Page 99 of Unbreakable Love

My phone pinged again, and I glanced at it, expecting to see Maize’s name, but it wasn’t her.

Gavin

Josie’s demanding you come over right this very second.

He’d told her. Already? I glanced at the time and flinched. Dang. My stress cleaning had lasted hours.

All for nothing apparently.

Because she’s excited?

She’s tugging on her boots and coat right this very minute to go get you because you’re taking too long.

I took that as a yes.

He also wasn’t exaggerating. By the time I grabbed my phone, slipped into boots, and gathered my own coat, Josie was already on the sidewalk across the street from me.

“Come on, Miss Pesco! You have to come eat with us!”

“I’m hurrying as fast as I can,” I shouted back and turned to lock my door. That done, I tugged on my coat while rushing down the driveway and jogging across the street.

As soon as I reached her, Josie flung her arms around my waist and squeezed me tight. “This is the best birthday present ever! Even if Daddy didn’t get me a puppy like Goldie, I’m so happy that he told me you two are boyfriend and girlfriend. You have to come have cake and ice cream and celebrate with us.”

She kept holding on, vibrating with excitement, and showed no intention of moving anytime soon.

I laughed and ran my hand down the back of her head. “How about we do that and get inside then so your ears don’t get cold?”

“They won’t. It’s impossible to be cold when you’re this happy!”

Tears sparked my eyes, happy tears that made the moonlight shimmer and Gavin’s truck blur in the distance.

“Come on.” I unwrapped her arms from me and held her hand. “Even happy people can be cold.”

“Doubt it,” she sang. She danced along the sidewalk, purple boots clip-clopping away on the cement, and pulled me along behind her until we were walking up to her front door, where Gavin stood, holding it open for us.

“Told you.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as Josie bent down and removed her boots.

“Fine, you’re right,” I said back. “Happy now?”

“Yeah.” He grinned and his whole face lit up. “I am happy.”

Well, I suppose that said it all, didn’t it?

TWENTY-SEVEN

GAVIN

I had to agree with Josie. Standing in my kitchen, dishing up cake and ice cream while Penny and my daughter sat at the island, giggling in their cone-shaped happy birthday hats they’d settled on their heads, might have made this night the best day ever.

Not only because it celebrated the most precious thing to ever enter my life, but because now Penny was a part of it.

Josie was so excited when I told her that Penny and I were more than friends and that I liked her a lot, I could hardly tell her anything else before she declared Penny had to come eat with us.

Who was I to argue with the birthday girl?

Now, she was chatting away with Penny about all the fun things we could do together. She hadn’t stopped since they sat down.

“And Christmas, Miss Pesco!” she screeched. “You can come have Christmas with us if you want, and if Maize is here, she can come too!”

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