Page 113 of You Know You Wanna

“We would love it if you would come live with us,” I explained quickly, not wanting to trigger another freak-out. “It’s completely up to you, but⁠—”

“You’re going to love the penthouse.” Lulu rushed over to Birdie and dragged her to the couch to sit down. “It doesn’t have a garden. Or any grass, or really any outside space at all except for the balcony, but it’s pretty nice and you’ll love the view.”

Internally, I wondered if I’d made a mistake asking my daughter here for this conversation after all, but this was a decision that would affect all of us. Once I’d woken up, I realized it was only right to involve her in it.

I didn’t want to do things the way I’d done them before. In the past, I’d made decisions for myself and Laurene had simply been caught in the crossfire but not anymore.

“Actually,” I said, clearing my throat. “I’m going to sell the penthouse. You’re right about it not having any outdoor space and I don’t want to live like that anymore. We’ll stay in the city, but we’ll find somewhere to live together. There’s an awesome brownstone on the market only half a block away from Central Park. If you want to⁠—”

Birdie laughed, holding her hands up at both of us. “Hang on. Just hang on for a minute. Before I give you an answer, I want to know what this would look like. I want to say yes. I’m leaning toward yes, but I can’t do that until I know what this is.”

As she’d said it, she looked at both of us, but on the last part of the sentence, she focused only on me. I nodded. I’d been expecting the question, and I smiled at her now, closing the distance between us to crouch down in front of her.

“All I can do is tell you what we want, and then you’ll have to decide if you want the same things,” I said. “I want you to be my girlfriend. I want us to be a family. I want breakfasts and dinners together. I want a backyard where we can all kick a ball around and have cookouts do yoga in the sunshine.”

Lulu nodded enthusiastically. “I want that too. You made this the best summer of my life, Birdie. I don’t want to go back to Manhattan without you, and once we get there, I don’t only want to see you once a month.”

Birdie had tears in her eyes. She looked from one of us to the other. She hugged Lulu first, holding on to her as she turned her head to face me. “Hell yes, I’ll move in with you. Get in here.”

She tossed her free arm around me and Laurene laughed when I squeezed them both in a massive bear hug. “It was a hell yes, Daddy!”

“Yeah, it was, baby girl.” I closed my eyes as I held them, filled with an immense sense of peace and rightness.

Naturally, that meant Birdie was late and had to run, making me promise that we’d talk more about it later. Laurene and I spent the day at the lake, rowing, swimming, and spending some quality time together.

Late in the afternoon, she went to sleep over at Cassidy’s one last time before we left for a lot longer this time. I met up with Gracie, Declan, and Birdie at the bar. They were already there when I walked in, and it seemed she’d already told them the news.

Declan clapped me on the shoulder when I sat down. “Good job, man. I’m proud of you. I hear we’re getting another New Yorker.”

“Please.” Gracie rolled her eyes, chuckling. She leaned into him and he slung his arm around her shoulders. “She’ll never be a New Yorker. At least, I’m hoping she won’t become one. Birdie is Birdie, and I hope she can hang onto who she really is in all that craziness.”

“I will,” Birdie said, taking my hand and sending me a warm, hopeful smile. “Before we get to all the other questions I have for you, should we order dinner?”

“Please,” Declan said immediately. “I’m starving and this is Gracie’s night off. We’re not planning on staying long.”

I let out an exasperated groan. “Really? You’re going to run off to your love nest when we’ll be leaving soon?”

He shrugged. “You’re planning on doing exactly the same. Don’t lie to me. Besides, it’s not my fault you’re leaving. I maintain that if Lulu doesn’t get into Juilliard, you could come spend the year here.”

Gracie looked at him, then exchanged a glance with Birdie before turning back to him. “Does that mean you’re spending the year here?”

“I’ll be here for as long as I can,” he promised her quietly, leaning in to kiss her until they were both a little breathless.

I laughed. “Are you even going to make it through dinner?”

Gracie waggled her eyebrows at me. “Only if you get something that doesn’t take hours to prepare.”

In the end, we decided on burgers and fries, and I went to place the order while Birdie gave them more details about the conversation we’d had this morning. When I rejoined them, she nestled into my side and looked up into my eyes.

“What is that you were saying about a brownstone? Why would you want to move out of your home?”

“It’s not a home. I bought it for the view, but it’s all glass and no outside area. That’s not what I want anymore. I don’t think it’s what you and Laurene want, either.”

“There’s a stunning brownstone on the market right now—” Declan started.

I shot a finger gun at his chest. “Half a block from the park? The five-story?”

“With the library and the infinity pool.” He laughed. “Yeah. That’s the one. I should’ve known you’d already seen it. I got it as an alert for investment property this morning.”