“Love you more,” I murmur, then stand between her legs, my hands moving to cup her jaw and press my lips to hers. She sets the coffee to the side before her hands move to the back of my head, playing with the hair there and kissing me softly and slowly when it happens.
The door opens.
Feet hit the floor.
And then a shriek fills the kitchen.
“Oh my god!”
Hallie is still in my arms, and I turn quickly to see my daughter, her jacket and boots over a pair of pajamas, her eyes wide as she takes in Hallie and me.
“Oh. My.GOD!” she yells again. “Ahh!”
“Emma, honey, what the fuck?” I ask, staring at her. Panic fills me, not only because she just caught me kissing Hallie, who is wearing nothing but my sweater, which thankfully covers more than enough of her, but also because there’s no good reason for her to be here this early in the morning after Mom watched her. “Is everything okay? Why are you here?”
She stares at me for a moment, confused, before shaking her head.
“Oh, yeah, I just forgot my charger, so I ran over to grab it to show Grandma a video on my phone, butoh. MY. GOD.”
Well, that answers that. My phone on the counter blinks with a new text I can only assume is from Mom, warning me. I’ll have to talk to her about that, though, in her defense, Emma dropping in to grab something she forgot has never been an issue before.
“Emma,” Hallie starts, voice soft and nervous, but Emma doesn’t let her speak any further.
“You two are TOGETHER!” she shouts, then starts jumping up and down, and that’s when I realize it’s not horror she’s experiencing after catching Hallie and me together. It’s elation.
Relief floods me, and I reach back to put a hand on Hallie’s knee and give it a reassuring squeeze. Her hand covers mine, returning the gesture.
“Uncle Madden SO owes me money!” she shouts, then starts moving, running through the house with her arms up as if on a victory lap.
I don’t know what to do about my brother making bets with my daughter, even though it's a sure-fire loss for him, but I decide that’s something I can handle another day.
“Hey, hey,” I say, stopping her with an arm on her waist when she passes through the kitchen again. When I look at Hallie, she’s grinning, clearly not as nervous about this conversation as I thought she might be. I return her smile, then put my hands on my daughter’s shoulders, looking at her seriously. “Are you really okay with this?”
“Are you and Hallie dating?” she asks, getting right to the point.
“Yes.”
The answer comes from Hallie, all confidence and no hesitation, and the single word settles warm in my chest. Emma was the last barrier between us beingeverything, and she just tore it down in a moment.
Emma turns to her, nods, then returns her gaze to me.
“Are you going to marry her?” Emma asks as if she’s Hallie’s father instead of my kid. Hallie coughs, but I keep my eyes on my daughter.
“Yes,” I say, just as confident as Hallie just spoke. Emma grins.
“Then I am so totally okay with this.”
Emma turns to look at Hallie behind me, and I do the same. I expect to see a hint of the panic I’m used to on Hallie’s face when I move things too quickly, but surprisingly, I don’t. Instead, there’s simply happiness, and maybe a little surprise, on Hallie’s face.
That’s when I know I did it.
I made it past her walls, battled her fears, and while I didn’t slay them, they’re safely in cages now.
I have Hallie. All of her.
Forever.
THIRTY-THREE
