Page 101 of Shattered Dreams

He doesn’t sound happy about it.

“All I care about is if it tastes good,” I comment.

“I hear Betty Crocker does yellow cake pretty good.” Paul grins as he slices into the cake, cutting us each a slice but making sure there is some left because I just know the kids will want more later, after dinner.

Which…

“We’re ordering pizza,” I say. “To celebrate.”

The kids cheer, because they love pizza. Internally, I cheer because I don’t have to cook. And I bet Paul is happy that he won’t have to load or unload the dishwasher.

We eat all of our cake and then order the pizza, which comes about an hour later because it’s Friday, and of course, they’re backed up. We all pile on the couch and pick a movie to watch—Tarzan because we all love it—and eat our pizza and breadsticks.

Neither of us usually let the kids drink soda, but we got a bottle because this is a celebration.

It means so much to me that the three most important people in my life believed in me so much that they prepared to celebrate before even knowing. And the funny thing is, even if I hadn’t gotten the job, I know we’d all be doing the same exact thing as we are right now.

The kids fall asleep on the couch, each of them laying on us. We carry them to bed, hoping they’ll stay asleep. They do. We clean up the little bit of mess that we made, and then we shower and crawl into bed together.

“Do you know when you start?” Paul asks as he slides closer to me.

I pull him into my arms and kiss the side of his head.

“Not yet. They’re going to email me all the paperwork. I need to review it, sign it, and send it back.”

“I’m so happy for you,” he says.

“I’m happy for all of us.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, his voice sleepy.

I kiss him again and settle against him, falling asleep almost immediately because when you’re this at peace, how can you not?

Chapter Thirty-Six

Paul

“Just breathe,” I whisper as I reach for Andre’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Rylee shifts in the seat next to me, trying to get the best angle to look out of the window so she can see all the tiny homes and neighborhoods from this high up. She lets out a long sigh.

“I am breathing,” he says. “That’s the problem. I’d rather be sleeping.”

I hear Amelia laugh behind us as Sean’s very loud snore echoes and the kids laugh, swatting at each other through the sliver of space between the window seats.

“Bold of you to assume we’ll even have a moment to sleep, knowing Alex. He probably has a whole itinerary from the minute we touch down until we take off again.”

Dre gives me a knowing glare.

“I know,” he groans.

The last two years have been a lot for all of us; first with Austen and Cameron getting married, and then Alex and Mack shocking the hell out of everyone and announcing their engagement on the heels of Alex’s retirement and his new hockey camp. Hudson and Trey—who nearly turned Austen’s wedding into a soap opera—even moved in together and got a dog. When Rylee and Maddox found out, it was all Dre and I heard about for months. They still bring it up sometimes, but until things calm down with my new job coaching the high school football team—yes, Dre’s former position—I don’t know if I’m ready for two kids, a hamster, and a dog. Oh, and of course a pig, cow, and a cat.

The hamster is unfortunately real and not another one of Rylee’s stuffies. Someone brought the little furball home, and that’s how we ended up with Roary. I still think it was Rylee’s idea, but Maddox swears it was his.

“I still can’t believe they’re getting married,” Amelia says. “I thought they hated each other.”

I can’t help the laugh that escapes me as Andre lets out another deep breath as the pilot comes over the loudspeaker, announcing our descent.

“So did we,” I say.