“You won’t regret this.”
Keegan peeks up at me from beneath her damp lashes. “That’s what I’m banking on.”
“Does this mean we can be friends again?” Millie’s soft voice chimes in, the sweetest sound I’ve heard in two weeks.
“Maybe, if your mom says that’s okay.” Uncertainty continues to prod at me. I can’t be sure until Keegan tells me.
The little girl smiles at me and just like that, my spirits soar to the clouds. “We missed you, Ford.”
Keegan huffs, rolling her tear-stained eyes. “Don’t let him off the hook so easily, Mills.”
“But he’s sorry, Mama. Look how sad he is without us.”
“She’s right. I’m barely breathing.”
“I expect a lot more groveling.”
“And I plan to give it. For many years to come, if you’ll have me.”
“Let’s not get too serious. I thought this wasn’t about dating?” She twirls some blonde strands around her finger.
“That was part of my idiotic front. The one you punched gouges in after a simple glance. I think we both know exactly where this is heading.”
“You just want to have adult sleepovers with me again.” She states that as if it’s a crime against her.
“I can’t say that hasn’t crossed my mind. Let’s be honest, I’d be blind or batting for the other team if that wasn’t the case. But this is about far more than S-E-X.”
Keegan scowls at me. “Millie can spell.”
I wince. “Oh, sorry.”
Millie giggles, covering the sound with a tiny palm. “You’re so in love. I can’t wait for the wedding. Can I wear a pink dress with silky sleeves?”
Keegan pats her daughter on the head. “We haven’t officially started dating yet. Let’s start there and see where things go.”
“I’m gonna learn that secret language for couples and knock your socks off.”
A gape parts her ruby lips. “What?”
I allow a lopsided smirk to tilt my lips. “Never mind. Just remember that I’m prime boyfriend material. You’ll see. I’m gonna earn all of your trust again.”
Keegan’s eyebrows leap toward her hairline. “Pump the brakes, Mister Swoony. I’ve been disappointed enough for a lifetime, Ford. My little girl has already experienced more emotional warfare than any grown adult ever should. How is this going to be any different? What’s to stop you from leaving again?”
I shuffle forward, putting me that much closer to paradise and a future worth striving toward. “You have every right to question me. I can’t guarantee a day won’t arrive where my gut instinct is to flee. But I promise to reach out and let you reel me in. No more leaving unless you make me go. But I won’t go without trying to tough it out first. I wanna be grounded here, to you and Millie. Being reliable and dependable is who I hope to become. Both of you have left a permanent mark on my lonely soul. There’s no moving on without you.”
She nibbles on that plump bottom lip again. “You’d let us do the saving for once?”
A low rumble rises out of me. “I would love nothing more.”
With her next breath, Keegan shifts and sidles up against me. Her arms loop around my waist in a gentle embrace. I’m stunned for a moment and don’t move. When her cheek rests over my left pec, all of the pressure releases from inside of me. I reach out, scooping Millie in the process, and hold them both against me. We all share a mutual sigh that sinks straight to my wounded soul. What’s left of my guard and misplaced reservations dissolve into dust at our feet. I’m laid bare and splitting open. Nothing has felt so…good.
Keegan nuzzles closer, erasing any possibility of separation. The notion she wants to be plastered against me warms the coldest sections of my mending heart. “Hugs are the best medicine.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s laughter.” Her head bumps into me when I chuckle.
She clucks her tongue. “There’s more than one prescription.”
“I’ll have them all, so long as you’re passing out the doses.” I press my lips to her forehead.
“Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”
“You’re welcome, babe.”
“I’m sorry if the stems got a bit broken. An unfortunate casualty.”
“Don’t worry too much. There’s plenty more where those came from.”
A muffled squeak of protest interrupts the intense voltage sparking between us. Wriggling for an escape shortly follows. “You’re squishing me,” Millie complains.
She separates from our huddle with a huff. Her hair is a mess of rumpled blonde braids. She looks so much like her mother, which sends a powerful surge of protectiveness through me. Beating punk-ass boys with a spiked