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I unbuckle my seat belt and slide across the bench seat to cuddle into his side.
“I’m sorry the guys give you shit about us,” I say as I intertwine my fingers with his.
He kisses the top of my head. “Don’t worry about it. They’re just jealous they have nobody now. Who cares what they’ve already done? It’s more about who you’ve done it with.”
I turn around and give him a sweet kiss for his sweet words.
I know with him, they aren’t just lines, and he genuinely means it. He’s never tried to push me further than I wanted, and I appreciate him more and more for that.
“I’ve told you, I’m in it for the long run. I know we have time, so I’m not worried about anything.” He holds me tighter. “As long as I have you, I’ll be okay.”
* * *
When Matthew drops me off back at home, I notice my mom is still awake and in the kitchen.
“Hey, Mom. What are you doing awake?” I look at the clock to see it’s almost midnight.
She opens the oven, and the most amazing smell of something sweet wafts over to me.
“You made cookies?” I ask, surprised.
“Yep. It’s Susie’s birthday, so I wanted to do something special for her at work tomorrow. I figured there’s nothing better than homemade cookies.” She smiles big, proud of her cooking.
Her cookies are something to be proud of, for sure. Every bake sale in town hits her up to make the special oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from the recipe my grandma passed down. She’s given it out to other people, but it’s just not the same. I say it’s the old cookie sheets she uses that were also passed down from Grandma, but she thinks I’m being silly.
“Can I have one?” I ask with a cheesy grin.
“You know I wouldn’t make them unless we had a little to share here at home.” She picks one up and hands it to me.
As I take a bite, the melted chocolate oozes in my mouth, making my eyes roll back in my head at how good it tastes.
“Um … amazing as ever,” I say once I swallow my first bite.
She’s standing in the kitchen with her hand on her hip looking around like she forgot what she was about to do, but when the speakers in the ceiling that she had installed a few years ago so she could have music playing while she cooked start to play “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton, I walk up to her, knowing this is her favorite song. I take her hand, and we dance as we sing to each other. When she pushes me out for a twirl, I go willingly, then come back in to continue our dance.
I know being a single mom has been hard on her, but I’ll always be thankful for the life she’s given me and the simple things that I’ll always remember, like our dancing that we’ve done many times before.
CHAPTERTHREE
Hannah
It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but Tucker and Justine are already setting up their Christmas tree and have invited us over for dinner then to help decorate.
Matthew and I walk hand in hand as he opens the door into what has become his new second home, the first being with his mom and stepdad.
We enter and see Justine holding an ornament in one hand and wiping away tears from her eyes with the other.
She turns to give us both hugs. “Hello. So glad you both could come over.”
“Thank you for having me,” I reply.
“Come to the kitchen with me. I made holiday drinks for us while we decorate the tree.”
In the kitchen, there are two Crock-Pots going. I peek over the clear lid to see what looks like chili while Justine opens the other and starts scooping the hot liquid into cups for all of us.
“Here,” she says, handing me two for Matthew and me. “It’s a Swiss peppermint mocha recipe I found on Pinterest. Chili didn’t really go with this, so we’ll have our dessert before we eat. I told Tucker I’m pregnant, so I have the excuse to do things backward if I want. Thankfully, he just laughed and agreed.”
I chuckle at her words. “Smart man.”
