AllFreeNovel
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Micah looks at me for a split second. Questions and emotions flit his expression. Although he won’t come out and ask right now, I know he wants to ask if we are living together. Months have passed since the two of us last sat down for lunch and sibling catch-up. After tonight, it wouldn’t shock me if he texts and sets up a brother-sister date.
“Sounds nice.” A smile brightens Micah’s face as he wraps an arm around Peyton’s shoulders. “Just let us know when. Shell knows our schedule.”
“Wonderful.”
Devlyn’s shoulders round as he visibly relaxes next to me. I hate how stressful this night must have been for him. Nervousness over meeting my parents. Worry over whether or not they’d like him as a person and approve of him to date their daughter. Unriddled anxiety over sharing news about the baby.
It had to have been a lot for him. He hid the tense moments well.
We exchange hugs one last time, get in our cars and go our separate ways.
I lace my fingers with Devlyn’s and hold his hand the entire drive to the house. Keep my eyes on his profile and watch him as the streetlights zip past. Breathe in his earthy scent that has quickly become my favorite comfort. And fall for this beautiful man a little harder.
It may be too soon, but my answer is yes. Yes to moving in with Devlyn. Yes to sharing a home and life with him. Yes to everything us and our future.
But first, I need a minute. A little time to sort things out. To talk with Elizabeth about the shop and new time line for the sale. Talk with the apartment complex manager, seeing as I renewed my lease six months ago. And maybe I should talk with myself. Mull over what this next step means, not just for me but also Devlyn.
I just need a minute to breathe. Because this baby… they will change everything.
EIGHT
DEVLYN
“Can we stop at the store?”
I lift Shelly’s hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “Of course. What do we need?”
“Antacids and more dessert.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “Sounds like a winning combination.”
I steer the car into the grocery store parking lot and park in a spot near the front. With the lot almost empty, Sunday evenings at the supermarket look to be the best time for shopping. Good to know.
We hop out of the car and walk to the door hand in hand. The automatic doors whoosh open and I pick up a handbasket from the stack. Shelly guides us to the healthcare aisle first, grabbing the largest container of Tums from the shelf and tossing them in the basket.
She shrugs. “Probably going to need them all.” I wouldn’t care if she threw ten bottles in the basket. If she needs them, I will buy them.
“Any dessert in particular?”
“Maybe peanut butter cups and ice cream.”
We stop in the aisle loaded with candy and chips next. I stand back and observe as Shelly eyes the Snickers and Reese’s and Baby Ruth bars. She taps a finger against her lips. Darts her eyes from one to the other over and over. And when she finally decides, I laugh because she puts all three in the basket with a radiant smile on her face.
The ice cream aisle carries the same level of indecision. But after I add a pint of cookie dough in the basket, she reaches into the case and fetches a tub of the nondairy Ben and Jerry’s P.B. & Cookies. I sense of trend. Lots of peanuts or peanut butter.
It’s cute.
She is cute.
Damn, but I got lucky with Shelly. Our relationship could have ventured so many different directions from the path it took. But it didn’t and I thank my lucky stars every day.
After experiencing heartbreak, I never pictured myself in this place. Happy. Excited about life. Eager to spend each day with another person. Loving someone again. Yearning for the future.
But here I am, ready for it all. Ready to share my future with someone I love. And I have never felt better.
With our dessert loaded into the basket, Shelly and I stroll hand in hand toward the checkout. We round the end of the ice cream aisle and I skid to a stop after one step. Shelly jerks back and looks at me over her shoulder.
She tugs on my hand. “Dev?” Her fingers squeeze mine tighter. “Are you okay?” I’d answer, but my lips won’t move. My tongue refuses to form words. My voice box forgets how to vibrate the proper sounds. Shelly steps into me, frames my face with her hands, and looks me square in the eyes. “Devlyn,” she whispers, a breath from my lips. “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
