She nods. “Yes, and inside.”
“Oh! Inside and outside. Wow. Okay.” I nod.
“And a rainbow bed. With sparkles.”
“A rainbow bed sounds doable.” I grin at Dahlia.
“And,” Chloe continues, pointing at the lake, “a pool.”
“You want a pool next to the biggest lake in the world?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says without hesitation. “Warm pool!”
“Okay,” I say with a laugh. “You make a strong argument.”
“And Bill…” She scoops him into her arms. “He has a teeny tiny puppy couch.”
Bill licks her cheek, like he approves of the idea.
Dahlia leans her head on my shoulder. “I love her brain.”
“Me too,” I say quietly. “And her mama’s.”
I press a kiss to her temple and look out at the water, imagining windows and reading nooks and rainbow beds and warm pools and tiny dog couches.
Imagining them here—really here.
“Someday soon,” I murmur, half to myself, half to her, “we’ll make something like that right here. A place that feels like ours.”
Dahlia slips her hand into mine. “I’d like that,” she whispers.
And Chloe, who has no concept of timing, yells, “And ice cream!”
Dahlia snorts.
“Absolutely,” I whisper to Chloe, and she grins like we’ve formed a sacred pact.
The three of us sit on the blanket, dreaming out loud, and for a moment I can see our whole future unfolding right in front of me—clear, bright, and everything I’ve ever wanted.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
ORDER
DAHLIA
It’s the most perfect August evening. Summer is already precious time in Minnesota, but nights like these almost make up for the 20-below days. The lake is calm tonight, glassy and endless, and Dylan is laughing at how excited I am.
He helps me into the kayak, steadying it with one hand, and gets in after me. It’s a face-to-face kayak. I didn’t even know they made them like this, but it makes it so much easier to talk like this.
As soon as we push off, I swear something in my chest goes weightless.
The paddle slices through the water with that crisp, satisfying sound I’ve only ever heard in videos or dreamed about. A breeze brushes my hair over my shoulders. The shoreline glows with the gorgeous lights from Windhaven. And suddenly I’m having a full-on moment, because this feels like stepping straight into that picture hanging in our cabin—the gorgeous kayak scene I’ve been so drawn to. It was like a portal to a life I wanted.
And now I’m living it.
Dylan’s watching me, and his brows lift.
“You okay?” he asks.
