Page 131 of One Good Puck
“I’m all set with my tea.” Sophie holds up the teacup in her hand.
“I’d love some champagne,” I say.
“Sure thing.” He kisses my cheek and walks to the bar, where Sam and Del are.
Sophie beams at me. “I’m so happy you two are together.”
“Me too,” Dakota says, playfully elbowing me. “Remember when you first moved in and I said you two were going to fall for each other, but you brushed me off?” she teases.
I smile and roll my eyes. “Okay, okay. You were right.”
The three of us head for the appetizer table. I load up on tea sandwiches and stop by the kids' table to make sure that Emma is eating more than just cookies.
I sit down at a table with Sophie and Dakota, and we dig into our food. Gavin drops off my glass of champagne and plucks a smoked salmon tea sandwich from my plate. He winks at me and walks over to join Xander, Theo, Del, Sam, and Blomdahl in a conversation across the space.
“This is such a cool place. Tea parties are so fun,” I say to Dakota.
“We’re having our wedding reception here,” she says. “Sam is letting me do whatever I want for the wedding and the reception. I feel so spoiled.”
She beams at him across the room. He winks at her and she blushes.
“You deserve to be spoiled, Dakota,” Sophie says. “You put up with a string of jerks before you and Sam got together. And he loves giving you everything you want.”
Dakota’s grin turns giddy. “I’m really lucky.”
Sophie bumps her shoulder against Dakota. “So is Sam.”
They look at me. “Would you ever get married?” Dakota asks.
“When I was young, I thought I’d get married someday. But then I got pregnant with Emma unexpectedly, and that whole disaster with her dad happened. And the idea of getting married kind of soured on me.”
They both nod like they understand.
“But, um, I think I’d like to. Someday.”
“Maybe with Gavin?” Dakota asks, fighting a smile. Sophie’s expression turns hopeful as she looks at me.
I let out a flustered laugh. “Way to put the pressure on,” I tease.
Sophie reaches over and grabs my hand. “I don’t mean to pressure you. I just see how happy my dad is with you.” Her blue eyes turn misty. “I hope it’s not weird to say this, but I haven’t seen him this happy since he and my mom were together.”
I squeeze her hand in mine, a warm feeling coursing through me. “Really?” I ask.
She nods. “He hardly dated in the years after my mom died. For the longest time, I didn’t think he’d wanted to be in a relationship ever again. I was afraid he’d be alone forever. But then he met you. To see him open himself upto you—to see him be happy with you has been incredible.”
Warmth blooms in my chest. I pull her into a hug. “Thank you, Sophie,” I say softly. “That means the world coming from you. Truly.”
When we break apart, we’re both dabbing at our eyes. We chuckle as Dakota hands us tissues.
“Your dad is perfect,” I say. “I still can’t believe I get to be with him.”
“He feels the same way about you, trust me,” Sophie says.
For the first time since before I had Emma, I let myself think about marriage.
I look over and see Gavin walk to where Emma is sitting, a plate of finger foods in hand. She smiles and nods when he sits in the chair next to her and offers her another sandwich. She holds it up, and they toast their sandwiches together before each taking a bite.
My heart swells in my chest witnessing the bond between them. Emma liked Gavin from the get-go, but to see how comfortable she is with him now makes me happier than I could have imagined.
