She’s got a foot tucked under her on the chair, both elbows on the table, with her chin resting in her hands. There’s no tenseness, no push to prove herself. She’s just looking beautiful in one of my sweaters that swallows her, the dark green matching her eyes.
They land on me, and she smiles at me. Soft, but assured.
Evie opens her laptop and starts moving her fingers across the screen. “Pinterest to the rescue,” she murmurs, narrowing her eyes as she scans the screen. “This is actually kind of cute.”
I turn to Owen. “What kind of food would you want to add?”
“I don’t know. But I like the idea, even though the rabbit hole feels a mile deep. We don’t have a commercial kitchen hiding somewhere, do we?”
I have a vague memory of an outbuilding I saw on a map, but I’ll have to do some digging through Dad’s files to figure it out for sure.
“Maybe,” I say. “Give me some time.”
He and Evie both glance at me.
“We’re making some pretty big plans,” Evie says, her voice tentative for the first time in days. “The farm is safe. None of this is necessary.”
Chloe's foot finds mine under the table, arching against my legs in a reassuring movement.
“I know that.” I straighten to give the moment the respect it deserves. “And I know my relationship with this place has been arduous for a while. But I think it makes a difference that I want to be part of the legacy now—no one is forcing me into it.”
Both siblings nod in my peripheral vision, but my eyes are only on Chloe. Her eyes are glassy as she whispers, “I’m proud of you.”
“Then let’s see what we’re made of, folks.” Owen claps his hands together. “Let’s work on a new legacy. We’ve got a new generation to worry about, now.”
“And on that note, I promised a certain eight-year-old a movie night.” Evie snaps her laptop shut. “I’m on aunt duty, so you two go disappear. No arguing.”
Owen stretches and stands. “And that’s my cue to pretend I don’t know what that’s insinuating. See you all in the morning.”
Wordlessly, everyone goes their separate ways, and I wait for Chloe to join me on the other side of the table.
The house settles, the lights dim slightly, and the logs in the fire crackle.
“You want to go hide from the world for a bit?” I hold my hand out.
She takes it without hesitation. “I don’t hate that plan.”
We walk, hand in hand, down the short hall that leads to our room, and then she stops. I want to ask what’s wrong, but it’s clear she’s steeling herself for something.
And then she turns and glances up at me through her eyelashes, a new look in her eyes I’ve never seen before.
“Do you remember when you accused me of treating our physicality like a business meeting?”
It feels like a lifetime ago, with stretches of beautiful moments and heartache between. “That might’ve been a poor choice of words, but yes. I think we’ve moved past that.” I chuckle.
She steps closer, fidgeting with the buttons on my Henley. “Me too. I was thinking it was time for a quarterly review, actually.”
“It hasn’t been a—” My breath catches in my throat as the realization of what she’s asking slams into me.
“I know we already established all this, but Aiden—I want forever with you.” She raises onto her toes and presses a kiss to my cheek. “And when you finally have what your heart has been chasing for a decade, there’s no use in wasting anymore time.”
When she goes to press a kiss to the corner of my mouth, I turn my head and catch her lips with mine. And melt a little when a soft, contentedly sigh escapes her.
“I need you to spell this out for me, Chlo,” I whisper against her lips. “No room for misinterpretation.”
She answers with a soft laugh, then wraps her arms around my neck.
“I think you knowexactlywhat I’m saying, Mr. Wheeler. But here’s the honest truth: I want a bigger family. More kids. I want it all, and I think we’ve established a solid foundation to build that on.”
