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Still keeping my arm around her, I head into the living room and nudge Thea onto the couch. Only once she’s sitting do I pick up my phone and give the screen a cursory glance. “It’s Grant,” I tell her. “He mentioned earlier today that he wanted to stop by with something.”
“Ben.” Her voice is lightly scolding. “You should have told me. I look like a mess.”
My response is immediate. “You look beautiful.”
She does. In yoga pants that cling to her legs and her incredible ass, wearing my oversized RPI sweatshirt, her curls barely tamed into a loose braid, with tiny spirals framing her face, Thea’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
Her cheeks pink up. “Ben.”
I kiss her warm cheek. “Stay here. I’ll let Grant in. And Laila—” I glance over my shoulder to give her a meaningful look. “Remember what I said.”
When Thea was showering earlier, I pulled Laila aside and warned her that there was going to be a surprise for Thea. “I don’t want you to say anything ahead of time, and don’t scream. Even if it’s exciting. It’s really important. Can you do that?”
She regarded me seriously, her hazel eyes meeting mine. “Will the surprise help make Thea less sad?”
“I really hope so,” I told her. “But that’s why we want to keep it a surprise. And not hurt her head by yelling.”
Laila swore up and down that she’d be quiet, but she’s still only seven.
Almost eight, she reminded me the other day as she handed me a list of requested presents. “Don’t forget. It’s September twentieth. And Thea said we could do a book character party. I’m going to be Florinda the diamond dragon rider. With sparkles all over my costume. Thea’s going to help make it.”
Thea will be an amazing mother. It’s something I’m thinking about more and more often.
“I know, Dad.” Laila jogs over from the dining room table and hops up on the couch beside Thea. She almost says something else but stops herself, and I’ve never been prouder of her self-control.
Thea’s expression is puzzled, no doubt by Laila’s and my odd behavior. So I hurry to the door and quickly unfasten the three locks—it’s a security company, after all—and open the door.
It’s not just Grant here, but Ian and Ryan, too. Grant gives one of his slow smiles, while Ian and Ryan flash big grins. “Delivery,” Grant announces.
“I hope you’re ready for this,” Ian adds. “I couldn’t believe how much we got.”
Ryan jumps in. “Once Cash heard about it…” He chuckles. “Even Grant’s truck wasn’t enough to carry it all.”
I peer past the trio and into the hallway. And my jaw drops. I knew once I reached out to all my friends, they’d chip in, but I had no idea they would do this.
There have to be at least thirty boxes in the hallway—stacked on hand trucks and piled into wagons behind them. “This isn’t all,” Grant chuckles. “It’s only a quarter of them. The rest are in the basement for now. Cole and Leo cleared a space for the boxes.”
“Ben?” Thea’s voice floats over to me, sounding slightly confused. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. I was just talking to Grant. Ian and Ryan are here, too.” Backing into the apartment, I gesture for the guys to follow me. “They helped me with a surprise.”
Her eyes go big as she watches my friends bring in box after box—all plain cardboard, with nothing identifiable on them. All of them are smiling as they create a small wall of boxes on the side of the living room. Thea widens her eyes at me. “What is this?”
I go over to her and reach out my hand. “Come see.”
My heart is thumping unevenly as we approach the Great Wall of Boxes that was just erected in our apartment. When I came up with this idea, I thought Thea would love it. But what if I’m wrong? What if it only makes things worse?
Thea leans into my side, eyeing the boxes with curiosity. “Am I supposed to open them all?”
“Eventually.” I nod toward one of them. “Why don’t you start with one?”
After a moment’s hesitation, she peels back the tape and opens the flaps, revealing the contents inside. She flashes a quick look at me, her expression uncertain. “Books?”
Inside the particular box she opened, I recognize several of the books Laila insisted I buy after Thea’s story times. Among dozens more, all with that new book smell Thea told me she loves so much.
“Ben?” Her voice pitches up in disbelief. “Are these all full of…”
“All of them,” I affirm. “And lots more.”
