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I move around the kitchen, pulling things out for breakfast, noting we need to order groceries. Glancing at Ax as he shoves a fist full of Cheerios in his mouth, we also need a highchair and likely a bunch of other stuff that I have no idea we need.
Andie rests her arms on the counter around Ax and spoon-feeds him some oatmeal. “I wrapped up a recording a couple of days ago. Jonesy is working on cleaning up each track. If he thinks I need to re-record anything, I’ll either have to go back or see if I can find a studio here. We’re trying to keep it pretty raw, so hopefully, what we already have will work.”
I set a pan on the stove and pull eggs from the refrigerator along with the ingredients for my morning protein smoothie. Besides knowing that Andie plans to stay for a while, we haven’t discussed any of the logistics or exactly how long ‘a while’ might be.
I’m hesitant to ask my next question. I know what I want her answer to be, but I’m nervous her response won’t match. I turn toward her, halting my progress on breakfast.
“When you said last night you plan on staying for a while, what exactly does a while mean?”
Her hand stops scraping the oatmeal remnants from the bowl, and she turns to look at me, her brows scrunched together.
“I mean…I want you here as long as you want to be here, but I know you have a life back…” My heart has suddenly kicked into high gear, and I’m a blubbering fool who can’t formulate sentences.
“Sean.” Andie sets the empty bowl down, her tone calm but cautious. “I was hoping we could stay, like, for good.” I’m pretty sure my heart skips a couple of beats to get back into a normal rhythm, or its new normal filled with complete elation. “I want to be here with you or wherever you are. I know this is fast, but I’m kind of tired of sitting by while life goes on. I want to live it…with you.”
I don’t even care that a sappy, love-struck grin covers my face, ear to ear. “Good answer. What about your house and all of your stuff?”
She laughs, feeding Ax the last bite while I crack eggs.
“Well, Nora said she would line up movers for me when we’re ready. We need our clothes, all Ax’s stuff, my piano, and other equipment. I think I’ll keep my house. I have to go back for my album release. Hopefully, you’ll be able to go with me.” She says the last part hesitantly, like she’s the unsure one now.
“When my season is over, I’m going wherever you’re going.”
It’s her turn to grin, and I realize eventually, we’ll get this all figured out.
“I’m listing my house for sale, so keeping yours makes sense. Do you think you can wait a couple weeks for your stuff so we can look at houses here? It doesn’t make sense to move it twice.”
When I don’t get a response, I glance at her over my shoulder, and she’s staring at me. “What?”
“You want us to look at houses?”
“Yes. This place is nice, but it’s a short-term rental and too small. I was thinking we’ll buy a piano and whatever other equipment you need. We can even talk about building a studio. Plus, I don’t like that there’s no barrier to the pool with Ax, and Snipe needs a yard. We need space for Gem.” I watch as tears fill her eyes. “Baby, what’s wrong?” I turn the burner off, leaving the mostly cooked eggs to pull her to me.
Her arms come around my middle, and her face presses into my chest. I worry I said something wrong as I hear her sniff and feel her squeeze me tighter.
“I’ve never…” she sniffs. “I’ve never had anyone think of me and care for me the way you do. You…the crib, the pool, and a yard for Snipe.” She pulls away to look up at me, a tear running down her cheek. “You want to get a house with space for Gem.”
I brush her tears away with my thumb. “Andie, I love you and Ax so much. From now on, this is how it’s going to be. You and I are figuring everything out together, and nothing comes before that. Ok?”
She nods, wiping the tears away. “I love you too.” She rests her head on my chest again. “Gem’s already looking at rentals.”
I chuckle. “Really?”
“Yeah, and Nora is coming out as soon as we’re ready for her. She’s going out of her mind this morning, along with all of your fans, at the pictures of us.”
“She can come out as soon as you want her to. I’m off today, but my days are long. I’ll spend a lot of time at the practice facility, and then when I get home, I’ll sit in the sauna for a while. I’ll be gone some nights for games, or I’ll be home really late.” She doesn’t let me go. “I know this isn’t ideal–”
She cuts me off. “Sean, this is your job. I just want to be with you as much as I can be.”
“When the season ends, we can do whatever you want.”
She tips her head up, resting her chin on my chest, a smirk forming on her lips. “Really? Because I seem to recall that you wagered that I would visit you if you won the next Words game. Now that you got something even better without even having to win, I feel like that’s grounds for me getting whatever I want right now.”
“Huh. I think you should get whatever you would have wagered at the time.”
Her lips push to the side like she’s evaluating my logic. “Ok. I don’t mind that idea.”
“Sooooo, what were you going to bet?”
