Page 96 of Late Nights & Love Lines
Surprise lights up her face. “You’re the best Miles I’ve ever met.” Her voice is soft and velvety, as if the words touched her soul as much as they did mine.
Tabby and Bella are already heading toward the kitchen, so I wait until they’re out of earshot.
“How are you holding up?” I ask Rowan as she scootches over so I can slide in next to Miles.
She takes a minute, and her lips twitch as if she’s pondering my question. Is she even aware that her fist is clutching her chest? “Okay, I think. I mean, I didn’t contribute much to their conversation, but I guess it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
Unable to stop myself, I fist the back of her neck and pull her to me, pressing another kiss on her forehead. “I’m really happy to hear that.”
“Daddy!” Kade abandons his movie long enough to run to me for a hug.
I hadn’t realized he’d been watching me, but when he shifts to Rowan, and waves with both hands so she’ll come closer, he presses a kiss to her forehead too.
“I like you too, Row-Row.”
The muscles in her neck pull taut as she nods. She won’t look at me, but when her lashes flutter and stick together with moisture, it’s obvious how profoundly my little man has affected her.
Seemingly unaware of the power he wields, Kade skips back to his friend and continues watching the movie.
“It sounds as though the girls are waiting for you,” I whisper, right before a cork pops in the other room.
“Hope you don’t mind us raiding your wine fridge,” Tabby shouts from the kitchen.
My shoulders shake with silent laughter. Tabby told Rowan they were an orphanage for lost souls, and I couldn’t have come up with a better description if I tried.
“Have at it,” I call back. Lowering my voice, I say, “You should get out there before they come to get you.”
Rowan’s face pales, and it becomes apparent how much of a toll this day has taken on her already. Dark circles are forming under her eyes, and her shoulders only relaxed for a moment when I kissed her forehead.
Squeezing her hand in one of mine, I tilt her chin to face me with my free hand. “I get this is a lot, but I need you to know how proud I am of you for trying. Have you had fun so far?”
Her gaze jumps around the room before she finally nods. “They didn’t push me or anything, and Tabby is really funny. It was just…different.”
“Different is good for ya, Row,” Pappy chimes in, apparently not at all perplexed by how intimately we’re sitting. “You’ve been more alive these last few weeks than I’ve ever seen you before. Don’t cut yourself off when things get hard. Take breaks and try again. You were never meant to walk through life as an empty version of yourself. You’ve got so much more than that to offer the world. Explore it, thrive in it, and live.”
“Row, get your skinny ass in here.” Tabby has no boundaries whatsoever, and she might be exactly the kind of friend Rowan needs.
There’s a knock at the door, followed by footsteps. This crazy chosen family seems to knock as a warning that they’re entering, not as a way of asking permission.
Twisting my neck to stare at the door, I grin when Leo walks in holding about twenty shopping bags.
“All set,” he calls out. “Let me drop this in the kitchen, then I’ll come help with the kids.”
“Is it just a known thing that when their wives have a wine night, they’re on dad duty? No one puts up a fight?” Confusion clouds Rowan’s tone, but I simply shrug.
“Yeah, Peach. That’s what a partnership is. Give and take, take and give in every aspect of the relationship. When one person is fighting to maintain at twenty-five percent, the partner steps up to handle the other seventy-five. The best you can hope for is to find someone who gives as much as they take so as a couple, you’re always at one hundred percent for yourselves, your children, and each other.”
“He’s right,” Pappy says, lifting a fussy baby into his arms. “If you give yourself a chance, Row, you’ll find out that life can be so much more than you’ve ever experienced.”
She sucks in a breath but doesn’t say anything.
“Hey,” Seren says from behind us. “I’m home.”
I lean away from Rowan, and we both tilt our bodies to include Seren in our conversation even though the sofa is separating us. Her gaze dances from one person to the next, but I can’t tell what’s going on in that head of hers. She’s so guarded these days.
“Hey, sweet pea. How was camp?”
She looks from me to Rowan and shrugs. “I played a little and wrote some music, but it’s probably not any good.”
