AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Bright continues passing plates. “Tookhimlong enough.”
Elias pipes in at the dig. “Like you were just sitting around waiting.”
Brighton holds up the knife to retort, but Eli continues, “Or as if you made it easy on me to win you.”
“Nothing worth winning is ever easy,” Bright sasses right back.
“Funny,” Exton cuts in. “I think those were Pop’s words to me when you were being difficult.” Exton gives a pointed look at Willa.
“Difficult? You’re kidding, right?” Her eyes slice from Exton to Pop who lifts his hands in a don’t-shoot gesture and back to her husband. “What part was I ‘difficult’ in?” She uses air quotes when she repeats the word. “The part where you asked me to trust you, leave everything I know, move across the country to be with you after a handful of weeks? The part where I agreed to that insanity?Superdifficult.”
“Well, that sounds familiar,” Livy states.
All eyes turn to us, and my thumb stops its circular massage under her ear.
“He didn’t,” Willa says, as Brighton talks over her, addressing me. “Lay, did you really?”
“I did.” I take a sip of my water. “And she said yes.”
Cheers erupt from around the table. Exton extends a hand to shake. Braxton allows a smile to crawl across his face as he sits a little taller. And Pop? Pop might explode from relief if the look on his face is anything to go by.
Emberleigh and Bright come to hug Livy. When Willa stands to do the same, she looks at Livy. “I’ll be right back. I’ll hug you after I pee.” And she rushes down the hall to handle the business at hand.
Bright claps my back as she returns to her seat.
“We have lots to celebrate,” Pop announces. “Welcome to the clan, Livy. We’re crazy, but it’s the good kind.”
“That’s still left to be determined,” Eli says to the woman under my arm. “Regardless, the crazy is worth it.”
“We’re moving to the lake.”
Silence falls as the faces around the table look at Livy and me. I feel her stiffen at my side and kiss her temple in reassurance.
“Are you ready for that?” Braxton asks.
I nod. He holds my eyes, but after a fashion, returns the gesture.
“Man, we just got you back,” Brighton whines.
“It’s just down the road, Bright. Besides, you need a day off.”
“Or two,” Eli cuts in.
“Plan on coming by. We won’t be strangers either.”
“Happy for you, Layton,” Pops puts in. “The best parts of my life are at this table right now.”
“Pop-Pop.” Colt flaps his fingers open and closed. “Up”
“See?” Pop rises and grabs Colt from his chair, returning to his own only to have Colt dive in to Pop’s cake.
Willa returns at that moment, offering a hug to Livy and planting a quick kiss on my cheek.
“You got played,” I say to my dad whose cake is squished between my nephew’s fingers.
“Not the first time and definitely won’t be the last.” His smile beams. “And he can have all the cake he wants. He’s going home with his parents.”
“We were going to ask, actually,” Braxton hedges, drawing out the moment for effect. “If he could stay here tonight. We…” He looks to Emberleigh. “Want some time.”
