Page 126 of One Night with Number Nineteen

“A temporary replacement,” Sawyer finishes.

Ollie nods in agreement then waves the stuffed penguin’s fin in my direction. “Meet Holly, Ollie’s sister.”

Oh, yeah.

I so totally love this man.

Thirty-Nine

Sawyer

“No sun,” I say.

Ollie frowns and I give him a moment to process the Dad Joke.

“An eclipse means people can’t see the sun,” Lainey says, her brown eyes dancing with humor as they connect with mine for a beat. “So, when the joke says: Mom, can you tell me what a solar eclipse is? The joke is saying, No sun.”

More furrowed eyebrows.

Then they suddenly flatten out. “No sun. Like no son.” Ollie slaps a palm against his forehead. “I’m a son and there’s no sun in the sky.”

“Um,” I begin.

But Lanes just shakes her head, and I get what she’s not verbalizing.

Close enough.

And anyway, Ollie’s moved on from the joke and is bouncing around the room, looking ridiculously adorable in his pajamas—mostly because he’s strapped on his suspenders over the top of them and looks like he’s starring in some old western while rocking long johns and braces.

Molly’s containers dot the coffee table, the dog-crime-fighting show is paused on the TV, and Holly is perched on the couch beside Lainey, supervising her as she pecks away on her laptop.

It’s a night full of completely mundane, normal details.

And it’s fucking perfect.

Because it’s all I’ve ever wanted—a family of my own, a connection that’s not one-sided, a place where I belong, people who want me around as much as I want to be around them.

Lainey sets her computer aside and stands, brushing her fingers along my arm. “I’m going to make some popcorn. Do you want another beer?”

I start to straighten. “I can get it.”

She pushes me back down. “I’ll get it, handsome. Now, beer?”

“Sure, Pages. Thanks.”

She slips away and a few moments later, the scent of popcorn begins to fill the air. A few moments after that, she’s back with a beer.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She kisses my temple, retrieves the popcorn, and then we spend the next little while eating it and watching dogs fight crime until eventually she says, “I’m going to plug in my computer so I can put Ollie to bed.”

“Aw, man!”

“You know it’s time, buster. Plus, you want to rest up so you can sing good tomorrow, right?”

An aggrieved sigh, but he nods. “Yeah.”

My lips twitch and I take a pull of beer.