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That’s when I learn that Maddi can only keep a secret for approximately four hours.
Sitting on the couch and going over some paperwork from the office, I half listen to the girls in the bedroom.
I hear Courtney ask, “Do you have ants in your pants?”
“No,” Maddi giggles.
I wonder what that’s about but don’t get up to check on them.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Maddi laughs again, then blurts, “We’re getting married!”
“What?” Courtney laughs.
I get up off the couch and move closer to the door.
“I forgot—it’s a secret,” Maddi says quietly.
“A secret . . . ?” Courtney sounds confused.
“It’s a secret that Daddy is asking you to marry us,” Maddi says. “Don’t tell Daddy I told you. It’s supposed to be a secret.”
I listen to Courtney laugh and then say quietly, “I won’t tell him. But how do you feel about all of us becoming a family?”
“We’re already a family,” Maddi responds immediately.
God, I love my baby.
“You’re right. We are,” Courtney agrees.
She says something after that, but I can’t make out what it is because she’s talking so quietly. I go back to the couch and get back to work.
When Courtney comes out of the bedroom, it looks like she’s been crying. I don’t ask why. That moment between the two of them is theirs.
“Maddi wants another dog,” she tells me, taking a seat next to me on the couch.
I fight back a smile.
“I think I’m going to get her one when we move.”
“Baby, that’s not happening,” I state.
She turns to face me. “Why not? She’s right. Merida does need a friend.”
“Merida doesn’t need a friend.” I laugh.
“Well, I think she does.”
“Not happening.”
“Okay, no dog. What about a cat?”
“No.”
“No. No dog, or no cat?” she asks.
“Neither.”
“A hamster, then?” she asks hopefully.
I wonder what the hell Maddi said to her. We’ve been on the same page for weeks about not getting another dog.
“No.”
“A rabbit?”
“No.”
“A ferret?” she pleads.
“Hell no.”
“What you don’t know won’t hurt you,” she mumbles under her breath.
I smile, then tackle her to the couch and loom over her.
“You get another animal, I’ll find out.”
“Whatever.” She turns her head and I take that opportunity to trail my lips down her throat. Then I pick her up and carry her to bed, where I make her agree to no more animals while my face is between her thighs and she’s on the brink of an orgasm.
Chapter 17
STICK-FIGURE FAMILIES AND HAPPILY EVER AFTERS
COURTNEY
“Do not cry,” Abby says.
I focus on her in the mirror, giving her a watery smile.
“I’m not going to cry.” I take a deep breath and let it out slowly so my tears don’t make a liar out of me.
“Good, because you do not have time for the makeup artist to fix your face before it’s time to get your ass down the aisle to that guy of yours.”
“Is he okay?” I ask, turning away from the mirror.
“Last time I checked, he was pacing like you’re going to run off—like you two don’t already live together.” She rolls her eyes.
I laugh. I can’t help it. Lucas has gotten edgier and edgier as the wedding date’s gotten closer. At first I thought he might be having second thoughts, but when I finally asked him about it he admitted that he was tired of waiting for me to become his wife. He tried to convince me to go to the courthouse and elope, but I had already spent months planning a wedding with Maddi and Abby. I refused to give in.
In the last ten months Lucas, Maddi, and I have settled into our life together with only a couple of hiccups along the way. The first hiccup was Lucas having to tell Maddi that Eva was moving back in with her boyfriend and that she wouldn’t be around much. Thankfully, Maddi seemed to accept the news almost like she’d known it was coming—and was relieved by it. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but Eva hasn’t reached out to see Maddi since then. Honestly, I just feel sorry for Eva. She is missing out on watching her daughter grow up. One day, she will realize that and have regrets.
After Lucas brought up the idea of getting married, he officially proposed to me with a beautiful four-carat princess-cut diamond set in a simple platinum band. He slid the ring on my finger at dinner with his family and Abby there to watch. It was perfect—but not as perfect as my first unexpected proposal from Maddi, when she told me that we were all getting married.
I knew that he wanted us to get married before we moved into our new house, so I started planning our wedding, and we started planning our life. Part of that plan included us moving into his place while the house was being finished.
That was when our second hiccup happened, when Tom attempted to get in contact with me once again. He showed up at my apartment unannounced and drunk. It was on the day Lucas and I were moving me out of my place. Tom caused a huge scene, and we had to call the cops to escort him off the premises. He, like a drunken idiot, tried to get into a fight with Lucas. Then he resisted arrest and hit one of the officers. He spent the night in jail, and the next day his mom and dad came to the city to bail him out. They also came to see me, and to ask if Lucas would drop the charges he had pressed the night before. To say Lucas was not happy about their visit is an understatement, but he did agree to drop the charges if they promised to talk to their son about moving on with his life and making it clear that I was off-limits. They said they would, and I knew from the look on Lorie’s face that she felt horrible about what happened. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to show her my ring and tell her how happy I was, but I didn’t do that. We were simply no longer at that place. I have secretly sent her a few updates with photos through the mail, but that’s as far as I will go to keep in touch with her.
