Technically, my house now too. I’d paid off her mortgage and bought her a new car. She’d been so proud of hers, but a car salesman had sold her a dud and there was no way I was letting them drive around in something that unreliable.
The only thing I hadn’t managed to do yet was convince her to move into a bigger place, but that didn’t bother me much either. I liked the little Craftsman and the neighborhood. The neighbors themselves.
By the time we stumbled into the house, Brody with his hockey bag dragging behind him like it was suddenly a hundred pounds heavier, Maisie was cooking our second dinner. It smelled like heaven, garlic, and butter, and something spicy simmering on the stove.
“Hi, Mom,” he called, dropping the bag just inside the door and bolting upstairs like he’d just gotten a second wind. I vaguely heard him muttering about Legos and I chuckled but headed for the kitchen.
She was leaning against the counter in one of my T-shirts, her hair pulled up, looking like she belonged in my arms.Twisting when she heard me walk in, she flashed me a smile over her shoulder and set the spatula down on a brightly patterned spoon rest.
“Hey, husband.”
“Hey, wife.” I stepped in behind her, slid my arms around her waist, and pressed my lips to the side of her neck. “That smells incredible.”
“You two ate burgers already, didn’t you?” she teased, calling me out instantly.
I chuckled against her skin and breathed her in. “Guilty.”
She turned in the circle of my arms, her hands resting on my chest and those gorgeous green eyes coming up to latch onto mine. “How was practice?”
“Exhausting. Gage texted to say Brody worked real hard, though. The kid’s a machine.” I hesitated, then decided not to dance around it. “Oh, and, uh, he knows I’m his dad.”
Maisie froze, blinking up at me. “He knows? Callum, you told him?”
“Not exactly.” I grinned, rubbing the back of my neck. “I just said it and he was, like, ‘yeah.’ It turns out Sadie let it slip and he overheard her. Apparently, it’s also obvious because welook exactly alike. His words, not mine.”
Her mouth parted, a mix of shock and relief flashing across her beautiful, delicate features. “Is he okay with it?”
I nodded. “I think he’s better than okay, actually. He just shrugged and went back to his burger. He did ask if he could call meDaddy, though. I said yes.”
“Wow.” Maisie let out a breath that sounded like she’d been holding it for seven years. Her arms wrapped tighter around my neck, pulling me closer as a smile ghosted across her lips. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”
“Neither can I,” I admitted, burying my face in her hair and inhaling the scent of her shampoo. “Can you believe it all startedbecause of Harrison’s insane idea of putting an ad in the paper for a wife?”
Her laugh was soft, muffled against my shoulder. “It started long before that, but we should definitely buy a physical copy of that edition and frame the ad.”
I grinned. “I’m on it.”
As I lowered my head to kiss her, Brody suddenly shouted from upstairs. “Daddy! Daddy, look.”
Before I could even react, a blur of fur hurtled into the kitchen with Brody right behind it. I squinted and it took me a beat to realize it was a dog. A golden retriever.
It skidded across the tile, barking joyfully with Brody in hot pursuit, squealing and laughing.
“Sadie came over, didn’t she?” I said, not really asking as I raised my eyebrows at Maisie. “This has her written all over it.”
Maisie laughed. “I think you’re right about needing a house with a bigger yard.”
“I’ll get on that, too.” I tightened my grip on her and turned my head to watch with her as Brody chased the newest member of our family around the house. “Fuck, I never thought I could be this happy.”
The words came out as barely a whisper against her hair, but she nodded her agreement without lifting her head from my shoulder and smiled up at me. “And this is only just the beginning.”
EPILOGUE
MAISIE
Thanksgiving morning came with the scent of crisp air, popcorn, and the faint tang of ice. The rink was packed, parents bundled up in coats and kids clanging cowbells and blowing horns. The atmosphere was festive, but this was also the championship game and it was a real nail-biter.
My stomach was twisted into knots the entire time, but when the buzzer sounded and Brody’s team exploded into cheers, I thought my heart might burst right out of my chest. They’d won.
