A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Let’s get through this season first.”
“Then we’ll talk?” I blush.
He stands in front of me, leaning in slow. “Then we’ll talk.” He kisses me softly.
* * *
The next morning, Cody knocks once before letting himself in. I glance at the clock—8 a.m., just like we said.
“Good morning,” I say with a smile, making my way over. I cross my arms up behind his neck and kiss him.
“Good morning,” he replies.
“What’s the plan?” I ask.
“Well…” He laughs. “When they all show up here in a few minutes, I figured we could tell them together.”
My body hiccups. “Oh boy.” I laugh. “This will be interesting.”
If I were him, I would’ve told the family, texted the group chat or something. I’m not one for big, orchestrated moments, especially when it involves me being the center of attention. But Cody? He likes the whole let’s-just-rip-the-Band-Aid-off-and-watch-the-chaos-unfold approach.
And honestly…part of me kind of loves that about him.
“They’ll be excited,” he assures me. “I talked to my parents last night before I came back over anyway.”
I hear the sound of a truck pulling up outside. My stomach knots with nerves and I let out an uneven sigh. Both of us are standing here, waiting, and my heart beats faster with every second.
And then the door swings open. Standing there is…everyone—Mason, Jesse, Addie, Wesley, Ella, Cora, and Cody’s parents. And they are all staring at us like they know but are waiting for confirmation.
Cody clears his throat. “Yeah, so…we’re just gonna take it all over to my place.”
Everyone erupts, clapping and cheering. Laughter echoing from all corners of the room. In the midst of Mason patting Cody’s shoulder and Jesse tossing out an “I told you so,” Addie and Maureen weave their way through the chaos to wrap me in a hug, both of them beaming, excited for me, forus.
Then Emma screeches from the bouncy seat, overwhelmed by all the noise.
I slip away to scoop her up, pressing a soft kiss to her head. Cradling her close, I glance back at everyone, all of them talking at once, swapping theories about when they figured it out, how they’d had a feeling for weeks that something was happening between us.
I look down at Emma, my heart swelling with such an intense love.
“Sweetheart,” I whisper, “we’re in the best hands we could be. Trust me.”
Chapter 31
Cody
Addie’s sitting with Emma on my living room floor, helping her sit up and play with a toy piano. Wesley’s on the couch watching, a smile on his face with every giggle Emma lets out.
She’s already unfazed that her mom’s not in the room. Something Karissa is anxious about. Emma’s almost four months old, and Karissa’s been anxious to leave her because she’s afraid Emma will miss her and wonder where she is. I assured her—a few times—that Emma loves Addie and she’ll be fine for a few hours.
I’m taking her out tonight. Told her I wanted to go out on a real date because tomorrow’s the start of the season. We’ll pick up our first group of clients and take them out Saturday for opening day. So tonight is the last chance we’ll have for a while.
I head toward my room…well,herroom for the time being. The door’s open, light still on, but she’s not inside. I spot the glow from the bathroom and walk through. The door’s half open, and there she is, standing at the mirror, flicking a makeup brush over her cheeks.
Her hair’s loosely curled, and she’s wearing those jeans again. The ones I like. They hug her in all the right places.
It isn’t until I get closer that I see there’s more makeup on her than I’ve seen her wear in weeks. Maybe ever.
“Hey,” I say quietly.
