Page 54 of The Last Promise You Made

Gia leaned in, checking out a picture of Maddox and me covered in mud from head to toe after we’d gone fishing in a rainstorm and ended up sliding down the hill on our way home. Mama wove the story more, explaining how we’d trailed it through the house, and it had taken days to clean up. Gia’s lips were turned upward, face soft and relaxed, and I wondered if that was what she’d look like after she climaxed too—tranquil and sweet and at ease.

Addy stifled a yawn, and it wiped away thoughts I shouldn’t have been having about the snarky NSA analyst. I looked at the antique clock on the mantel just as it chimed eight. Day two of parenthood, and I was already screwing up bedtime.

“Okay, I think we better head out. It’s been another long day.”

Mama patted Addy’s leg, and the little girl didn’t jump at the touch, which felt like more progress. “Next time you come, I’ll show you his awkward teen years. And I think we have some pictures around here of your mama and him.”

Addy’s eyes turned wide, and my stomach bottomed out. If Mama had a picture of Ravyn, it would be a rare one. I hadn’t had the opportunity to burn all images of her after she’d left because Ravyn had rarely let us take them. Just like she’d rarely liked to go out in public. At the time, I thought she was shy. I had been determined to make her feel as beautiful as I thought she was so that she’d want to take pictures with me.

After she’d left, it had been a relief to have so few pictures. I’d wanted to forget there’d ever been a woman named Ravyn who’d been a part of my world. I’d wanted it to be a black hole in my timeline. A before and after where I couldn’t remember the in-between.

“Thank you so much for dinner. And the stories,” Gia said. “I’m never going to be able to look at Ryder again without laughing at thoughts of him in his birthday suit covered in olallieberry stains.”

Mama chuckled, but my body heated all over again at the idea of showing Gia my naked body in a way that would have her begging instead of laughing.

We’d barely shrugged into our coats when headlights flashed through the window, coating us in white light. I narrowed my eyes at Mama. “You said it was just going to be you and Sadie.”

Mama nodded, brows drawing together as we watched Maddox’s Bronco pull in next to Gia’s Escalade.

I took Addy’s hand, bracing myself for what was to come. It felt like my brother had barely had time to park before the back door burst open, and Mila bounded in, screaming, “Nana!” at the top of her lungs. Her blond braids bounced around her cherub face, warm honey eyes glinting as she ran headfirst into my mother.

Mama caught her tight, saying, “Why isn’t this a nice surprise!”

Mila’s gaze went wide as she caught sight of me standing with Gia and Addy. Her eyes dropped to where I held Addy’s hand, and she was a breath away from demanding to know what was going on when my mother said, “I thought the three of you were going to the movies.”

My brother and McKenna pushed through the doorway covered in rain gear. McKenna was an older version of her little sister. Blond hair, light-brown eyes, heavy brows. She’d grown up in Willow Creek but skedaddled the moment she was eighteen, leaving a broken-hearted Maddox behind. When Maddox had found the baby sister McK hadn’t known existed living in squalor, he’d taken her in and made her his own. Eventually, that act had brought them all together.

“We were in the middle of the movie when the electrocity went out at the theater,” Mila said.

She rarely got her words mixed up anymore. It was an endearment we all sort of missed. McKenna corrected her, saying, “Electricity.”

“That’s what I said.” Mila turned away from my mother to look at us again. “Who’s that?”

I hadn’t been prepared for Mila tonight—for her questions or her energy—and I wasn’t sure Addy would ever be prepared for my over-the-top niece.

“You might remember Gia. She was here last year,” I answered before squeezing Addy’s hand and adding, “And this is Addy.” I wasn’t sure how to explain the rest, because we didn’t want Mila blabbing to the world Addy was mine, and yet I didn’t want Addy to hear me say she was only there for a little while. I hesitated, and it was Gia who picked up the rest for me.

“We’re staying with your Uncle Ryder.”

Mila’s eyes grew round. “I love staying with Uncle Ryder. He always lets me eat ice cream for breakfast.”

Maddox choked, Mama rolled her eyes to the ceiling, and I narrowed my eyes at my niece. “Thanks for ratting me out, kiddo.”

Mila’s hand went to her mouth. “Oops.”

Her gaze dropped to the stuffed animal in Addy’s hands, and she grinned, turning back to pull her two rainbow unicorns from McKenna’s arms and then skipping back over to us. “You have a stuffed animal too. This is Chester and Charlotte. They’re famous. They have a book written about them.”

Addy nodded slowly.

“You know the book?” Mila’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The Day the Unicorns Saved the World is still the bestest book of all the books that exist.”

“Dragons,” Addy said so quietly that I wasn’t sure she’d even spoken.

My niece grinned. “Oh, yes! The Day the Dragons Saved the Universe is my second-favorite book. If you like those books, it means we were meant to be friends. Maybe even best friends. And you know what best friends—”

“Breathe, Mila,” Maddox said with a soft chuckle.

“But, Daddy, it’s true.”

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