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“I’m sorry, what?”
“I used to watch your mom like that,” he grinned. “I thought Madeline was just your friend.”
I sighed, wishing I had a better answer for him. When Madeline and I became friends, she visited his house with me often, actually helping decorate when something became too dusty or needed moving. One winter, she was able to convince him to set up Mom’s Christmas town. She was no stranger to this house. My dad knew her as a friend and treated her like a daughter. He knew she was there for me when I needed someone the most.
“It’s complicated,” I muttered.
“Doesn’t have to be.”
“It really does though. I need to get through this thing with Hannah first…then…”
“Then what?” he asked, tilting his head.
I shrugged, not sure how to carry the conversation any further.
Holly burst through the back door, Niko at her feet, barking louder than I had ever heard. His tongue was sticking out and a smile was on his face. He jumped on Madeline’s back, forcing her forward.
“Whoa. Hey, bud.” She turned and petted his ears. “What’s up?”
“I lost the ball,” Holly admitted. “It went to your neighbor’s backyard, and Niko wasn’t too happy about it.”
Madeline laughed. “Good thing we have more.”
“I can go knock on Charles’s door, he’ll understand.” My dad grunted and stood. “Come on, Holly-wood, let's go knockin’.”
Holly laughed at her nickname and skipped to follow my dad outside. Madeline watched and let out a small laugh as soon as they were out the door.
“Okay, they’re adorable together. This was definitely a good idea.” She returned to the plates and turned the water back on, beginning to wash them.
I sighed, watching her complete the small task of doing the dishes for my dad, and my heart jumped. I wanted this every day, not just on vacations. I wanted to come home to her every night and feel her everywhere. I wanted to always look at her this way. I stood, pushing myself from the kitchen table. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her stomach, pressing my lips to her shoulder. She leaned into me and gave a chuckle.
“Hi, Milo,” she said through her laugh.
“Hi,” I muttered, not lifting my mouth from her shoulder. “Thank you.”
She chuckled again, turning the water off and twisting her body so that she was facing me. “For what?”
“Just everything. Doing the dishes, being here, going to all the meetings and just…everything,” I whispered.
Her eyes locked on mine, and a small smile grew on her lips. Everything about this woman in front of me was perfect. Her eyes, her lips, the tint to her cheeks, the way her hair fell from the ponytail, the way her fingers felt on my skin, the way our bodies fit together even in a simple embrace. She was part of my everything, and there was nothing I could do to tell that to her. I wanted to see her smile every day. I wanted to give her everything she wanted…but first…
I leaned down, hoping she would welcome my kiss. Our last kiss was almost a month ago when we agreed to put us on hold until everything was sorted out. Every day since then, I’ve wanted to kiss her, to hold her, to tell her I loved her…but first…
First, I had a custody battle to fight.
Her lips barely brushed mine when the front door opened, and Holly came running back inside. Niko barked again, excited to see his tennis ball. I let go of Madeline, and she spun back around to the dishes. My dad followed Holly and gave me a wink as he passed us to the backyard.
“That’s a crazy dog you got, Maddy,” he mumbled.
“He’s a husky, of course he’s crazy.” Madeline smiled up at me and turned the water off, drying off her hands. “Come on. Let's go outside.”
Chapter Thirty
-Madeline-
Our week was quickly coming to an end in Depoe Bay,and I dreaded returning to the real world. We had spent every day doing something with Holly and Wallace, taking new adventures I didn’t know existed in this small little coastal paradise. We traveled to Lincoln City and shopped at the outlet, finding a used bookstore that Milo had to pry me out of. Holly even found an older copy ofThe Wizard of Ozthat she suckered Wallace into buying for her. The Sea Lion Cave was everything Holly thought it would be, including the smell. All of the sea lions were lazing around on the rocks, and Holly proceeded to name all of them, even spotting a small white spotted baby. She left with a photo and a stuffed animal exactly like the baby she saw.
My time here was perfect in every way. Milo would slip his hand in mine—but no more almost-surprise kisses like the one in the kitchen. As much as I wanted to kiss him, we were still onpause. I told myself it didn’t matter, that Hannah knew we were dating, but my brain kept telling me it would have made things worse, and I heard him tell Wallace things were complicated. And indeed, they were.
