I bark out a laugh, and she doubles over, too.
When we both get control of ourselves, I ask, “This isn’t going to steal your thunder, right? Jeez, you just got engaged, and I completely railroaded it with a shotgun wedding. I clearly wasn’t thinking this weekend.” I throw my head back against the seat.
“Are you kidding?” She looks over at me and gives me a smirk. “I love this for the both of us. You didn’t railroad anything. I’m fully team Mr. and Mrs. Declan Young,” she says with a smile on her face.
Jordan really is the best friend a girl could ask for. She started off much like Declan: grumpy and cold. But when her walls came down, she proved to be the kindest person I know; my ride or die.
“So, it doesn’t bother you that I also got a tattoo?” I add.
Her eyebrows meet her forehead, and she shrieks, “What?! Where? What is it? Show me.”
I let out a light chuckle and pull the sleeve of my sweater up to show her my forearm.
“Did Declan do that? The sunflower matches the one on his neck.”
I study the bouquet, and my mind starts reeling. She’s right. The sunflower is an exact match for the one on Declan.
So, not only did he come inside me unprotected, but he married me and gave us matching tattoos. If you had told me a week ago that Declan would brand me like this, I would have told you you were nuts. But here we are. One little weekend in Vegas changed everything in the blink of an eye, and it’s really starting to sink in what we did, that he’s serious about us.
When Jordan drops me off in front of my apartment, I take a deep breath before heading up. Declan is already back, and I can see the light on in his living room. My mom texted me and told me they were on their way with Autumn, so I only have a few minutes to myself.
As I’m climbing the apartment stairs, I hear Declan’s door swing open. As soon as I make it to the landing, he’s already in my space, reaching for my face to slant his mouth over mine. Our tongues tangle, and I moan out loud. It’s only been a few hours, and I already miss him. That just goes to show you how I feel about this man.
When he pulls back, he asks, “When does Autumn get here?”
A knock sounds on the staircase door, and it swings open a moment later. “Now.”
We take a step back from each other, and Autumn ascends the stairs, screaming, “Mommy!”
My face instantly lights up with a smile, and I crouch down to pick her up. “I’ve missed you, baby girl.”
“I missed you, too.”
“Did you have fun with grandma and papa?”
“I did!” she exclaims. “Declan,” she screeches a second later.
He bends down and picks her up, squeezing her in a tight hug.
My mom and dad are both here, and I give each of them a hug. “Thank you for taking care of her,” I tell them.
“How was the trade show? Learn anything useful?” my dad asks.
Shit. I can feel myself blushing because I didn’t go to the show today like I was supposed to. At least I paid attention yesterday. “A little bit. I’ll have to tell you guys about it later.”
My eyes wander to Declan, who is now holding Autumn on one hip like she’s a little toddler and not a five-year-old. My heart skips a beat because they look like two peas in a pod. When I think back to all our moments together, the three of us, I can see it clear as day that Declan has been fatherly towards Autumn. And I think I’ve been looking theother way for fear of misinterpreting his love for her. But I can’t unsee it now. Every moment we’ve spent together, he makes sure Autumn is safe and protected, and most importantly, loved. I thought he was just trying to make up for Christmas, but even then, he’s been showing his love for her in a way that I don’t think he even knew at the time.
Fuck. If I didn’t know I was in love with him before, I sure as hell do now.
“Penny,” my dad says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look from Declan to him. “Why don’t we head out, and we’ll talk to you tomorrow?”
I nod my head. “Right. Yeah. That works.”
My mom and dad look from me to Declan and back again, and I can see the wheels turning in their heads. I ignore it for now, though.
We tell them goodbye, and Declan brings Autumn into the apartment. She’s like a monkey attached to him, and part of me is a little jealous that she’s not more like that with me right now.
Iamher mom.
