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As I lay her out on the bed, I realize how dumb I was to ever think that I didn’t want this. Hartley is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She makes me happy, makes sure I’m alright, makes me laugh.
“I love you,” I whisper against her skin as I pull her clothes off. “I love you,” I tell her as I sink inside of her.
“I love you more,” she tells me as our lips meet and we both reach our peaks.
I don’t want to start an argument on our first night living together, but I know that’s not true. She could never love me more than I love her.
“Goodnight, sweets,” I whisper against the crown of her head.
“Goodnight, Eli,” she whispers back, her voice cloudy with sleep.
Her breathing evens out and I grin when I know that she’s asleep. Her things are lined up next to mine in the closet and on the nightstand and I smile as my eyes fall closed. They look right there.
Like that’s where they’ve always belonged.
TWENTY-NINE
Hartley
Ten Years Later…
“Not the!... flour,” I finish as Sadie, our youngest child, drops the bag of flour onto the floor.
“Sowry, Mommy,” Sadie says, her dark blue eyes welling up with tears.
“Oh, honey. It’s alright. It was just an accident. We can clean it up.”
I help Sadie clean up the flour and measure out enough for the cookie dough. The front door bangs open and Brennan and our son, Sawyer, come racing in. Brennan tosses his car keys onto the counter along with his backpack as he rounds the kitchen island.
“Did you start without us?” Brennan asks as he looks around at all of the ingredients laid out on the counter.
“We were just getting everything out and ready,” I assure him.
The kids wash their hands and help me measure out all of the ingredients. Brennan stirs the dough while I get the baking sheets out and spray them.
Brennan practically lives over here. It’s been good. Sawyer looks up to him like he’s the big brother that he’ll never have and it’s been handy having someone else who can chauffer the kids around if I’m running late at the bakery.
“Ready?” I ask, giving Sawyer a hard look when he tries to sneak a bite of cookie dough.
The kids roll the dough into balls and line them up on the sheets while I supervise. We’re just slipping the first tray into the oven when the front door opens and Eli and Patrick come strolling inside.
“Smells good in here already,” Patrick says as he joins us in the kitchen.
Eli comes in next and Sadie jumps down from her step stool and races over to him.
“Daddy!” she shouts as he bends down and scoops her up in his arms.
“Hey, honey. How’s the baking coming?” he asks her and she starts to tell him all about baking chocolate chip cookies, like he hasn’t made them with me a hundred times before.
The timer dings and I help Brennan take the sheets out of the oven. Sawyer is busy looking through the pantry for a snack, but when he sees that the cookies are out, he stops his search.
“They’re hot. Let them cool,” I warn him and he pouts.
“Are you staying for dinner?” I ask Patrick, but it’s Brennan who answers for them.
“Yes, please. Can we make bread afterward? I found this new garlic and thyme recipe that I wanted to try to make.”
“Oh, that sounds good,” I say as he brings the recipe up on his phone to show me.
