25
It was official.
I was in love with Brody Murphy and he was in love with me.
We were a couple. Together.
If I were any giddier about it, I'd be doodling Mrs. Brody Murphy and Mrs. Cameron Murphy all over my paperwork at the office.
We'd also officially made Sierra sick. She'd gotten called back to Dallas for work and wasn't sure when she would be back. It was probably a good thing because she and Ben had one hell of a fight the night that he told her he loved her. I hated that they weren't speaking, that Sierra was running from the love that Ben offered her, but I couldn't fix it for her.
I had hope they would work it out, but a little space would be a good move for her. Sometimes Sierra needed a fresh perspective and distance to see a situation differently. I had faith she would realize what she'd found in Ben. Plus, the closet romantic in me loved the idea that if, no,when, she and Ben got married, we might share a last name. Like sisters.
Maybe I was getting ahead of myself when it came to Sierra and Ben, but I didn't think so. When it came to the idea of marrying Brody, I was almost certain he was thinking along the same lines. We weren't going to rush, but he made it very clear that was where he saw us heading.
I loved Jacks, and her attitude toward me suggested she liked me a lot, but she was six. It wouldn't be right for her to come home from a two-week vacation to find me living in her house as if I belonged there.
Speaking of coming home from vacation, today was the big day.
As nice as it had been to have a little honeymoon period with Brody, I knew he missed his daughter. I missed her, too. She was a lot of fun and she reminded me so much of Brody when he was younger.
And she reminded me a little of me.
I could also see that Monica's handling of the situation was causing major strain in Brody as well. Every time he called to talk to Jacks, Monica wouldn't answer. The first time it happened, she didn't call him back until he left a message that his next call wouldn't be to her, but to his attorney. Which had been a good twelve hours after his first call.
After that, it would take her at least an hour, sometimes two or three, to return his calls.
He was careful not to say anything about it to Jacks because he didn't want to upset his daughter. But there were several occasions where he asked her about whatever activity her mother used as an excuse for the delay in calling back and Jacks had no idea what he was talking about.
As the two weeks wore on, I could see him becoming grimmer and grimmer. He spent a lot of time on the phone with his lawyer and the private investigator he hired to keep an eye on Monica.
He didn't talk about it very often but I knew he was still worried his ex would load his daughter up on a plane and have her in another country before he could do anything about it.
He didn't shy away from the topic when I brought it up, but he wasn't verbose either. So I let it lie.
I'd offered to let him have the evening alone with her, but it was Jacks herself who blew that out of the water. She told Brody last night that she wanted her first dinner at home to be the three of us. And that she wanted me to make hot dogs, cheese fries, and maybe even some chocolate hazelnut swirl ice cream.
I was nervous.
Well, not exactly nervous. Just jittery.
Why?
Because Monica was bringing Jacks directly to Brody's house. In fact, she'd insisted on it.
I'd offered to come over after the drop off, but Brody wouldn't hear of it.
So now I was dressed in a pair of cuffed khaki shorts and a bright aqua t-shirt. I'd been tempted to do something fancy with my hair or add a little more make-up than usual, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I wasn't sure how to handle this. I knew Brody and Monica had their issues, but I didn't want to contribute. And, honestly, I didn't like the woman. I didn't know her well, but I remembered the few times I'd been around her and each time she gave me the impression of a spoiled, vindictive woman who refused to compromise.
I took a deep breath and reminded myself that it didn't matter if I liked Monica or not. I needed to put on my big girl pants and be nice to her because she was Jacks' mom and if my relationship with Brody went where I hoped it would, she'd be in my life. A lot.
I had everything ready to go. The cheese was shredded, the green onions were chopped, and bacon pieces were fried. We’d be having frozen French fries baked in the oven, but Jacks wouldn’t care.
I’d put the hot dogs on just a few minutes before we were ready to eat, steaming them first and then broiling them in the oven. I know, I know, grilled hot dogs sound awesome but for some reason I liked these better.
As I fidgeted on the couch, Brody sat next to me, scrolling through channels on the TV. I wasn’t sure if it was my nerves or the fact that he didn’t even pause long enough to read the descriptions of the shows before moving on, but it was driving me nuts.
