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THIRTY-FIVE
HADLEY
“So, what are you going to do with all the money?” Theo’s arm is slung around my shoulders as we sit in front of a roaring celebratory bonfire. He’s got a beer in his free hand that he brings up to his lips, taking a long sip.
“I’ve been thinking about getting Piper a Golden Retriever,” I tease.
“No,” he says firmly. “We are too busy for a dog, and Piper is not responsible enough to take care of one.”
“Relax, Theo. I am going to buy her the biggest stuffed dog I can find.”
“You don’t have to do that, either. It’s your money; you should do something selfish with it.”
“Like what?” Most of the money from the sale of my family’s company is being invested. I don’t want to touch it, but Theo assures me there’s no harm in splurging a little bit. “I have everything I need right here.”
“What about Paris? You’ve mentioned culinary school a few times.”
The thought has crossed my mind more than once but, “I don’t want to leave you or the kids.”
“We’ll be here waiting. Besides . . .” His voice trails off. He’s hiding something.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
He lifts the bottle back to his lips, swallowing the rest of his beer before answering my question. “Albert Miller offered me Charlie Kirk’s position.”
“Oh, my God!” I pop up to embrace him, my exuberance nearly toppling us. “That’s amazing! And a huge promotion.”
“I told him I’d think about it. I don’t want to upend our lives here, and Serena will be on probation for a while. I don’t want to take the kids across the country. I also put the condo up for sale.”
“You are full of secrets!”
“Just trying to start living life again, baby.” He squeezes my sides, sending me into a fit of giggles. “I’d probably still be a miserable bastard if it weren’t for you. You’re my sweet salvation.”
“You would have figured it out without me.”
His hand slides up my bare thigh, teasing me, stoking the flames of desire inside me. “But it wouldn’t have been as fun.” He tilts his head up and kisses me, his tongue swiping along the seam of my lips, begging me to open for him. He groans into my mouth as his hand dips into the apex of my thighs. “Fuck, baby, I’m ready to call it a night so I can take you upstairs and make love to you.”
“We promised the kids,” I whisper, pressing my forehead against his. “They deserve this night, too.”
“Sometimes I think you’re better at this parenting thing than I am.”
We haven’t talked much about our future, but only because our present seems much more urgent. He frequently uses words like forever but what does that mean to him? After his disastrous first marriage, does he even want to get married again?
“I can hear you thinking, Hadley.” He kisses my cheek. “Tell me.”
“I never considered myself a parent,” I tell him. “And I certainly never envisioned Colton and Piper thinking of me as their mother.”
“I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
I shake my head. “You didn’t. But the future is a topic we haven’t discussed.”
“You’re right. We haven’t.”
“There’s a lot we need to consider. You’ve got a great opportunity to think about at your firm.”
“And you need to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life.”
“Yes, I do,” I murmur. His arms tighten around me, and I rest my head beneath his chin. “I have plenty of time.”
