AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, I would ask if you’re ready, but looking at you that’s a stupid question.”
I've planned a nice day tomorrow; we leave in the morning and come back in the evening as neither Hope nor I wanted to go for the whole night. We talked about getting married before Fleur was born, but Hope never really answered me. She would change the subject or make excuses to leave the room, so I thought she would say no and I left it. Even now, she doesn’t really talk about it, but I’m going to ask her. I don’t see my life without her in it; she’s the only woman I’ve loved and will be the only woman I love for the rest of my life.
“Jackson, your lunch.” Hope sits on the couch next to him to take Fleur so he can eat, but he stops her.
“I can hold her and eat at the same time.” Hope starts laughing as she makes her way over to me.
Leaning on the couch with my arm wrapped over her shoulder, I lean closer to her. “I love you.”
Turning her head a little she smiles warmly. “I love you too.”
* * *
Hope
A year has passed, and things have changed. Changed for the better. I mean I feared Leo the day he came into my apartment, but today I love him so much. I love the way he looks at me every day. I love him, even more, when I see him playing with Fleur. The way he smiles when he's with her, the way he laughs. I love everything about him.
I still have my down days, and I still have my bad nights, but they don't bother me as much anymore because my day is filled with so much light. That light's name is Leo and now Fleur.
"You ready?" He wraps his arms around me from behind, and he kisses my neck.
“I’m still worried about leaving her for the whole day.”
“I’m not, have you seen Jackson with her?”
I start laughing as Leo has a point; Jackson with Fleur is the cutest thing I've seen. Leo said that he wanted to go out for the day, just us. When I asked where he said we're staying in the city because he wants to show me, New York. Since I've been here, I haven't really experienced the city, and he wants to show it all to me. I didn't fight with him, as I'm really excited to see it.
“Do I need to change?” I ask him. He’s not telling me where we’re going or what to wear.
"I said jeans and a t-shirt, comfy clothes." Turning me around, he gives me a kiss. "You still want to go to the cafe?"
“Please.” I want to see Adam, he was the first person to talk to me without judging me and I’ve finally started to get the confidence to look at men, maybe not all of them straight away, but Adam is one that I want to see.
“Let’s go then. I have something nice planned for this evening.”
Taking my hand, he leads me downstairs, hands me a travel mug which is empty. I started drinking coffee a little after having Fleur to keep me awake. “Why is it empty?”
“We’re going to the coffee shop, we can get some there,” Leo tells me, then turns to Jackson. “Right, you call us and—”
“I will, I will. I think Hope got to me the second I walked through the door.” Jackson gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Have a nice day beautiful. Now, my little princess and I have a day full of cartoons.” Walking into the café, I hear Adam say, “Hey Hope, not seen you in a while.” Leo’s hand is on my lower back as we walk over to the counter.
I look up at him. “Hey Adam, two coffees please.” Adam smiles as his eyes roam over my face.
“I did say that you’re beautiful and I was right.”
"Thank you, Adam, and for the first time looking at you, you're handsome." I turn to Leo as he starts coughing and I give him a smile.
"I'll get you your coffee."
I lean into Leo, and he wraps his arms around me. "See it wasn't that hard, was it?"
“No.”
Once it's ready, I take our order from Adam. Leo pays and leaves him a big tip. "See you next week Hope."
“Yep.”
Taking Leo’s hand in mine as we walk down the street, I stay close to him.
