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“I’m sorry,” Camilia tells him. She doesn’t have to say she knows how he feels. It shows in the tone of her voice. Her head turns as she looks at Peyton and then back to Javier. “Did you get a new mom?”
“Not yet.” He Shrugs. The silence filling the air slices through me but it’s the sad smile on Peyton’s face that guts me. Bringing her here was a mistake. It’s when Javier continues, I realize what a blessing he is. “But, this is Peyton and she’s like my mom. Someday I hope her and my dad will get married. But he’s kinda slow.”
The tiny rivers running out of Peyton’s eyes combined with Javier’s words are enough to make me question what I’m waiting for. They’re both a permanent fixture in my life. I’ve given marrying Peyton tremendous thought. Why am I waiting?
“You’re lucky.” I assume Camilia’s referring to Javier getting a new mom, but she’s looking at Peyton like she idolizes her.
“Yes, I am,” Peyton tells her quietly. “I’m Peyton and I hear it’s your birthday.”
“Yep. I’m six and Auntie Liv is throwing me a party.”
“Well, thank you for inviting me to your party.”
“You’re welcome.”
The pleasantries have obviously bored Camilia as she drags Javier away to play. The questioning look from Peyton starts the explanation of what this place is and how it came to be so special to me and my family.
Peyton listens, nodding occasionally as we roam the grounds and I tell her about the summer my life was forever altered. How in the months that followed my mother’s suicide and the truth about Brady, this place was a sanctuary that allowed us to heal. How while we spent many hours helping here, it was spending time with the kids that helped us cope.
We continue through the field of overgrown grass in the back and reach the solitary oak tree I’ve spent many hours sitting under before I stop walking and face her.
Her eyes scour my expression and I give myself a moment to collect my thoughts so I can get this right. Once I feel completely relaxed, I take her hand in mine and inhale deep.
“I’ve spent many hours under this tree. Pondering life and why mine was such a disaster. I brought you here with me because I was informed earlier that I’m slow.” She releases soft laughter into the air, squeezing my hand. “I’m done pondering. My life is no longer a disaster and you complete the family I’ve always wanted.” I cradle her face in my hands and hold strong so I can look her in the eyes. “Peyton Miles, will you marry me?”
I continue holding her face as she reaches up and wraps her hands around my wrists. “Yes.”
My lips find hers, kissing her long and deep as her love spreads through me until it reaches my heart, where I feel it beat with purpose for the first time.
We spent an hour under that oak tree kissing and chatting about wedding plans and needing to pick out rings, until we hear children giggling nearby and have to chase them off. The smile on my lips refuses to soften as the happiness I feel about his proposal consumes me. He’s not the man he was when we met. He’s stronger and all of his experiences are what makes this time around perfect.
Later in the afternoon, we start a game of Scrabble with Javier and Camilia. They get bored about five minutes in. I sit across from Aidan, who’s kicking my butt, but I ref
use to give up. I swear each time he lays down a new word it isn’t even a word and I have to Google it on my phone.
Liv passes by the table but then stops and backs up. “You’re not playing Scrabble with my brother, are you?”
“I’m trying, but he knows words no one’s ever heard of! He’s a freaky word-nerd.”
“Or a human dictionary.” She casts a look at her brother. “You’re an ass.” The devilish grin on his face does nothing to dispute her accusation. “You didn’t tell her yet, did you?”
“Tell me what?”
“My idiot brother has a photographic memory for shit he reads. He’s supposedly a genius, but don’t let that intimidate you because he has no common sense. But Scrabble . . . yeah, he’s read the dictionary like four times. Oh, and no games that involve math or numbers. Pictionary . . . now that you can school him at.”
Liv shoots him another evil look before walking away.
My eyes pop out of my head as I stare across the table. “Were you going to share that little tidbit, or were you going to keep it to yourself so you could cheat your poor, unknowing future wife?”
“I wasn’t hiding anything from you,” he answers instantly but it’s the insistence in his tone that hints his worry.
“Hey, I was only messing with you.”
His slumped shoulders show me he knows he overreacted and he smiles. “Alright, so maybe I manipulated you a little bit.”
“You’re so busted. Guess you can’t play dumb anymore like when you say you can’t cook when you can obviously memorize the recipe or starting a fire in the fireplace or driving directions . . . or . . .”
His laughter interrupts me before he says, “Oh, no . . . you heard my sister, I have no common sense.”
