Nate chuckles, looking a bit out of his element. I slide up beside him and rest my head on his shoulder.
Dad beams. When Ryder bebops off to find my mom, whom he’s already nicknamed Nanna Banana—which made my mother’s life, Nate turns to face me. Dad gives me a thumbs up.
I might cry.
“I need to call and make sure Murray showed up,” Nate says before kissing the top of my head. “I’ll be right back.”
“No rush,” Dad says. He waits until Nate is gone before he turns his attention on me. “Well, I’ll be honest—I came here with my thumb on Banks’s number.”
I giggle.
“But you’ve really impressed me, Paige. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I kinda like the guy.”
“Dad,” I say, swatting his shoulder.
His glass of tea sloshes in his hand as he chuckles.
“I’m very proud of you, Paige. You’ve turned into a hell of a young woman.”
His compliment, which doesn’t necessarily come easily, brings me a joy and comfort that I didn’t know I needed.
The house is alive with voices and laughter. Ryder’s giggle streams over the top of the rest. It’s not quite as chaotic as my parents’ house in Florida, but it’s full of love just the same.
Mom and Dad have loved me through my best and my worst moments. They’ve shown up when I needed them every single time. They’ve brought me in and loved me when no one else did. And now I have Hollis, Nate, and Ryder, filling places I hadn’t known needed filling.
I am so incredibly happy. So wonderfully blessed.
Sometimes things like fear can be a habit more than anything else. You’re scared because that’s what you do. You are fearful because, at some point, someone told you that you should always look over your shoulder. Or that you weren’t good enough. Or that your happiness will end.
It took a grumpy bar owner and his adorable little boy to show me that I’m more than my fear. I have love to give. I’m worthy of receiving their affection. And if you believe in yourself enough, life can be pretty sweet.
“Should we go rescue Hollis from Mom?” I ask Dad.
He makes a face. “Don’t rob her of her moment. She’s been talking about this for weeks.”
I laugh.
“Come on,” he says, nodding towards the door. “Let’s step outside so I can tell you about this shit with Maddox. I can’t tell anyone else.”
“Ooh. Gossip. I love getting dirt on my brothers.”
Nate
“Hello?”
I smile at the sound of Dominic’s voice. I don’t know why I called him—I don’t need anything.
The evening air is crisp and cool as the sun dips behind the trees. It’s calm and peaceful, just like me.
“Nate? I know this is you. I have you programmed into my phone.”
I laugh. “Hey, what’s happening?”
“Ah, not much. I’m currently trying to convince Cam to let me put a baby inside—”
“Dom!” Cam yells, cutting Dom off. He laughs.
“We’re getting ready to go to Barrett’s winery. Want to go?”
“I have a houseful of people or I absolutely would.”
“Oh, that’s right. Paige’s people are there.”
“Her family. But, yes, they are.”
“How is that going?”
I walk around the backyard, sidestepping a baseball bat and tennis ball. That’s a window waiting to be broken.
“It’s actually going really well,” I say. “Paige’s mom is kinda huggy. Her Dad is pretty cool. We talked cars and just kinda shot the shit, I guess you could say.”
“Are they still there?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re calling me why?”
Good question.
I make my way back towards the house and stop on the stoop.
Dominic and I started life in a world of chaos. We fought hard to come out of it—sometimes literally—on top. We banded together when our mother took her life shortly after Dad died. We’ve relied on each other, pulled each other up when we’re down, and encouraged each other to keep going.
And we did. We came out on top.
Dom now has Camilla, the only woman in the world that would be right for him, and she fucking adores him. He also has the Landry family at his back. They’ve enveloped him as one of their own.
I always knew I wanted a family for Ryder, mostly. But I never dared to want this. The woman of my dreams, a decent house, the best little boy in the world. And maybe, just maybe, an extended family that might welcome Ryder and me too.
It gets better. Life gets better. You have to scratch and claw your way sometimes and roll with the punches—that never goes away. But if you keep moving, remain hopeful, and never stop believing, you can overcome anything.
Dom and I are proof.
This feeling—I hope it never goes away.
“You know what?” I ask. “We did all right, didn’t we?”
He must hear something in my voice. That, or he’s a bit thrown by the question because he clears his throat.