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57
ME
“Get that out of your mouth, Rose!” I grab a laptop charger from her lips as she giggles. “That’s not for eating!”
“It’s also not a real one, remember?” Tully smiles from the doorway. “I made that one out of fabric. The prong is made out of twine and glitter.”
“So, that makes it okay to put in her mouth,Aunt Tully?”
“It does.” She walks over to Rose and scoops her into her arms. “Let’s go to Aunt Tully’s room and get more things to make Mommy mad.”
I toss the fake charger into a basket and straighten up the room. Rose has torn through all the gifts Easton sent her, and I know they’ll return to the middle of the floor tomorrow.
As I’m picking up a set of oversized legos, I hear a sound that brings my world to a halt.
Tap! Tap! Tappp!
I rush over to the window, but Easton isn’t there.
Tap! Tap! Tapppp!
It’s coming from downstairs…
I rush down the steps and open the door.
Easton is standing on the front porch, a pink teddy bear in hand.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hello, Scarlett.”
“I got all your gifts.”
“Only one of those was for you.” He smiles. “Does Rose like them?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see her today?”
“You can see her whenever you want.”
He steps forward, closing the gap between us. “Can I ask you a hypothetical question?”
I nod.
“If the love of your life got out of prison early and came to understand why you held a secret from him, and admitted that you were right for not inflicting more pain on him, would you agree to starting things over?”
“That’s not how the questions work,” I say. “You’re supposed to give me the options.”
“I’m hoping there’s only one…” He kisses my lips. “I love you, Scarlett…I’ve never stopped, and I thought about you every day.”
“I love you too, Easton.” I feel a lump rising up my throat. “I would never willingly hurt you, and I swear—”
“It’s in the past.” He ends my sentence with a kiss. “Can we please start over? This time the right way?”
“I would like that.”
“Me too,” he says. “Can you introduce me to my daughter now?”
