Page 103 of Hiss and Make Up

They returned to the yard, where Liz went back to Luna and Puck around the kiddie pool. Marc closed the grill and met Sierra in the middle of the patio. He placed a hand on her lower back and laughed at Luna and Puck.

“I guess I have a dog now,” he said.

“I guess you do.”

“How’d it go?”

Sierra shrugged. “She’s thinking about it.”

“Which means?” Marc asked.

A grin spread across Sierra’s face. “Oh, she’s in.”

He smiled and kissed her. “You are quite convincing.”

“Hey, it was your idea,” she reminded him.

“Not to say I told you so, but it’s a pretty perfect idea.” His expression tightened. “Denise called while you were talking to Liz.”

“How are they?”

“Josh is with them at the hotel. He’s checking in to some kind of rehab place this weekend. She’s getting an apartment there while he does that, then they’ll make more decisions. His job is willing to transfer him to the Houston office so he won’t have to travel anymore, and if he continues with therapy and is committed to change, she and the kids will stay in Houston. So, yes, she definitely doesn’t want the property anymore. Even if things don’t work out, she said she’ll want a fresh start somewhere else.”

Sierra nodded. “Of course.”

Sierra didn’t quite understand. If were in Denise’s shoes, she’d be bringing her kids to stay with Marc, not following this jerk to Texas. But they deserved their own second chance, she supposed.

“How are you with all of this?” she asked.

“A little sad. It’ll be weird not having them around. But I want her to be happy. Whatever that means for her.,” Marc said. “What about you?”

“I’m fine,” she lied. When he raised his brow at her, she said, “I’m just nervous. Not for me. But for all of us.” They’d talked about this, but she still had concerns. “What if this doesn’t work out? What ifwedon’t work out? We’re all going to make really awkward neighbors.”

“I told you, I’ll move.”

“Stop. I’m serious.”

“I’m serious too,” he said. “If we don’t work out, I’m going to be convinced this place is cursed.”

She laughed. “So you’d saddle me with a cursed house? Thanks.”

He pulled her close against him. “Then I’d just have to take you with me.”

She narrowed her eyes at him as he kissed her. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Surprisingly, she was confident they’d figure this out. More confident than she’d been of anything else in a long time. But she needed to make sure Liz and Luna were taken care of. They deserved a happy ending too.

Sierra looked at the yard and their friends and family. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever felt this much love and happiness in one place. Her eyes fell over Chloe and Freddy, and Sierra couldn’t help feeling happy to see a smile on Chloe’s face.

Marc kissed her softly, lingering a bit before leaving to flip the burgers. She didn’t know what would happen in the future. If they could make all of this work. Or if she’d been right all along and second chances were just false hope.

But her heart was telling her that this was real. That as long as they were both in this together, and as long as they knew exactly who each other was and still accepted and respected each other, they could make anything work.

Full of hope and love and the unexpected courage that came with that, she left the patio and joined her friends in the yard.