"We did." She tilted her face up, and I kissed her, a quick press of lips strong enough to feel the connection between us.
"Hey!" Casey's voice rang out. "No kissing! Gross!"
Laughter rippled through the crowd, and several of the guys started making exaggerated kissing noises. I flipped them off discreetly while Sadie buried her face in my chest, shoulders shaking with laughter.
"You're setting a bad example for the children," Beck called.
"You're just jealous," I shot back.
"Damn right I am."
Once the worst of the mess was handled, and Casey was showered and in bed, Sadie and I finally collapsed onto our couch, exhausted but happy.
"That was a good day," she said, curling into my side.
"It really was." I kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for suggesting this. Making it annual. Casey's going to remember this forever."
"I hope so." She tilted her face up to look at me. "I saw you talking to Aaron earlier. Everything okay?"
"He asked about therapy. About whether it actually helped."
Her expression softened. "And what did you tell him?"
"The truth. That it saved my life. Maybe my career. Definitely my family." I stroked her hair. "That I should have started years ago."
"Think he'll actually go?"
"Maybe. I gave him Dr. Reyes's number. Whether he uses it…" I shrugged. "That's on him. But at least he's thinking about it."
She was quiet for a moment, then smiled. "Happy anniversary."
I frowned. "Our anniversary's not until next month."
"Not that anniversary." Her fingers traced patterns on my chest. "Two years ago today, you walked into my clinic for your first day of community service."
Two years. Christ, it felt like yesterday and forever all at once.
"Best two years of my life," I said quietly.
"Mine too." She kissed me, slow and deep, and I felt it in my bones.
This was home.
Not the house, not even Lake Chambeau. Her. Casey. This family we'd built from broken pieces and second chances.
When she pulled back, there was heat in her eyes. "Take me to bed, Easton."
"Yes, ma'am."
I checked on Casey one more time, finding her asleep with a hockey magazine on her chest, then closed our bedroom door and turned to find Sadie already unbuttoning her shirt.
"Two years," she said, with that playful glint in her eye I knew so well. "And I still want you just as much as I did at Sassy's."
"More, I hope." I crossed over to her, taking over the buttons. "Since we know what we're doing now."
"Mmm, practice makes perfect."
I slipped her shirt off her shoulders, then unhooked her bra with one hand. "Remember what I told you that first night?"
