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“You two drive a hard bargain. I guess we’ll have to do it that way.”
Ava cheers, and I laugh. When Noah looks at me, his eyes are filled with affection.
Ava takes another impossibly large bite of her pizza and starts rambling something neither of us can understand. Noah indulges her, and it’s sweet to see them together.
I look at the three of us, sitting around my kitchen table, having pizza and planning the future together. I never thought this was what it would come to, but I know this is where we all belong
Together.
As a family.
Chapter 32
Raven
We get to the airport long before the sun is up. Ava falls asleep in the car on the way, and when we get there, she’s too sleepy to get out and walk with us, so Noah picks her up, and she sleeps on his shoulder.
I take photos with my phone and send them to Michelle. It’s adorable.
We check in our bags and wait three hours before our flight in a lounge where we all doze.
When the sun rises, like clockwork, Ava pops up, wide awake and ready for the day. Noah laughs when she won’t stop bouncing around and talking.
“We should calm down a little,” he says when he sees how it work on my nerves. “Mommy has a few work things to check.”
I’m going through files to give Michelle, and I want to make sure it’s all there.
When we finally board, Ava is excited about the television with movies she gets to watch and the meals we’re going to get.
“She makes traveling fun,” Noah says with a chuckle. “She looks at everything with so much wonder.”
“I hope she never loses it,” I say.
The plane takes off, and the flight is a long one. It’s hard keeping Ava busy, but she has movies and coloring pages and a Nintendo Switch Noah produced out of nowhere with a wink to me. She’s only allowed to play it when we travel, he tells her and I thinkgood luck with that! I’m so grateful to him—traveling even a short distance with her and all her energy can be a challenge.
When we arrive in New York, Ava spots Michelle first. She squeals and runs to her.
“Look how much you’ve grown!” she cries out. “In two months? That can’t be right.”
Ava giggles.
Michelle hugs me, and then Noah.
“It’s so good to see you guys. Seriously. I need to show you what’s been happening; you’ll love it. Where are you staying?”
“We’ll be at Noah’s place,” I say. He hasn’t sold it yet. He’s thinking about renting it out rather than selling it since he’s going to move in with us for the time being. We’ll think about buying a bigger place later.
Michelle takes us to Noah’s place, where everything is just as he left it as if he was in a rush to get out. When I think about it, butterflies erupt in my stomach. Hewasin a rush to get out.
And come to us.
We relax and unwind for two hours until Michelle comes back to pick me up. I kiss Noah and Ava goodbye, promising to see them soon, and then we head out to the new building.
“You look so happy, Ray,” Michelle says while we drive. “Better than I’ve ever seen you. And he looks so comfortable with Ava.”
“He’s Dad of the Year already,” I say with a smile. “He’s so good for her. And for me.” I glance at her. “You had no business telling him…but thank you.”
Michelle flashes me a grin. “You’re welcome. I just want to see you happy, my friend.”
