Page 41 of Full Throttle

Halton smiled. “Good goals. We’ll take it a step at a time, okay? Three weeks from Tuesday until we meet. I was lucky to get a date that fast. The judge had an opening. It will be a private meeting with us and her side and the judge.”

I reached across the table and shook his hand. “Thank you.”

He grinned. “We’re just getting started, Dom.”

Halton and Fee’s car disappeared around the corner, and I looked down at Cherry. “You have plans this afternoon?”

“Nope,” she replied. “You are my plans.”

“Come home with me. I have something to show you.”

“Is that a euphemism for something?”

I laughed and bent to kiss her. “No, I actually have something to show you. I need your opinion.”

“Okay. I’ll follow you.”

“No, drive with me. You keep me calm.”

She smiled in understanding. “A lot to take in,” she surmised.

“Yeah. The thought that maybe in a few weeks I could see Josh? After all this time? Unbelievable.”

I held out my hand. “Please.”

She linked our fingers. “Okay.”

We didn’t talk a lot on the drive, both of us lost in our thoughts. So many things were changing—and all of them good. I glanced over at Cherry, who was staring out the window, a soft smile on her lips.

All the good was stemming from her.

I lifted her hand and kissed it. She leaned her head back on the leather and smiled at me. “What was that for?”

“For being you. For being here with me.”

“You’re very sweet, Mr. Salvatore.”

I chuckled. “I have my moments.”

I pulled up in front of the house I’d been looking at and indicated it. “I want your opinion.”

“Oh, okay.”

We walked around, inspecting the little bungalow. It was small but decent. I frowned as I looked at the backyard. “Good if it were just me,” I mused. “But not big enough anymore.”

“I agree,” Cherry said. “No space for Josh to grow or be outside.”

In the car, we headed to my place, but I stopped a few blocks over. The house Cherry had admired was still for sale, and it had an open house sign out front. I looked at her. “You wanna look?”

“Oh yes,” she agreed enthusiastically. “I would love to see inside.”

We wandered through the house, and I watched Cherry fall in love. The hardwood floors, the wood trim, even the old-fashioned layout of it. “I love rooms,” she explained. “I know open concept is popular, but a formal dining room, a separate living room? I love that.”

Upstairs, the three bedrooms were a generous size. The backyard was fenced, and the double garage was in great shape with tons of room.

“Perfect for a family,” the real estate agent said.

She was right. This house deserved a family. Not a single guy on his own.