“Let’s go find out, shall we?” I doubted it mattered very much, though. After practice, the kid would eat cardboard and rave about it.
We both climbed out. Once we were inside, we went up to the counter to place our orders. “Double cheeseburger, no onions, extra pickles, fries, and a chocolate shake.”
We froze, staring at each other after placing the exact same order at the exact same time. Brody broke into a grin. “No way.”
“We really do have a lot in common.” I winked at him and ruffled his hair again, but this time, he didn’t call me out on it. “Let’s grab a table.”
He chuckled and followed me to a vinyl booth tucked into a corner next to a window. A waiter brought our shakes over and I leaned my elbows on the table, my gaze steady on his.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Uh, sure?”
“What would you think if I married your mom?” I hadn’t told her that I planned on asking him point blank, but at this point, it just felt like I should.
He tried to smother his smile but failed completely. “That’d be cool.”
I nodded, my mouth twitching the same way as I reached for my shake. “Cool.”
Neither of us said anything for a minute, just sitting there like we hadn’t both just had our entire worlds rearranged. When the food came, I ordered another round of burgers and fries to go before Brody had even asked. He didn’t question it, picking up his burger and biting into it like he hadn’t seen food in a year instead.
Once we were done eating, he was quiet for a few seconds before he finally blurted out, “Does that mean you’re going live with us?”
“Yeah,” I said easily. “That’s how it usually goes.”
He frowned. “Okay, but why would you want to live with a girl? Girls are gross.”
I laughed so hard, I almost fell out of the booth. “Yeah, well, just give it about ten years, buddy. You’ll change your mind.”
He scrunched up his nose. “Doubt it.”
I shook my head at him. “Trust me. It probably won’t even take a full ten years.”
For once though, I didn’t mind if he didn’t believe me. I had the kid’s permission to marry his mom and to move in with them, and that was enough for one day. More than enough.
It felt like everything was finally actually coming together, and if I was really lucky, they might even wind up staying that way.
CHAPTER 32
MAISIE
Life had such a funny way of just carrying on. No matter what had happened, good or bad, or how big it had been, the world just kept right on turning.
Brody half-dragged his gear bag across the floor, his hair already sticking up in all directions as he muttered about Gage’s strategies for their home game today. It was like he’d already forgotten what Callum had talked to him about just a few days ago, but while I’d been struggling for weeks about how to break the news of our impending nuptials to him, Callum had simply told him over burgers—and he was absolutely fine.
There had been no tantrums. No tears. No sense of betrayal or abandonment.
In fact, when I’d gotten home that day after dropping my mom off at the airport, neither the fact that we were getting married or that Callum would be moving in had been Brody’s biggest worry. They’d been playing video games when I’d walked in and he’d stabbed the pause button on his controller, looking up at me with his features so grave, I’d nearly had a heart attack.
The reason?“Mom, I don’t think there’s enough space in our garage for all of Callum’s cars.”
Callum had been quick to reassure him that all his cars—I honestly didn’t even know how many he had but the phrasing had been ominous—were safely parked at his house on the Westwood Estate. And that had been that.
Life had carried on.
My mom, of course, had thought it was hilarious. Her response had been simple when I’d told her about it after she’d gotten back home.
“Maisie, my baby, you know I love you, but you overthink things way too much. Not everything needs to be analyzed and calculated half to death. Sometimes, you just have to roll the dice without trying to predict how they’re going to land.”
