Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“You’re already in the good zone,” I said. “God, when I told her I was officially dating you, she must have asked me about fifty rapid-fire questions.”
Landry wrapped his arms around me from behind, rocking on his feet a little as he gave me what I liked to call a “backpack hug.”
“Well, you’re doing great, too,” he murmured behind my ear. “I know introducing a new boyfriend can be nerve-wracking.”
A fizzle of energy shot through me.
Boyfriend.
“Landry,” I said quietly. “Do me a favor and say that last sentence again?”
“What?” he said. “Introducing a new boyfriend can be nerve—oh, shit.”
He released me from his arms and I turned to face him. “Yeah. That one.”
A momentary look of panic passed over his face. “Did—did I say that too soon? Is this another dating convention I’m behind the times on? I’m sorry if you weren’t ready for that kind of label.”
“Boyfriend,” I said, letting a slow smile pass over my lips. “I thought I was the one who was going to have to fight to call you that. I thought it was going to slip out one day, and you were going to be upset, and we’d have to take it super slow.”
He puffed out a quick laugh, his gaze dancing from my eyes to my lips. “It just seemed like a natural thing to say.”
“And I absolutely,” I said, pausing to press a small kiss to his lips, “love it, boyfriend.”
He hummed, pulling me close. “Thank God for that,” he murmured. “Because if I couldn’t be your boyfriend, I think I’d just call it quits on dating forever, thank you very much.”
“Let’s go inside and help Mom and Chase before I steal you away and ride into the sunset forever, okay?” I said, giving him one last squeeze on the hip.
I walked back inside with Landry—my boyfriend, not just a guy I was seeing. It turned out that he was equally as helpful in the kitchen as he was with a paintbrush. Mom quickly regaled us with a story she’d heard from a woman at the post office that morning, all about a Boston Terrier that had somehow learned to sing.
By the time we all sat down around the old dining table to eat, it felt like Landry belonged there. Somehow, it was the most surreal of all of the things I’d experienced with him.
The snowglobe had been ours.
The wedding had been emotional.
And a few weeks ago, at the beach, I’d felt like I was in a dream.
But this was something altogether different: just Landry, a part of my everyday life, sitting at the table with the two most important people in my life, and nothing felt one bit out of place. As Chase joked with him about yoga classes they’d both taken with Emmett back in Colorado, I got choked up for a moment, realizing what my life had started to become.
This was my life. And it wasn’t anywhere near perfect, but that didn’t mean Landry thought I was any less worthy of a relationship. Right here, and right now—not when I “finally had everything figured out.”
And that meant more than even the most perfect snowglobe moment, frozen in time.
My everyday world was something beautiful.
22
LANDRY
“I think I did okay,” I told Jamie later that night, as my Mercedes hummed below us on the freeway. “Other than the moment where I said I didn’t like blueberries. I think she wanted to kill me for that one.”
“Oh, she’s going to try to convince you for a long time,” Jamie said, reaching over to rest a hand on my thigh as I drove. “You’re going to have to try bites of blueberry muffins, pies, and cakes, but eventually she’ll accept that they’re just not for you.”
“I can accept that. Your mom seems like a wonderful person,” I told him, sincerity in my voice.
“I love her so much.”
The low lights on the freeway soared past the car windows. We were on our way back up to LA for the night, and I got to have Jamie all to myself for the whole day tomorrow on his day off.
“When we get back I’m going to show you my secret spot,” I told Jamie.
“Secret spot, huh?” he said, and when I glanced over at him he was lifting an eyebrow. “Do I even want to know what you mean by that?”
I bit back a smile. “It’s nowhere near as exciting as you’re making it sound. But I think you’ll like it. It’s even better at night.”
“Oh, God, now you’re making me think you’re Batman, or something,” Jamie said. “You’re going to take me to the rooftop and show me where you put your bat signal on.”
“I wish I was that cool,” I told him.
The rest of the drive home was smooth and easy, and the traffic wasn’t bad at all this time of night. When we pulled up to my house in the hills of LA, I put my window down and punched in the code, and the gate slid open. I pulled into the long driveway and put the car into the garage, leading Jamie in through the house.