Maya grabs the remote and pats the space on the couch next to her. I sit down and pull her against me. Chase brings the popcorn, bowl overflowing.
"What are we watching?" he asks.
"Something stupid," Maya says. "I'm done with heavy things."
She picks a comedy I've never heard of. It doesn't matter. I'm barely watching the screen anyway, too busy noticing the way Maya relaxes against me, the way Emma smiles at us without any remaining anger, the way the house finally feels like home again.
Mom's going to lose her mind when she gets here. She'll probably cry, definitely make a big deal about it, might even pull out the few baby photos Maya hasn't seen yet, and start planning a wedding before we've had our first public date.
I can't wait.
38
MAYA
Emma corners me in the kitchen the morning after our movie night, stocking up on formula in the cupboards.
"You two are good together," she says without looking up. "I can see it now, how you balance each other out."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." She glances at me, something soft in her expression. "Just don't lie to me again."
"Never."
"I mean it, Maya. No more secrets, not about the big stuff."
"I promise."
She puts the final tin away and then pulls me into a hug. "I love you, both of you, and I want you to be happy."
"I am happy."
"Good." She releases me and smiles. "Now go be happy loudly somewhere else. Chase took Ethan to the park and Jackson's in the shower, so you have approximately twenty minutes before chaos resumes."
Heat floods my face. "Emma..."
"I'm not an idiot, you've been eye-fucking each other sincebreakfast. Go." She makes shooing motions. "Be young and in love, just keep it down.”
I flee to the basement before she can say anything else mortifying.
Jackson's shower is running. I can hear it through the door, the steady drum of water against tile. For months, I've been sneaking down here, terrified of being caught. Now Emma's practically permitting us.
The shift is dizzying.
I push open the bathroom door, and steam billows out, thick and hot. Jackson's silhouette is visible through the glass. Broad shoulders, water streaming down his back.
"Maya?" His voice is rough. "That you?"
"Yeah."
"Everything okay?"
"Emma told me to come down here and be young and in love." I lean against the sink. "Her exact words."
He laughs. "She's not subtle."
"Never has been."
