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Lincoln squeezed my thigh under the table, smiling broadly at me. I was filled with so much emotion that I thought I’d burst.
“On another note, as we said last weekend, we wanted to discuss getting together more often,” Emily stated before looking at her husband. “We think that ongoing interactions will be good for Piper.”
Lincoln nodded. “We’re definitely interested. We will take as much time with Piper as we can get.”
Tim chuckled. “We’re happy to hear that. To be honest, we weren’t too sure about this whole thing in the beginning, but I’m glad we decided to do it.”
Lincoln and I smiled at each other as Emily added, “We’ve always worried that Piper would be missing out by not having a bigger family. We’re hoping that you two can fill that void.”
“Absolutely,” I replied, smiling at Piper. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
Tim and Emily glanced at one another before Tim answered, “We’re thinking once a week to start. Then maybe we can bump it up to two or three times a week, depending on how things go.”
I had to stop myself from squealing with glee. Even once a week was more than I deserved after giving up my daughter.
“That sounds fair,” Lincoln stated.
I nodded my agreement. “More than fair. I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity.” I looked at Piper as my vision started to blur, then at her adoptive parents. “You don’t know how much I regret going through with the adoption. But I’m glad she ended up with such wonderful people.”
Lincoln put his arm around me, rubbing my shoulder as I inhaled deeply to compose myself. I didn’t want to cry in front of Piper or the Andrews, especially out in public.
Emily smiled warmly. “We appreciate that.” She looked at Piper and lovingly rubbed the back of her head. “You gave us the most precious gift we could have ever asked for.”
“We tried for ten years before we finally gave up; adoption was our only option, and we couldn’t have chosen a more perfect daughter. So thank you,” Tim agreed.
Even though I regretted the adoption, I was happy we were able to give Tim and Emily the joy of having a child. They were great people and seemed to be even better parents.
After dinner, we made plans for all of us to meet at the library the next day to plan and research for Piper’s habitat project. I was excited to put my skills to use, especially for a love my daughter and I shared.
Lincoln rested his hand on my thigh as we drove back to Beaufort. “So a habitat project, huh? That’s right up your alley.”
I smiled. “I know. I’m so excited to see what ideas Piper has and to make them come together with her.”
He squeezed my thigh. “I’m really happy that Tim and Emily are letting us be more involved with Piper. I know we had an open adoption, but they’re going above and beyond.”
“I agree. We should do something for them to show our gratitude.”
“Like what?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know; maybe free babysitting so they can go on a nice date.”
Lincoln barked out a laugh. “Babysitting our own kid.”
“I think it would be a nice gesture. Plus, we’d get to spend more time with Piper.”
“I’m not knockin’ it. It just seems funny when you think about it.”
I shook my head with a chuckle. “So, it’s Friday night—what are we doing?”
His fingers danced along my thigh. I made it a point to wear a dress around him whenever I could so he could touch me more. “I was thinking you, me, a bottle of wine, and some Netflix and chill.”
“That sounds perfect.”
We headed to back to my hotel. As we entered my room, I paused. “I don’t have Netflix in my room.”
Lincoln gave me a devious grin as he shut the door behind him. “I know.”
The next day, we met Piper, Tim, and Emily at the library to research and plan out her habitat project. Once everyone arrived, we chose a table to sit down and brainstorm.
