Chapter 21 #2
When I turned to look out at the yard, Blythe and Hannah were both staring in our direction.
Blythe was smiling, clearly proud of her mom for having stepped in to fix the situation.
But it was the look on Hannah’s face that nearly had me bursting into tears all over again.
Her eyes were wide and full of awe and appreciation, and I could have sworn I saw her chin tremble as she mouthed, “Thank you.”
I cleared my throat and managed to smile. Clapping my hands together, I declared a bit too loudly, “We need cheese!” Then I scurried into the kitchen with the perfect excuse to give myself the privacy to get my shit together before I turned into a full-on blubbering mess.
The credits on the movie started rolling, and Shawn reached for the remote to shut off the TV. When he turned to face the rest of us, his top lip was curled in displeasure. “That movie was so lame.”
“What are you talking about?” Blythe argued. “It was awesome.”
Tristan popped up from where he’d been sprawled out on the floor during the movie.
Dinner had gone off without a hitch. We’d hung out at that table, talking and laughing and eating Trick’s perfectly grilled burgers before moving into the living room.
Our last-minute grill-out had turned into an impromptu movie night, and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend a Saturday.
I’d sat curled into the corner of the big cushy sectional, snuggled into Trick. Heath and Hannah sat in the middle, holding hands the whole time, and Blythe had stretched out on the chaise side with Diva while Shawn and Tris lay out on the floor.
“It was stupid,” Tristan objected. “Next time we do family movie night, the guys get to pick what we watch.”
At my son’s mention of family movie night, Trick’s arm tightened, and I melted deeper into him. For the third time today, I wanted to burst into tears of happiness.
“I loved it,” Hannah added, and I had to admit, I was with the girls. I thought the movie had been great.
Shawn rolled his eyes at his sister. “The only reason you guys like it is ’cause you think the main dude in Aquaman is hot.”
Hannah and Blythe both whipped their heads in my direction like they expected me to say something to the contrary.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” I stated as I pushed from the couch and began gathering the empty popcorn and candy wrappers littering the coffee table. “I definitely voted for the movie because Jason Momoa is hot.”
I headed into the kitchen, followed by the hysterical laughter of everyone in the living room.
Someone turned the TV back on, and I could hear the mumbled sounds bleeding into the kitchen as I began washing the dishes we’d accumulated over the past several hours.
Out of all the chores I did, washing the dishes was my least favorite, but as I stood in Trick’s kitchen with the sounds of our families filtering through my ears, I found I didn’t mind it one damn bit today.
In fact, I was actually kind of loving it.
This had been the first time Trick and I had been around our kids as an official couple, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
I hadn’t had a day this good in a very long time.
If Trick noticed my drink running low, he automatically refilled it without me asking.
When we were sitting down to eat, he asked how I took my burger, then proceeded to make it for me.
He ate at least a half dozen of my cookies, and with every bite of each one, went on and on about how amazing they were.
He’d spent the entire day taking care of me, anticipating my every need, and moving to fulfill them while making me feel like a princess.
Never in my life had there been a man who treated me like Trick did, and I was quickly coming to discover that I wasn’t just crazy about the man, I was falling head over heels at lightning speed.
“Hey.”
At the sound of Hannah’s voice, I turned to look over my shoulder. “Hey, honey. You looking for more snacks?”
She joined me at the sink and propped her hip against the edge. “No. If I eat anything else, I think I’ll bust right outta my skin.”
“I know the feeling,” I replied with a small chuckle.
She shifted on her feet, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her biting her bottom lip. “I was actually coming in to see if you needed help with anything.”
I turned to face her, offering up a warm smile as I answered, “Sure. Grab a towel. You can dry as I wash. How’s that sound?”
She pulled the hand towel from the handle of the dishwasher and got down to work. We washed and dried, side by side in silence. I could sense she was building up the courage to say something, and I wanted to give her all the time she needed.
“Dad said you have a weird thing about dishwashers,” she finally said a minute later. “But I think I get it. I mean, it makes sense that you’d think a machine might not get off all the gross crud, and I told Dad that when he started teasing.”
I gave her a wink. “Thanks for lookin’ out.”
“Anytime,” she muttered, lapsing back into silence for another handful of seconds. “I know it was you,” she said so quietly I nearly missed it.
“What was me, darlin’?”
Hannah stopped drying, placing her hands on the edge of the sink so she could give me her full attention. “You’re the one who convinced Daddy to let Heath come over.”
I stopped washing and gave her my eyes. “It wasn’t a big deal, honey.”
“Yes it was,” she insisted. “You told him he should trust me. I just want you to know… well, what I mean is… thank you. You went to bat for me, and you didn’t need to. I want you to know I won’t do anything to break his trust.”
“I know,” I whispered. “That’s why I went to bat for you.”
She gave me that sweet, shy smile that pulled Heath in, and seeing the beauty of it up close made my heart ache.
We went back to work, and Hannah kept her head down, her eyes on the glass she was drying as she said, “And I won’t break yours either.”
That time, when I smiled, I did it at the sudsy water in the sink. “Thank you.”
“You make him happy, you know.” My hands froze mid-scrub, and I suddenly had trouble pulling air into my lungs.
“I’m not stupid. I know most kids want their parents to be together, but I can’t remember the last time I saw him laugh or smile with my mom the way he does with you.
” God, she was killing me. “I’d rather my dad be happy. ”
“Honey.” That one word came out ragged and full of emotion.
“I like seeing you guys together. Daddy deserves someone great.”
“If you don’t stop, I might have to start bawling.”
She let out a little giggle but didn’t stop. “I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m not just glad Daddy has you. I’m glad I do too.”
My eyes began to water, and I sniffed against the wave of emotion crashing into me “See?” I grumbled playfully. “Now I’m gonna cry.”
“Okay, I’m stopping now.”
We grinned at each other as I murmured, “Appreciated.”
Then we finished the dishes without another threat of tears.