“Are you sure?” she asks sheepishly, making me smile.
I hold her face, and she leans into my touch. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. But there’s no pressure for you to feel the same yet.”
“Yet?”
“I’m patient, remember?” I wink, maroon spreading all over her skin. I drop a soft peck on her lips. “Now, come on. You need to get home to your girls.”
I help her get up and get dressed before I do the same. “Do you want to come over for UNO and takeout?”
“I would like nothing more.”
The night goesby in a flash; isn’t it always like that when you’re having a good time? I’m finishing dishes so Natalie can do bedtime for Vero, and Bella escaped to her room a while ago. Something about needing to know what happens next in the book she’s reading, so she didn’t want to grace us with her presence for long.
I love them too. Her girls.
Bella is funny, sassy, incredibly kind, and so damn smart. Vero is a total sweetheart, and she has me wrapped around her little finger. She knows it too. I don’t know if I deserve them, but I’m going to die trying to be worthy of them.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Natalie announces, stepping beside me and hugging me as I turn off the water.
“I wanted to. And yes, I know you could do it, but I wanted to either way.”
I kiss her forehead, turning her so she can rest in the spot where she fits best—against my chest.
Earlier, Bella mentioned something about being so grateful the swing was put back together and that she wanted to go out for a few minutes. Natalie let her, but she teared up looking at her daughter spending time outside. I want to take a chance and ask about it now, because the curiosity is killing me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“The day I fixed the swing, you were more excited about it than the porch, and today, you were so emotional over Bella wanting to use it. Is there some special meaning behind it?”
She exhales, burying her face deeper into me. I rake my hands through her hair, letting her take whatever time she needs. I bet it has something to do with Nick.
“I don’t want to pry. If it was special because of Nick, that’s fine. I don’t need to know.”
“No, no,” she says, pushing off from my chest and looking into my eyes, beyond them, like if she was taking a peek into my soul. “I want to tell you. You said you wanted to know more about him, right?”
“I do, but I don’t want to pressure you.”
“You’re not.” She squeezes my hand. “The swing is special. Do you have some time, or do you have to go?”
“I have all the time in the world for you.” She nods, pulling me to the couch, where we sit across from each other. She sits with one leg tucked under her, her skirt hiked up her thick thighs, giving me a flashback to a few hours earlier, when my face was between them. As if my thoughts are loud, she blushes.
“Sorry, my bad.”
“Get your head out of the gutter and look here.” Her fingers dart from my eyes to hers, a silent threat that makes me chuckle. I flash her a thumbs-up in understanding.
“Anyway. Yes, the swing is very special. Nick built it really early on, and Bella practically grew up on it. I had Bella right out of high school, a late August birthday.”
Last week? Then why didn’t she?—
“She hates them,” Natalie interrupts my thoughts, knowing exactly why I was frowning in confusion and bringing me back to the present. “She doesn’t like to even talk about her birthday, so I quietly celebrate her—her favorite foods, extra time reading, a new book. This is her Fiesta de Quince, and my mom won’t let it pass by. We’ll celebrate when they visit in the fall.”
“Is there something on her wishlist she wants?”
Natalie shakes her head. “She doesn’t ask for anything, but she adores you, Holden, so really just keep showing up for her.”
“Always,” I assure her.
“So, I had her young. It was really hard, and we definitely didn’t plan for her. I stayed in Baker Oaks so Nick could go to college, and the swing was one of the things they always did together. It was simple, but they loved it. When he came home, we knew we wanted more kids, so we started trying for another one.”
