“Yeah.” Her soft giggles made my insides turn to mush. “Let’s do that.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
ellie
SULLY DROVE US TO meet up with his family, keeping his hand on my leg the entire time. It grounded me when I felt a bit like I was going to float away, both from the blitheness in my bones and the anxious flutter in my stomach.
A football game shouldn’t be a big deal, but we both knew it was more than that. We were moving our rekindled relationship out of Maple Street and into the open.
Chloe and Cameron were playing catch in theBetter Homes and Gardens-level front yard when we arrived, but Sully’s niece quickly abandoned the football when she saw us, bouncing up to announce that she was ready to beat Sully in their annual game of Candy Land and then giving us a little side-eye when she realized his hand kept floating to my back.
After promising Chloe he’d return soon for their rematch, Sully led me to find the rest of the Londons inside, where they had gathered in the kitchen.
Natalie turned and spotted us first, and I was pulled into a fierce hug that made my eyes prick with tears. She smelled like Natalie—a warm, vanilla scent wrapped around me and reminded me of nights in Boston when Korey had been out of town on business, and we’d cuddle up for musical marathons.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I breathed, and she nodded, still holding me tight. Behind us, I could hear Sully greeting the rest of his siblings.
“Me too,” she agreed. “I took the whole week off, so I’m here as much as you need me.”
“Really?” I asked, pulling back.
I couldn’t really remember Natalie ever taking that much time off work.
She nodded, her London-green eyes shining. “I wanted Chloe to be able to spend more time with Mom and Dad, and Cam wanted the full Minnesota tour. I’m hoping to swing by Maple Street, too?” She asked it as a question.
“Of course,” I said, and for some reason, my throat tightened a little. “I’d love that.”
“We’ve been redecorating, you know,” Sully said, his voice soft as he came up behind me. Arms wrapped around my middle, pulling me back a little bit. I thudded against his chest, encased in his warmth.
Oh.
“I know,” Natalie laughed. “Ellie told me you wanted to paint the walls black.”
“Jesus, dude,” Blake cut in. “Please don’t turn our childhood home into a haunted house.”
I looked back to see Sully rolling his eyes. “You guys don’t get it.”
Then he dropped a kiss onto my hair, and I felt the weight of all the Londons staring at me. I looked shyly back, catching the way Blake wore a tilted grin and Theo’s eyes smiled. Everyone in the room had on shades of green and white, proudly ready to cheer on Noah, even when he was playing the Minnesota Seawolves—our home team.
“It’s nice to see that the rest of my children got their shit together, isn’t it, Gemma?” Anne cut into the silence, glancing at the tall woman beside Theo, with her gorgeous ginger hair and dusting of freckles. “Now you don’t have to spend the day dealingwith all their…” She waved a hand in the air, searching for the right word. “Hovering and the like.”
Chuckles echoed around the kitchen, and Sully pulled me in closer.
“We were the pregnancy protection detail,” Blake said.
“And we were quite excellent at our jobs, if I do say so myself,” Sully added before he smoothed his hand down my side. I couldn’t decide if it was subconscious or not, but I appreciated it. It was soothing, but also distracting, pushing my mind past the mention of a topic I’d been avoiding. “Well, Theo and I were.”
Blake lifted a brow at being excluded. “Excuse me?”
“You were distracted,” Sully said pointedly.
“I was not distracted,” Blake argued, clearly offended.
“Yes, you were.” I couldn’t see Sully’s face, but he sounded overjoyed at the prospect of being able to needle his oldest brother. “You saw Delaney with another guy for like thirty seconds when we walked into the stadium, and then you were a sad little nugget the rest of the night.”
“Theo.” Blake gave a beseeching look to his brother. “Help me out here.”
Theo, who’d been standing in the back looking at his phone, only grimaced when he glanced up. “Sorry, man, but…”
