So I sent her away.
It fucking killed me. But I sent her away. I assumed she’d find out about Jake eventually, realize that was the reason why. But I thought it’d be months down the line. She’d move on. Find someone new. Someone uncomplicated. And she’d realize it was the right thing, my ending it with her. She could have the life she envisioned for herself without feeling guilty for walking away from me.
But then she showed up that afternoon in Dilworth Park, and I watched a hundred emotions cross her face when she saw Jake, heard him call me Daddy. I couldn’t let her disappear into the subway thinking everything between us had been a lie. And then she surprised me, asking for a chance to meet Jake, to prove that not only could we make it work for us, she wanted to make it work for my son too.
I watched her fall in love with Jake over the next several weeks and it was the most absolute love I’ve ever witnessed.
Then she wrote him his own book, Forever Home. Jake’s obsessed with it. And so is the agent I sent it to. He’s got an offer for it, an offer and a request from the publisher for an additional two books. I received the email late this afternoon. Now I just need to tell Everly about it. She doesn’t think it’s good enough for the world to see, but she’s been wrong before.
“What are you doing?” I approach her from behind, bending in to nip at her neck and take a peek at what she’s up to. I’ve found it’s best to stay up to date with Everly at all times. She’s not a girl you want a step ahead of you.
She’s curled up in a corner of my couch, all of that remarkable hair piled onto the top of her head in a messy knot. She’s wearing something she refers to as yoga pants and an oversized cotton top that’s slipping off one shoulder as she taps a key on the laptop. She’s beautiful like this. Stunning, really. I can’t believe I get to spend the rest of my life with her.
“Research,” she tells me, and I think I see a castle on the screen. Not a romantic European castle I can rent in order to fuck her in every room, but a Disney castle.
“For?” I prod.
“The honeymoon.”
“Aren’t I supposed to plan the honeymoon?” I ask, walking around the couch to sit next to her. I’m not entirely sure how all this wedding planning works, but I seem to recall that traditionally the honeymoon is the groom’s job. Then again, Everly isn’t exactly traditional.
“Do you want to help?” she asks, brightening. “I was thinking Disneyland Paris,” she says. “It’s just outside of the city, and I’d love to see Paris with you.” She says it hopefully, giving a little tug on her bottom lip with her teeth. “We’d need three suites at the Disneyland Hotel though and it’s a bit expensive.” She taps her orange-painted nails on the laptop. “But you did say you have almost a billion dollars. So it’s probably okay?”
She looks up from the screen to wait for my response and there’s not an ounce of mischief there. She’s completely serious.
“Sure, it’s fine. Whatever you want,” I agree. “But why do we need three suites?”
“For our parents and Jake.”
Wait, what?
“You want to bring Jake on our honeymoon?” I ask, understanding now why we’re headed to Disneyland.
“Well, of course. It’s not just about us. Our marriage will be a celebration of us becoming a family. It’s a familymoon.”
God. My heart explodes when she says that.
“So I was thinking we should bring all of our parents along. Because they have a lot of catching up to do with Jake too. This would give them all a chance to bond.”
I was looking forward to a different sort of bonding. But Everly’s being beyond gracious to include Jake in our honeymoon. Familymoon. I should focus on that.
“Then if Jake is comfortable with it, he can alternate nights in his grandparents’ suites.”
I like where this is going.
“And then I thought maybe we could take off for a few nights on our own into the city,” she says, clicking on a tab that opens a page to the Paris Four Seasons.
I’m downright delighted that Jake just went down for the night.
And that he still sleeps like the dead.
And that Everly is snapping the laptop closed and taking off her shirt.
I’m a lucky, lucky man.
Acknowledgements
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read my book. I know your time is precious and I appreciate that you spent some of it with Sawyer & Everly.
Beverly & Kristi, thank you for talking me off the ledge on a regular basis. Your encouragement and feedback at each step in this process are priceless, I’m so lucky to have you as friends and I hope I tell you that enough.
JA Huss, thank you for making my cover & helping with graphics. Just wait till I learn photoshop, you’ll be so sad!
RJ Locksley, please never stop editing. I can’t imagine doing this without you. Please never make me!