Page 56 of Whatever Will Be

10

Gretchen

Trent won’t take no for an answer and I’m not good at refusing him, especially when he’s being insanely generous.

Besides, there’s really no other option. I don’t have enough to pay for a car in cash and I’ve already been turned down for loans because ‘unemployed law school dropout’ doesn’t look too promising on a credit application.

Trent pushes the keys for the silver Honda minivan into my palm.

“This isn’t a gift,” I warn him.

He keeps a straight face. “Of course not.”

“I’m going to make payments to you and I want you to draw up the appropriate paperwork.”

He nods. “You’ll have it tomorrow.”

The girls are already crawling all over the inside of the vehicle.

“It’s as big as a house!” Caitlin declares.

Mara wrinkles her nose. “It smells funny in here.”

“That’s a classic new car smell,” Trent says. “People pay many thousands of dollars for it.”

Mara is unconvinced. “It smells like when I left my Barbie out in the sun all day and its head melted.”

“There’s a TV screen!” Caitlin shouts.

I bump Trent with my elbow. “I see you added all the bells and whistles.”

He winks down at me. “Only the best. You can haul the girls and half their preschool class anywhere.”

Though we try not to openly show affection in front of the girls, I can’t stop myself from jumping into his arms right now. “Thank you.” I move to kiss his cheek but he deliberately turns his face to catch my mouth instead.

And my senses light up, as always.

It turns into a real kiss that lasts for longer than it should when we’re standing in the driveway with the twins only a few feet away.

Things have become quiet and when we finally separate, we find Mara and Caitlin staring at us.

I drop my arms in a hurry and we take a step away from each other.

Caitlin is frowning. “Aunt Gretch?”

“What, sweetie?”

“Can I be the flower girl?”

I don’t know what she’s talking about. “For what?”

She rolls impatient four-year-old eyes at me. “You have to have a flower girl when you marry Trentcassini.”

“Um.” My cheeks are suddenly afire.

“Me too!” Mara shouts. “I want to be the flower girl too.”

Trent finds nothing awkward about this. He simply laughs. “Who wants to go for a ride in the new minivan?”

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