I laugh into him, squeezing the back of his neck. “I guess they won’t wait for their ice cream.”
“Can’t say that I blame them.”
We scoop ice cream into bowls for the four of us as the storm starts to settle outside. The girls have a lantern lit up inside of the tent as they each tell us their own stories they made up.
“Daddy, can we have a sleepover down here?” Sadie asks around a yawn.
“Why else do you think we brought the sleeping bags down?” he asks them. “I think it’s time to tuck in and go to bed.”
“Can we watch Bluey when we wake up?” Sam asks.
Marcus nods. “Yes. And maybe we can make pancakes tomorrow morning.”
Sadie’s eyes go wide. “But it’s not Sunday.”
“Well, maybe Harper can come for breakfast?—”
“Yes!” they both answer immediately, cutting Marcus off.
“I think this is a great idea,” I tell them.
Marcus gives them each a kiss as I hug them good night.
“Night, girls.”
“Night!”
Zipping the tent up for them, I link hands with Marcus as he leads me upstairs.
“Ready for our own sleepover?”
“More than ready.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
MARCUS
“God, I’ve missed you.”
Lifting Harper into my arms, I carry her up the stairs. The rain is quieter now. I know the girls will sleep through the night with the sounds of the TV on downstairs. Which means I can have Harper all to myself.
“We talked every day you were gone,” Harper tells me.
“But I didn’t get to see you.”
I shut my bedroom door behind me—making sure to lock it—before resting both of us in the center of the bed.
“Tell me something no one else knows about you.”
“You know everything.” Harper smiles up at me.
I shake my head, pulling her closer to me. We’re on our sides facing one another. I push a leg through hers, wrapping her leg over mine so we’re tangled together. Resting my hands on her waist, I drop my forehead to hers.
Breathing her in.
“Not everything. I want to know everything that happened to you these last few years.”
“Nothing significant happened to me. No brokenbones. No new house. A new job is about the only thing that changed about me.”
