“I do, with my sisters.” Billie smiled.
“I got my wedding dress there! It’s the best.”
“Oh, thank you! That’s great!”
“No, thankyou!” she beamed.
"Do you guys want to come in? I’m gonna order pizza.” I extended the invitation.
“We have to get Hannah back to her mom,” Maddox said.
“Thanks for everything today, man.” I thanked Maddox for about the thousandth time as Peyton and Billie said goodbye. I still wasn’t sure why he’d done it, but I was really thankful he had.
“No worries. Let me know if you need anything, and let’s grab that beer soon.”
“Will do.”
“Nice meeting you, Billie.” Maddox waved as he and Peyton climbed into the SUV.
“You, too.”
“Bye!” We stood and waved at Maddox and Peyton as they pulled out, the girls ran up to the porch, and Billie’s Apple Watch buzzed. I hadn’t even had a chance to introduce her to the girls yet.
“Can you stay for pizza?” I asked, even though I was sure she was going to say no.
She looked down at her watch.
“I mean, unless you have plans.”
“I do, actually.” She looked up at the girls. “Is your wife or their mom going to be?—”
“No wife, no mom, just me and the girls.”
The twins pressed their noses against the window, mouths open, pointing at the crooked chandelier and the paint-peeled banister. “It looks like a dollhouse!” Joey shrieked.
Billie took a deep breath, and I held mine, waiting to find out. She looked back at me and said the best two words I’d heard all week, all month, all year—hell, maybe ever. “I’ll stay.”
We headed up the driveway and the porch steps the same way we had hundreds, no, thousands of times before, and it felt strange, but right. “Girls, this is my friend Billie. Billie, these are my daughters, Joey and Andi.”
“Hi,” Billie said, her voice warm and natural. She squatted down to their level. “I love your shoes,” she told Joey, who wore one pink Croc and one blue.
“Thanks. They are like a unicorn.”
“Yes, they are.” Billie shifted her attention to Andi, complimenting the colorful braided thread tied around her wrist. “And I love your bracelet.”
“It’s my friendship bracelet.”
“It’s beautiful,” Billie enthused.
Joey reached out and ran her fingers through Billie’s hair. “I like your hair.”
“Thanks, my sister braided it earlier today, and then I took it out so it’s wavy.”
“You have a sister?” Joey’s interest was piqued.
“I have two.” Billie held up two fingers as I unlocked the door, and the twins exploded into the house like a pair of high-velocity ferrets, leaving a trail of backpacks and shoes in their wake.
“They’re adorable,” Billie said, still standing on the threshold.
