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I know I won’t get a better opportunity than this, so I say, “Kelly, I was wondering how you would feel about moving in with me?”
Well, shit, I didn’t mean for it to come out that bluntly.
I’m about to apologize and start a much more long-winded request when Kelly says, “I would absolutely love to move in with you.”
Her face betrays uncertainty even as her words communicate enthusiasm, so I say, “But?”
She sighs. “But it isn’t just you and me we have to think about.”
“You want to talk to your kids first.”
She nods. “Are you mad?”
“Of course not!” I say. “Why would I be mad? I expected you would need to talk to Caleb and Carly first.”
She is visibly relieved and after I flip the fish, I set the turner down and turn to her. “Kelly, I love you and I’m willing to wait as long as I have to move in with you. Talk to the kids and if they’re not a hundred percent on board, then we wait. No problem at all.”
She looks at me like I’ve slapped her and I frown and ask, “What? Is that not okay?”
“You—you love me?” she says.
I realize suddenly that this is the first time I’ve said that to her. I start to tell her it’s true, I do love her, but her mouth is on mine and her arms are around me before I can speak.
When she pulls away, she clasps my face in her hands and says, “I love you too.”
We kiss again and it’s a good thing Kelly and the kids caught more fish because by the time we separate, the first batch of fillets is hopelessly burnt.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kelly
Carly sits at the table placidly. Caleb sits down as well but I can see he’s excited. I sigh and shake my head. “You two already know what I’m going to talk to you about.” I point at them and say, “Or at least you think you know what I’m going to talk about.”
It isn’t a question but Caleb smiles and says, “You want to know if we’re okay with you getting married to Raymond.” He sits up a little straighter and points finger guns at me. “Gotcha!” he says.
Carly groans and says, “Really? Gotcha?”
It’s probably strange for me to realize I haven’t even thought about marriage yet and that I didn’t even think about it in relation to us all moving into Raymond’s house. Of course, lots of thoughts flutter through my mind about it now. “Well first,” I say, “We’ll all move in together. How do you feel about that?”
Caleb says, “Well, we’re okay with you getting married so why wouldn’t we be okay with us all living together?” He’s about to do the finger gun thing again but a sour glance from Carly stops him. I almost giggle.
“I never thought my own mother would shack up with some guy,” Carly says. I turn to look at her and she has a disgusted look on her face, but she can’t maintain it and she breaks out in laughter.
I roll my eyes and ask, “So you guys are okay with it?”
Caleb says, “Sure, mom. He’s great.”
“You don’t mind moving again?”
Carly says, “His house is a lot bigger than ours. There’s plenty of room. Plus, he’s right next door. It’s not like we’ll have to change schools again. It’ll almost be like living in the same place.”
“That’s all that matters?” I ask. “I mean, you aren’t concerned about anything else?”
“Come on, Mom,” Carly says, “We all live together now anyway. I mean, except for being in two houses, it’s just like we do. It already feels like a family.”
The wordfamilyreally strikes hard at me in the best possible way. I keep myself calm, though. “Do you feel that way, too, Caleb?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says, “and Angel likes me best.”
