Chapter 38
thirty-eight
. . .
Winnie
Archer and I had wrapped up the book tour and flown home.
Having that time with him was magical. We’d explored New York and New Jersey, then traveled to Boston and DC, and he’d come with me to each signing.
Every time I’d look out in the audience, he was smiling at me.
And then he’d hang out afterward and talk to readers, and all the exhaustion that I’d been feeling would shift.
Because he was here with me, which just made the long days a lot easier.
And the sex. Don’t even get me started. We’d never been in a hotel room together, and we didn’t have to worry about being quiet or walking around the room naked.
And a laid-back Archer Chadwick, dropping his towel on the floor after his shower and showing me the goods—that was a visual I’d hold on to for a very long time.
But being back was just as good, because Rosewood River felt like home.
I’d missed Melody. We’d been busy working on her birthday party, which was today.
We invited her whole class, including Justine, much to the chagrin of Archer and his brother and cousins.
I’d had to remind him that excluding her would be stooping to her level.
And at the end of the day, Melody wanted everyone at her birthday, which I loved about her. She was the kindest little girl, with the most forgiving heart.
“Which one is the little shit who messed with my girl?” Bridger grumped as he and Emilia walked over to where Archer and I were standing.
“Bridger.” Emilia shook her head and laughed. “She’s a child.”
“A child who bullied Melody. At least let me glare at her a little.”
“I believe you bullied me for years,” Emilia said. “But we can all grow, right?”
“Sorry about that, angel. But this girl told Melody she wasn’t lovable. I was just a dick because I thought you hated me. This girl is out of control.”
“This girl is six years old. Trust me, I’m not her biggest fan, but it’s a birthday party and we’re not glaring at children,” Archer said, and Emilia and I both chuckled.
“Can I trip her? Put mustard on her cake?”
“Bridger!” Emilia gasped. “Stop talking like that, or I will withhold sex for a month.”
Bridger frowned. “Fine. I’ll leave the little gremlin alone.”
Rafe and Lulu walked over, with Henley and Easton right behind them.
“What a party,” Henley said. “This is so cute. You went all out.”
“This is all Winnie.” Archer winked at me. “I had nothing to do with it.”
“You don’t say?” Easton said with a laugh.
“What gave it away?” Rafe tapped his chin and smirked. “The giant pink balloon cowboy hats? The pink-and-gold balloon arch and the cake that’s shaped like a pair of pink cowboy boots?”
“This is my kind of party,” Wren said, leaning over and giving me a hug. “I love this theme.”
“Damn. There’s a lot of kids here,” Axel said.
“All right, I’m coming over to hide out. Our fathers are both in the jumpy house.” Clark shook his head with disbelief, referring to my father and Uncle Keaton.
“Well, they went in there to help Melody, but then I think they started jumping and they liked it.”
“Beefcake is monitoring the door, so no kids will be going in while the grown men jump around for a little while.” Clark took a sip of his water.
“Why is it so loud?” Bridger said, sighing.
“I don’t know, because there are like thirty children here?” I said with a laugh.
“Winnie!” Melody called from the yard as she stood next to Justine and Tommy. “Justine doesn’t believe that the cake is real. She thinks we don’t have a cake.”
“I guess we just figured out which one is the bully,” Bridger said under his breath.
“Takes one to know one.” Easton smirked as I walked toward Melody.
“Hi, sweet pea.” I bent down in front of her. “The cake is real, I promise. And we have ice cream and whipped cream and sprinkles, too.”
“My mommy lets me have all the sprinkles I want. Sometimes she gives me the whole bottle.” Justine popped a hip and pursed her lips all at the same time.
“My Winnie wouldn’t want me to do that because it would give me a tummy ache.” Melody’s hand found mine, and a little part of me wanted to call Bridger over to glare at the little heathen who was giving me attitude.
“That’s right. We don’t want to get a tummy ache.”
“That’s because Melody is a baby.” Justine laughed, and I glanced over at her mom, who was on her phone.
“Oh, Justine, your mom is calling you. You better go see what she needs.”
Justine cinched her brows together. “I didn’t hear her call me.”
“I did,” Tommy said. “She called for you twice.”
Justine stomped away, and Tommy wagged his eyebrows at me and Melody giggled. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.
I went to get my camera and spent the next hour snapping photos of the kids doing potato sack races, and I got several photos of Melody getting her face painted like a butterfly.
We’d set up a little photo station with the Polaroid camera, because that was Melody’s favorite, and Lulu was working that booth and passing out photos to the kids.
“All right, I know we aren’t allowed to act on it, but that little Justine is playing with fire by picking a fight with me.” Lulu crossed her arms over her chest and glanced over at the little girl who was now yelling into the bounce house and demanding everyone get out so she could jump alone.
“What did she do?”
“She just asked me if I was a real blonde or a bottle blonde.” Lulu gaped at me as she adjusted her silk headscarf.
“What did you say?”
“I asked her if she was a real redhead or if she used a package of Kool-Aid to get that color.” She smirked. “You go low, I’ll go lower.”
I snorted. “Don’t tell Bridger. He’s ready to lose it on her.”
“Trust me, I won’t say a word. But she best not come at me again or I’ll dish it right back at her.”
“I would expect nothing less,” I chuckled as Melody came running over to ask if it was time for cake.
“Let me go get things ready, and I’ll bring it out here and we can sing and eat cake.” I kissed her cheek and jogged into the house.
I’d just entered the walk-in pantry to grab the party plates when an arm snaked around my waist. “Hey, beautiful. Are you having fun?”
“I’m having a great time, how about you?” I turned around in his arms, then pushed up on my tiptoes and kissed him.
“What did I do to deserve you?” he whispered, and my breath hitched in my throat. “Thank you for making this day so special for her. She’s never had a party like this.”
“It’s been a good day. I love seeing her so happy, you know?”
“I love seeing both my girls so happy. Every time I looked over at you today, you had this big smile on your face.”
“Maybe that was because I was looking back at you.”
“Wow. Impressive. Are you a romance author, by any chance? You’ve got a way with words.”
I laughed. “You can always whisper sweet nothings to me.”
He leaned down, nipping at the sensitive skin at my ear. “I’d love to dip my fingers beneath this little skirt you’ve got on and check between your legs to see how wet you are.”
“Well, seeing as we’re hosting a six-year-old’s birthday party, I don’t think that would be appropriate.” My words were breathy. His hand moved to my ass, and he tugged me up against him, and I groaned when I felt how hard he was beneath me.
“Well, what do we have here?” Rafe’s voice startled me, and I jumped back.
“For fuck’s sake,” Bridger grumped as he came up beside his brother. “We’re ready for cake, and you two are getting busy in the pantry?”
I laughed, and I could feel my cheeks heat as I grabbed the paper plates. Archer swatted my ass when I hurried past them to leave the pantry.
“You assholes have terrible timing,” Archer said.
“We’re waiting for cake, and you two disappeared a while ago.” Rafe raised a brow as I set the ice cream, whipped cream, sprinkles, plates, and silverware on the tray I’d set out and reached for the cake.
“It was two minutes,” Archer said, laughing.
“Yeah, two minutes too long. That Justine kid keeps shooting me daggers, and some other little boy just hit me up for twenty bucks.” Bridger took the tray, and Archer carried the cake, while I handed Rafe the lighter and the cake knife.
“It’s probably Tommy. Justine keeps stealing his undies, so he probably needs the cash to buy some new ones.” Archer snorted.
“Man, I’m glad I’m not a kid anymore. This shit is a lot to handle.” Bridger pulled the door open, and we stepped outside.
We set everything down on the table, and I called Melody over. Cutler was right there beside her like the protective cousin he was.
“Nice cake,” he said as he tossed me a wink.
I lit the candles, and we all sang happy birthday to my favorite six-year-old on the planet.
Everyone was there, and she was surrounded by so much love.
I was surrounded by so much love.
And it hit me in this moment, as Emerson and Isabelle helped me pass out cake and Archer scooped ice cream onto the plates.
Happily ever after isn’t just about finding your soulmate or the love of your life.
Happily ever after is so much bigger than that.
It’s about what you create together.
The life that you build.
The love you have with your partner. The people around you. Celebrating the little things and the big things.
Archer looked up at me, then walked over and swiped at my cheek before licking his finger. “You have some frosting on your face, beautiful.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He leaned down and kissed me.
In the middle of a birthday party, with the sun shining down on us and the water splashing from the river as it glided by.
We were creating this beautiful life together, and I loved every second of it.
I’d found my happily ever after with this handsome, charming, stubborn, wonderful man, and his amazing daughter, and incredible family—and it was all right here in Rosewood River.
My future.
My heart.
My home.