Page 115 of You Know You Wanna

“I got in,” she breathed, those eyes wide and disbelieving on mine. “I’m attending here next fall for the full-day high-school program.”

“What?” I squealed. “That’s amazing.”

Pulling her close, I gave her a massive hug and kissed the top of her hair. “I’m so proud of you, baby girl. All your hard work is definitely paying off.”

I meant it, too. Getting into the full-day high-school program was a coveted spot, but it had been her dream and she was making it come true. Delight raced through me and I shrieked, stepping away and grabbing her hand.

“I knew you could do it! Let’s go tell your Dad, shall we?”

She grinned up at me, the tears streaming down her cheeks as she nodded. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when we tell him.”

“Neither can I.” I kept hold of her hand as we made our way to the subway.

Remington had tried to buy me a car since I’d left my truck back at Blue Pines, but as the old joke went, no one drove in the city—there was too much traffic.

Besides, I liked the subway. It made me feel like part of the city’s heartbeat, being in the thick of things like that. Keeping Lulu close, we boarded the train and found a place to stand. I smiled at her as we raced home deep under the city streets.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as we swayed with the movement of the car.

She hadn’t taken out her phone, simply staring at the people around us with a big grin on her face. She laughed as she shook her head. “I don’t know how I’m feeling. I’m happy, but I’m also anxious. It’s not an easy program.”

“You can do anything you set your mind to, sweetheart,” I said confidently. “Look at how far you’ve already come. Last year this time, you hadn’t even told your dad that you wanted to go to Juilliard and now you’re finishing out your first year of school there. You’re going to be fine, Lulu. In fact, you’re going to be more than fine. You’re going to be amazing.”

“Thanks, Birdie.” She took a step closer to give me a quick hug. “I don’t know what we did without you.”

I chuckled. “I don’t know either, but luckily, we won’t have to remember. I’m not going anywhere.”

“When are you and my dad going to get married already?” she asked, pretending to pout before winking at me. “I’ll feel a lot better once you’re married.”

My heart skipped a couple beats, but I drew in a deep breath and tried to tell her the truth. “We’ve all come a long way this year, but there’s no rush. For now, we’re happy and we’re figuring things out. Besides, he hasn’t asked. I can’t say yes when there’s no question to answer.”

She let out a big sigh. “I’ll have to get him on that.”

I chuckled, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as the train started slowing at our stop. “Again, there’s no rush. We’ll get there when we get there.”

Strangely, I meant it too. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Remington and I knew he felt the same way, but after his previous experience with marriage, I wasn’t going to push him. Being in a serious relationship was already more than he’d ever thought he’d have again and I was relieved that I’d had the chance to settle in without the M-word being thrown around every other day.

Lulu seemed to forget all about it when we walked into the beautiful brownstone Remington had bought for us last fall, our fresh start. It had taken me a long time to wrap my head around the price he’d paid for it, but now, it was just home.

I smiled as I skipped after her up the sweeping spiral staircase to Remington’s home office. We’d covered the walls in pictures of us together, art Laurene had done, and a few pieces I’d found at markets and thrift stores.

The artists weren’t well known at all, but that didn’t bother me. In fact, I liked it that way. Lulu ran ahead when she reached the landing, not even bothering to knock before she threw open his door.

I chuckled as I followed her in, winking at him over the top of her head. He ended the call he’d been on and frowned. “What’s going on with you two, jokers?”

“I got in,” she exclaimed. “I did it, Daddy! I got in.”

It took him less than a second to realize what she was talking about. He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. “Wow. I’m so proud of you, baby. So, so proud. Well done. I knew you could do it.”

“That’s what I said.” I walked up to them, wrapping my arms around her from behind and turning it into a group hug.

Lulu laughed, spinning so she could slip an arm around me as well. We held each other for a moment, but then she wriggled her way free and started for the door. “I have to go call my friends! Cassidy is going to freak!”

With that, she was gone.

Remington laughed and went back to his desk. He closed his laptop, clocking out for the day. As I watched him, I couldn’t help the proud smile that spread on my lips. Working from home was a common occurrence for him these days.

He was no longer the barely present father. He put Lulu and I first and spent as much time with us as he could. He looked over at me once he’d finished packing up, a playful frown on his strong features. “Why are you looking at me like that?”