“And he told me that the reason he never asked me to marry him was because he thought I’d dated Law and that he wanted a second chance. It was easy to tell him no. It didn’t matterwhywe’d broken up. It didn’t change anything.”
“You know you don’t need me to give you the go-ahead,right? You’ve already checked in on yourself. We both know this is a good thing.” Allie chuckles as she finishes.
I’m quiet for a moment, and Allie lets me be. That’s the nice thing about having other life coaches as friends. “Yeah,” I say. “I guess it’s that I’m falling so hard for him already. That feels a little too close to what happened with Caleb.”
“Except this time you’re not escaping. What feels different, Ivy?”
I close my eyes and think about spending time with Chad. There’s a deep sense of calm and rightness, something that I can now recognize wasn’t there with Caleb. That was heady and exhilarating and a rush—but it wasn’t this. “I know deeply that it’s right. I know in a way I can’t explain, and I have words for everything.”
“Hmmm.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “It sounds amazing. You’re good, Ivy. This is good.”
I grin to myself. “I know.”
I’m watchingThe Holidaya half hour later when there’s a tap at my door, and I pause the movie, calling, “Come in.”
Chad pushes the door open, entering with a sheepish smile. “Hey there.”
“What are you doing here?” Maybe it’s because the electricity between us is new, but I feel like I light up every time he’s near, like he flips a switch and my brain says,Yes, this is exactly what we want.
“Carlie can’t stop herself from ‘helping out.’” He throws up air quotes with his fingers and comes to sit on the side of the bed. “The girls are asleep, and she said she and Law can watch a movie over there as easily as here, and you’re less mobile right now. She seems really excited.” Chad wiggles his eyebrows.
I pat the space next to me, inviting him to cozy up. He obeys and slips an arm behind my back. “I think she’s just happy to seeyou happy. Considering everything she’s seen you go through, it must be a relief.”
He runs his fingers through some hair escaping from my ponytail. “Yeah,” he agrees, kissing the top of my head. “It will make dating you without telling the girls a lot easier if she’s eager to help out.”
I lay my head on his shoulder and turn to look up at him. “Just being with you is perfect. We’re going to be fine.”
“I know,” he says. “But …” He gives me a faux serious look. “For my own information, you never actually dated Law, right? I’m going to have to up my game if one of your exes is a pro-football player.” His eyes dance with mischief.
I smack him softly in the arm. “I never dated Law. Pinky promise.”
“That’s also a relief.” He lets out an exaggerated sigh and swipes a hand dramatically across his forehead. I roll my eyes, but it’s fun to see Chad relaxed enough for teasing like this. I like that I can help him with that. He leans over so his lips hover near mine. “I’d better stock up, you know, on kisses. Just in case. With the girls around, I’ll never know when my next one might be.”
I smile as our lips touch. “Definitely not opposed.”
Then I put my arm around Chad, and I don’t let go for a long time.
EPILOGUE
IVY
Three Months Later
I hum to myself as I open the front door of Chad’s house. “I’m here!” I call. It echoes in the empty entryway. Chad and the girls will be moving in a week, and most of their stuff has been packed up, waiting for the movers to come transfer it. Chad felt like it was time for a fresh start, and after Shelby showed up unannounced again—high and dragging a new boyfriend along with her—something had to change.
“Coming!” Chad’s voice comes from upstairs.
“I brought the pizza!” I yell in the direction of the stairs. “Where are the girls?” Chad is an administrator now for the medical supply company he works for and has a nine-to-five schedule. He’s loving it. Especially all the time he gets with Scarlett and Zoey.
“With Carlie.” Chad gives me a grin as he comes jogging down the stairs. “I wanted some time alone with you.” He sweeps me up into a hug and a kiss of greeting when he meets me. I melt into him. I hang around Chad and the girls a lot these days—I only went back to Nashville to pack up my apartment—but to them, I’m just helping out in the evenings so Carlie can be with Law, now officially her fiancé. Or that’s what we tell them.
Like Chad needs help parenting his children.
And yet, he’s basically made me his partner in the last few months. I can see how much of a load it’s lifted off him to have someone to talk about decisions with, to confide in about hard days, and to spend time with and have adult conversations. He’s told me over and over that this is the relationship he’d always hoped for with Shelby but never got—both of us having each other’s backs always and helping each other. Being able to ask the other one for help when we need it.
“I thought the plan was to dig into that cheesecake once the girls were in bed,” I murmur when we pull away.
He slides his hand down into mine, taking me through the entryway and into the family room at the back of the house. “Change of plan.” His tone says there’s something more. I wonder if it’s something about the new house. Chad wasn’t shy about asking me to come house-hunt with him when he made the decision to move. We’ve talked about the future a lot. It’s something that came quickly for us, given that Chad has the girls to think about. I knew the first time Chad kissed me that I was in with both feet—in for forever—and nothing about the last few months has changed that.
