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“With the horses?” she asks, with hope laced in her tone.
“Yeah.” I nod. “We all live here with the horses.”
“I wanna move here, please,” she begs, folding her hands together and giving her mom the most adorable puppy dog eyes. “Please, Mommy.”
“That would mean leaving your room,” Kelsie explains.
“Yeah, but she’d get another room in her new house,” I say nonchalantly. “And we can paint it and decorate it however she wants,” I add, not above emotional bribery.
“Pierce, you’re not helping,” Kelsie groans.
“Do you actually think I’ll steer her away from wanting to move in with me? If it were up to me, you guys would move in today, and we’d be married by Christmas.”
“Please, Mommy!” Jordan continues to beg.
“We’ll see,” Kelsie says, standing.
“We’ll see and maybes always mean no.” Jordan pouts.
“Not if I can help it,” I say with a smirk aimed at Kelsie.
“How about we discuss this later?” Kelsie suggests. “Right now, I’d like to have a princess tea party with the most beautiful princesses in all the land.”
Her words cause the little girls to change pace, remembering they’re dressed like princesses.
“I helped make the sandwiches,” Jordan announces, climbing onto her chair.
“And I poured the tea,” Tilly adds, sitting next to Jordan.
“So, you’re pregnant, huh?” I say to Sara, pulling her into a side hug.
“We’re three months along. We’re going to tell everyone tonight at dinner since you’re off today.”
“Congratulations.” I kiss her temple, then sit down.
“Nobody else knows yet,” she says. “So, keep a lid on it until tonight. Yeah?”
“I don’t think I’m the one you have to worry about.” I chuckle and nod toward the little girls filling their plates with food.
“Yeah, we should probably announce it the second we get there,” Sara says with a laugh.
“If you want to be the one to tell everyone, that’s probably a good idea,” I agree. “Is Beckett coming to dinner?”
“Yep, he’s on his way home now. He said he’ll meet us at your parents’.”
When I glance over at Kelsie, I find her sitting across the table, her face devoid of all emotion. I squeeze Sara’s hand, then walk over to Kelsie, sitting down next to her.
“You okay?” I whisper, so nobody can hear.
“I wasn’t expecting her to be so okay with moving in with you,” she whispers.
“She’s only five, Kels. Kids trust their parents, and she saw us kiss, which tells her you care about me. Then, add in the fact that we have horses on the property, and it would mean living next to Tilly. You never stood a chance.”
Kelsie playfully rolls her eyes. “So, you’re saying that I should just give in now, since moving in with you is inevitable.”
When our eyes meet, I’m hoping she’s being serious. If she is, I’ll gladly grab the guys and have the girls’ stuff moved into my place before nightfall. Then she bursts out laughing and shakes her head. “We’re not moving in with you tonight!” she whisper-yells. “You’re crazy.”
“What will it take?” I ask, needing to know what I’m working with.
“I want to do things right,” she murmurs, her cheeks turning that beautiful shade of pink I’ve quickly come to love. “Date, engagement, marriage, move in, babies…in that order.”
Noticing that she didn’t give a timeframe, only that she specified an order, I lean in and kiss her cheek, already making plans to go to the jeweler tomorrow. “You got it, sweetheart.”
“Cinderella loves me so much,” Jordan coos as the puppy licks her face in excitement. “When Mommy and I live with you, can Cinderella sleep with me?”
“Cinder sleeps in her crate for now, but once she’s trained, she can sleep anywhere, including with you.”
“Wow,” Kelsie gasps, “pulling out all the stops, huh? What’s next? You going to offer to take her to Disney to see the princesses?”
I want to tell her that’s already in the works, but it’s a surprise for both of my girls. Instead, I simply shrug, opening the door so Cinder can run outside and do her business. I haven’t seen her since yesterday. My brother Jackson was nice enough to pick her up from the station and take care of her for me last night, so I asked if we could grab her before dinner. Of course, Jordan was on board since she loves Cinder.
“So…” I slide my arm across the backs of Kelsie’s shoulders as we walk down the path, following Jordan and Cinder as they run toward the pond up ahead. “Next Saturday is the Christmas festival. I’d love it if you and Jordan went with me.”
Now that I know the order Kelsie wants things to go in, I’ve concocted a plan of sorts. It all starts with surprising her with a date this week—I just need to get Sara on board to watch the girls—proposing to her at the festival, getting married on Christmas, and ending with the two of them moving into my place before New Year’s.
