“Are you sure?” Nate asks, looking straight at me.
“Yes.” I widen my eyes. “Get out.”
“Should I wake you when I’m back?”
I blow him a kiss. “Please don’t. But wake me when you leave early for your flight.”
He blows me a kiss back, then Leo winks and blows me a kiss too, which gets him an elbow in his ribs.
Skye jumps back on the bed, and then Nate lingers for another second. “Nateeee,” I sigh, and he chuckles, closing the door behind him. “I can feel you on the other side of the door.”
He opens it back up; this time, his expression is more serious. “I don’t want to wait another second to start our new journey. Before I go downstairs, I’m going to fill out the interest form.” He pauses. “And you’re going to be an amazing mom. The best.”
Then he closes the door and walks away, leaving me no time to respond.
I need him to know he’s going to be the best damn dad I’ve ever known and how excited I am for this next chapter, too.
Nate
“Fuck, she’s hot.” Leo nods to someone in the corner of the room, while I ignore him completely. Then he hits me in the thigh for the fifth time in two minutes. “Will you stop bouncing your leg?”
I can’t.
I’m wound too tight after filling out the adoption interest form. I can’t seem to contain the anxiety buzzing under my skin.
It was a hell of a lot more intense than I expected, and it’s nowhere as comprehensive as the actual application, I’m sure.
Luckily, Maddie was still awake and feeling just well enough to help me push through it. She didn’t question why I needed to submit it right then and there.
Truth is, I don’t fully know why either.
The second the idea took root, it was like a fire lit under my ass. I couldn’t leave for London without doing something…without moving the needle forward.
We discussed telling our families and decided against it, except for Leo and Addie. We both agree that we might need a support system in the near future, whether or not this works out.
I lift my beer and take a long pull. “So…Maddie and I have news.”
Leo’s drink pauses halfway to his mouth. His head snaps toward me. “Is she pregnant?”
“No.” I shake my head. “We’ve decided we’re going to adopt a child.”
For once in his life, my brother is speechless. His eyes widen slightly, but that’s it.
I arch a brow. “You gonna say something?”
“I’m trying to figure out where to start,” he mutters. “When? Why? How?”
I walk him through Maddie’s day about Sloane and Healing Horizons and through the gut-deep certainty that hit both of us.
When I finish, he exhales slowly. “Wow…that’s…”
I frown. “Say what you want to say.”
“I am happy for you. For both of you,” he says carefully. “I just—are you sure you’re not rushing this?”
Maddie and I already went in circles about that while filling out the application. And the answer hasn’t changed.
We both agreed that it’s just one of those times that when you know, you know.
