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I knew Chris heard it when he put his hand around my waist and leaned in for a quick hug.
Knowing how rare it was for him to hug me in public nowadays, I squeezed him back and discreetly kissed the top of his head.
“You deserve to have fun, Mom,” he said as he pulled away, and I swear, I literally felt my heart swell in my chest.
“Thanks, buddy,” I replied softly.
Suddenly the room erupted with applause and I turned my head to see Zoey stand up, then turn and walk toward us as she waved at the crowd.
“Oh my god, that was amazing,” Zoey said, her face flush and happy. “Did you see all those people?”
“Yeah, you rocked it, Aunt Z,” Chris said.
“So proud of you,” I added, leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“So much energy and positivity; I’m feeling totally inspired,” my sister said, looking around the room as people started to file out. “I have to go write.”
I was used to this from Zoey. Whenever she was inspired, she had to get it out. I can’t say how many dinner, movies, or family outings she’d cut short so that she could go put pen to paper. It was one of the things that made her special.
“Okay,” I replied, “We’ll meet up with you later.”
Zoey started leading us out of the room, then stopped and remembered, “Oh, Gabe.”
I chuckled, not surprised in the least that she’d momentarily forgotten she had a husband.
“Don’t worry, he’s with Reardon, I’ll let him know where you went.”
“Thanks.”
“You want me to walk you to your room, Aunt Z?”
Zoey turned, then waddled over to give Ch
ris a quick hug.
“No, but thanks for asking, and thanks for hanging at my panel. Now, have fun, enjoy yourself.”
We said goodbye to Zoey, then went in search of the men. We found them taking pictures with the X-Men.
“Hey, Rear, we’re going to Guardians of the Galaxy,” Chris shouted out when he caught sight of them.
“Cool,” Reardon responded, giving Chris a thumbs up before turning to thank the people in costume.
“Zoey went back to the room, she got inspired,” I told Gabe when they approached us.
“Thanks,” he said, then turned to his cousin. “I’m going to head back too, see you later.”
“Sounds good,” Reardon said, then turned to me and offered his elbow. “Milady,” he added goofily, causing me to giggle. Yes, giggle.
I looped one arm through his, then the other through Chris’s, and I went with my men to meet the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Chapter Thirty-One ~ Reardon
We’d agreed to meet in the hotel lobby after parting ways to go to our respective rooms and get cleaned up. Now, I was basically pacing nervously as I waited for Chloe to come down. I wasn’t sure why I was suddenly so nervous. It’s not as if we hadn’t been spending time together over the last few months.
Still, this was our first official date, and now that we were finally on the same page and had agreed to give this thing between us a go, I was freaking out over the fact that I was finally getting a shot with the woman I’d been dreaming about for years.
No big deal, I assured myself as I looked down at my watch for the thousandth time, this is only the chance you’ve been waiting for … I’m sure she loves the fact that you’re a small-town lawyer who geeks out over movies and is the cousin to the father of her son.
