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“I’ll take that picture,” he whispered back.
She laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. “You’re incorrigible, no matter what you say.”
“For the things that matter, I am.” When he looked into her eyes, he felt laid bare. The feeling was almost frightening, this raw openness, as if he’d lost any hope of hiding. “And you’re high up on that list.”
She smiled and kissed him one more time, then looked at Katelyn. “Is the picture good?”
“One more time.” Katelyn snapped the picture before they had a chance to pose. “Perfect. It’s the bestest I’ve ever taken.”
“Can we see it?” Thomas asked.
“No.” She tucked the camera away with a smug smile. “Not yet.”
“Okay. Are you hungry?” Brianna asked.
“Yes!” Katelyn bounced. “Is Thomas staying for dinner? Please?”
“Sure. As long as Thomas is okay with pizza again. I promised Cody.”
“And I promised Cody I’d work on his tree house.” Thomas stood. “I think I’ll take a hack at that until dinner.”
“I’ll help!” Katelyn beamed. “Let’s go downstairs and find some tools.”
She grabbed both Thomas’s and Brianna’s hands and led them out into the hallway, but Thomas tugged free.
“I’ll be right down,” he said, and watched his girls skip down the stairs.
Then he went back into the bedroom, picked up the picture of Michael, and set it back in its rightful place by Katelyn’s bed. “I’m sorry you aren’t here anymore but I’ll do my best to make them happy.” He stared at the picture, as if he was actually waiting for an answer from the beyond, and then left the room feeling a little bit more welcome than he had before.
…
Two days later, Brianna curled up against Thomas’s side. He still smelled like fresh pine and a hint of sweat. She’d watched him into the early evening as he put in a new floor for the tree house, after treating Katelyn to ice cream on an impromptu trip to the hardware store. He’d seemed so easy and sure of himself out there working with his hands, balancing on the tree’s branches with an agile grace that made her want him all over again. By the time he’d come in, he’d been dirty and covered in bark, nothing like the slick executive she’d met over lunch in the restaurant.
But every inch like her Thomas.
He hit play on the remote and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled closer and murmured, “I bet this isn’t how you envisioned your Friday nights in Vegas when you asked me out the first time.”
He chuckled and hugged her close, his lips on her temple. “Nope, but I like it. Vegas is all party and booze. I like this quiet home life better.”
Hope surged in her chest. She opened her mouth, about to promise him the world if he would only stay with her and take the job in the Vegas office, but she closed it just as quickly. He had to make that decision on his own. She wouldn’t give him any pressure or place any thoughts in his head. Their time was running out, but she wouldn’t say a single word about that.
She’d just…be happy. Not stress over the future for once. “I thought Katelyn would never fall asleep tonight. Why is it that the two oldest kids fell asleep before the little one?”
He chuckled. “She’s too excited about the playground tomorrow for sleep.”
“I know. Especially since you’re coming, too.”
“Are you kidding? You said we could have ice cream. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”
“Watch it with the ice cream. That’s half the reason she wouldn’t go to sleep tonight.”
“She asked for cookies and cream. How could I say no to that face?”
Brianna groaned. “She owns you already. Don’t give in to that face. It’s pure evil.”
“It’s pure adorable.” Thomas paused. “I’m…I’m not used to this. This family thing. Any of it. I—I kind of screwed things up with my own family.”
“With Nicole? She was an idiot.”
