “Are you going to be my stepmommy?”
I freeze. It didn’t even occur to me that Soph would take it to that place, but of course she did.
Hallie lets out an easy laugh and sits down on the coffee table. Sophia sits opposite her on the couch, and Hallie takes her hands.
“Maybe one day.”
“But you two are more than friends now? Likedating?”
“Yes. We are. And we have been for a little while, but we wanted to be sure it was serious before we told you.”
Soph looks from me to Hallie.
“Were you dating when I asked if you were more than friends?”
Hallie tilts her head back and forth. “We were figuring it out.”
“How do you feel about this?” I ask.
“Uh… awesome! I love Miss Hallie. Wait, do I still call you Miss Hallie? Are you still my nanny?”
“You can call me Miss Hallie or just Hallie. I’m still your nanny, but eventually that might change—me being here with you won’t though.”
“Okay. Good. I like having you here.”
“I like it too.”
I rest my hand on Hallie’s thigh and take another big breath. “There’s something else too. Hallie’s pregnant. We’re going to have a baby, which means?—”
The scream Sophia lets out could be heard a block away. “I’m going to be a big sister!”
She jumps into Hallie’s arms, wavering between laughing and crying.
“You sure are,” Hallie whispers.
“I’m going to have a little sister,” she cries.
“Well, it could be a boy,” I say gently.
Sophia lifts her head off Hallie’s shoulder, a fierce look on her face. “No. It’s a girl. I already know it.”
“Okay then,” I whisper as Hallie laughs.
Sophia climbs off Hallie’s lap, then throws her arms around me in a big hug. “I knew she makes you happy.”
I give her a squeeze. “Yeah, kid. She does.” My eyes drift to Hallie’s. “She makes me really happy.”
“Can we watch a movie now? As a family?”
Damn, that hits me right in the heart. This is what I wanted. A long time ago, before Sophia was born, if you’d asked me what I imagined for myself, it would’ve been this.
Love. A whole lot of love.
That’s when it hits me. From the moment I met Hallie, she changed something in me, and now I know what it was. She opened my heart again. And there’s no denying I’m head over heels in love with her.
“Areyou going to sleep here tonight?” Sophia asks Hallie through a yawn as we tuck her into bed.
