Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“And buy really loud toys,” Gage added.
Mouse smiled. “Well, you’ll be uncle-ing for two pretty soon.”
I could swear it felt like a fireworks display went off inside me. “Really? You’re pregnant?”
“First try, twice in a row. My swimmers are strong as fuck,” Romeo teased, and we laughed.
It was the best feeling, seeing them, sharing this with them. I wanted to continue to work toward finding this happiness in my future.
I looked at Gage and smiled. He reached over, grabbed my hand, and kissed it. I was pretty sure he knew what I was thinking.
The four of us chatted while Olivia slept. It took a little longer to get there than usual because of the snow and the parade of people heading up the mountain for the holiday. A few hours later, we were pulling up in front of a sprawling, one-story cabin tucked between snow-covered trees.
It was beautiful.
Olivia woke up, and I started to unhook her from the car seat while everyone got out.
“There’s a jacket on top of the suitcase behind your seat. Can you put that on her?” Romeo asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
It took me a minute to get her all bundled up in the fluffy, pink coat. She was a wiggly little thing, rambling in her baby talk that Mouse and Romeo likely understood, but I didn’t.
“She’s probably hungry. We have food in the back. How about we go in, have lunch, and then come back out,” Mouse said.
That’s exactly what we did. I carried Olivia to the porch while they grabbed bags and suitcases from the back of the SUV. Romeo called out the lockbox code to me so I could get the key to let us in.
The cabin was bigger than the one we’d stayed at as teenagers, but similar in setup—lots of wood and earth tones, open concept, large brick fireplace, and a hallway with bedrooms and bathrooms. Out back there was a large deck with a hot tub.
I set Olivia on her feet, and she took a few waddling steps before plopping onto her diapered butt. She got right back up and tried again.
“I’m gonna change her real quick,” Mouse said, and went to take care of that while we got lunch together.
“We brought the Crock-Pot. I made a bomb-ass beef stew,” Romeo said.
“Bomb-ass? Did we just become eighteen again?” Mouse teased him, and my chest squeezed as I watched them together. My eyes found Gage’s, and he was looking at me. He winked, and I grinned.
After we ate, Gage stood up first. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to take this one out to the snow.” He tugged me to my feet. “You were so excited, do you remember? I didn’t even like the snow, but I wanted to go just because you loved it so much.” He nuzzled in close to my ear, lowering his voice, this part only for me, “Sometimes it was like I could live off your happiness.”
His words went straight to my heart, made it swell and pulse with this energy and passion only he could give me.
“I love you,” I whispered. It was the first time either of us had said it aloud since we got back together.
Gage gasped, but before he could reply, Mouse said, “Okay, you two. Stop being all mushy and huggy and get ready,” clearly not realizing how big the moment was.
Gage kissed my forehead, and I pulled away. This wasn’t the time for it anyway. I hadn’t meant to say it, but how could I not when he made me feel the way he did?
We bundled up and went outside. Olivia could hardly lower her arms in her coat. Romeo set her down, and she waddled, then fell. He knelt down, grabbed a handful of snow, and held it out to her. She touched it, her eyes going wide, then reached for it, babbling and grabbing at it.
I watched her for a moment, then turned around. Gage wasn’t standing beside me anymore, so I took a few steps toward him, which was when he raised his arm. A snowball came flying and smacked me right in the chest. “You’re a cheater! I was distracted with the baby.”
“You snooze, you lose.” He reached for more snow, and I did too. I made a ball and lobbed it at him just as another one came flying toward me. He missed that time, but I didn’t. He laughed, and I ran at him as he backed away. We went after each other, throwing and laughing, Gage falling once, which gave me the perfect opportunity to hit him in the face with a snowball. “Oh, I’m paying you back for that one, Jojo.”
He chased, and I ran. I didn’t really want to get away, and he didn’t let me, his arms wrapping around my waist as we tumbled into the snow together, rolling in it and laughing the way we did all those years ago in the leaves.