Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 23
hanna
As I walk to my house, with Vi and Elsie tagging along after visiting with their mom, I laugh as both girls giggle while walking their new puppy, York—a mini Yorkshire terrier—down the sidewalk. He was a gift from their dad, who is working today. A gift I had a good laugh about, because boys are cute, but puppies are cuter and take up so much time Elsie won’t have any left to think about much else for awhile.
“Do you think if you and Walker get married, you’ll stay here?” Vi asks, and Elsie slows and picks up York.
“I don’t know, honey.”
“I like that you live so close and that we can come visit you whenever we want.”
“I like that too.” I don’t know how Walker knew that moving over here after losing Mrs. Lewis would make things a little easier, but he did, and it’s just one more reason why I love him, he knows what I need when I sometimes don’t.
“You won’t move back to America, will you?” she asks, and my heart hurts.
“I don’t know,” I lie, because I’m not ready to admit I might have to leave sooner rather than later. I love London and Europe, but I know in my gut that I want to be close to my family, even if Florida is as close as I can get.
“I hope not.” She smiles. “I want you to stay here forever.”
I don’t say anything, just smooth my hand down her hair as I look at her because I know I’m likely to cry if I do. These stupid hormones have me emotionally on edge and wanting to cry at the stupidest things which is so annoying.
“Is Walker here yet?” Elsie asks when we reach my house.
“Not yet. He should be here soon.” I take a seat on the front step and watch them play, the puppy so tiny he practically disappears in the green grass. Smiling at the three of them, I see a car pull up to the curb, and my heart starts to beat a little harder, like it always does when I see the man who emerges from the back seat. When he gets out with his bag over his shoulder, both Elsie and Vi turn their attention to him and call out an excited greeting.
Vi picks up the puppy and takes off running in his direction, shouting, “We got a puppy.”
“I see that.” He smiles down at her and rubs the top of York’s head while my heart melts. It’s still wild to think about us becoming parents, that one day this might be a moment we have with our own kids—him coming home from work and them excited to share something with him.
When his gaze comes to me, his smile doesn’t deepen but gets softer, more intimate. I always miss him when he’s gone, but these last two weeks apart seemed harder than any time before. The nights have been especially difficult. And I could tell he wasn’t doing much better than me. His emails and texts were filled with worry and lots of questions. Was I getting enough sleep? Eating enough? Working too much? One thing I do have to say is being able to connect with him through e-mail and text alone for weeks at a time has oddly deepened our connection. Our relationship is not just about sex, don’t get me wrong, the chemistry between us is off the charts but I feel like I know him, really know him and I know he feels the same.
I get up and stand on the first step. When he’s a few feet away, his eyes drop to my stomach, which is still flat. I don’t know when you start to show, but I haven’t. All of my clothes still fit the same. The only changes I’ve noticed are my breasts seem more sensitive and I’m tired all the time, even if I get a full night of sleep.
“Hey, baby.” He drops his bag to the ground and wraps his arms around me, shoving his face in my neck. When he pulls in a deep breath, I do the same, and like always, my entire being relaxes, and all is right with the world once again. “I fucking missed you.”
“Me too.” I lean back, and he kisses me.
“How’s my baby?” he asks low, so the girls still playing in the yard can’t hear.
“Good,” I answer just as quietly. I told him I wasn’t going to tell anyone until I was over nine weeks along, but then I decided I didn’t want to share the news until he was back home with me again.
In the end, everyone will be happy for us, but I know they’ll all have a lot of questions and maybe even concerns, because we’ve only been together a short while, we aren’t married, and his job at this point keeps him away for long stretches. All of their concerns are ones I have myself, even with him reassuring me this is only temporary.