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“I did.” I can’t help but smile at the grin that takes over his face.
He whoops and scoops me up under my knees, carrying me into the house bridal style. My own carefree laugh tumbles out, my belly full of anticipation and my heart giddy with want.
I eye Finn over Reid’s shoulder. “Don’t think that I missed that you have a secret.”
“Later,” Finn says suspiciously, a smug smile on his lips as he follows behind us.
“Later better mean keeping several promises,” I tease.
There isn’t time to puzzle over the mystery as we fall into the new bedtime routine with the kids. Packing lunches, cleaning up, and getting ready for bed takes almost another hour. When we finish, we meet back up in the room where the kids are staying. I tuck them in, and the guys say good night, already knowing the names of Em’s favorite stuffed animals.
“We’re going to walk Waffles and be right back,” Reid tells me, squeezing my hip as he walks out the door.
I grab Em’s favorite book, sit on the floor beside the bottom bunk, and read the story about how a princess became a knight and outsmarted a dragon.
With a sleepy yawn, she interrupts the ending. “The dragons like it here with these guys.”
“They do?” I ask. Emmaline’s dragons have been code speak for Em for as long as she’s known the word.
She curls up onto her side, her stuffed green dragon squeezed tightly in her arms. Another sleepy yawn spills out. “Glenda doesn’t get antsy pants.”
I run my hands through her silky hair. “I like it here too. Sleep well, my little knight.”
I kiss her cheek and stand, peeking up at the top bunk where Ben is facing the wall, reading a comic book Finn loaned him.
“Do you like it here too, Ben?” I ask.
He stills, not moving a muscle or saying a word. I wait in anticipation for what feels like an eternity before he speaks. “Yeah, it’s okay.”
That okay feels like a thousand yeses.
I climb on the bottom rung so I can reach and whisper in his ear, “I love you no matter what, Ben. Whenever you want to talk, I’m here.” Feeling bold, I risk kissing his cheek.
He groans, rolling onto his stomach. “Fine. Good. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you,” I sing-song, laughing as I jump back down. “Don’t stay up too late reading.”
I turn on the lamp and shut off the overhead light, my heart feeling much lighter today than it did a week ago.
The front door opens, and Waffles bounds up the stairs, licking my fingers as he passes me on his way toward the kids’ bedroom. At the bottom of the stairs, the guys are waiting. Finn fidgets, running his hand through his hair. I’ve pegged it as his nervous tell.
“What’s up?” I ask, worried. What if he talked to Reid and they changed their minds? What if this hope-filled bubble I’ve been living in is about to pop?
“Trust us,” Reid asks, his deep voice smooth and rich.
Reid holds out his hand to me, and I let him pull me into his arms, even though my gut is a riot of nerves. He circles those strong arms around me, holding me tightly against his chest. His scent does that muscle-relaxing thing that makes my body turn to mush. This man is a world-champion hugger. It’s impossible to feel anything but safe in his arms.
I nod against his chest. “I’m trying.”
Finn curls around my back, resting his head on my shoulder and adding his fresh mountain breeze to the mix. The remaining worry bleeds out.
“Close your eyes,” Finn murmurs in my ear.
I take a deep breath and do as he says. Finn tugs on my shoulder gently. I follow where he leads, with Reid’s big palm guiding me from behind. We take a few steps.
Finn stops, squeezing my hand. “You can open them now.”
I blink, and I’m in their kitchen. A large wooden box with a bow sits in the middle of the kitchen island.
