Page 50 of Unforgettable

“Bud, I’m here, too,” Josh stated, waving his hand in front of the phone and tilting the camera to show more of his partially hidden face.

“I saw you, Dad. Hi,” Zach said with a halfhearted wave. “So, Auntie Manda, what are you doing? Why are you with my dad?”

“We’re actually at the drive-in. Remember when we went last summer? We sat in the truck and watched the movies?” Josh offered, hoping to insert himself back into the conversation between me and his son.

“Ooo!” Zach cried. “Yes, that was so much fun! Are you having fun, Auntie Manda?”

I chanced a look over at Josh, who I caught peering at me as well, probably anxiously awaiting my answer.

Everything was changing so quickly. But change was the point, wasn’t it? Both of the guys hoped something would change and had created a plan to make it happen. Change was the name of the game.

“Yes, I’m having lots of fun,” I confirmed, and for my honesty, I was awarded a lopsided smile by Josh. His arm tightened around me and his palm flattened against my waist.

“So, you’re still having fun, bud? As long as you don’t get too cold.”

Zach bobbed his head unenthusiastically. “Yeah, it’s okay. But I miss you, Daddy. Mama said we’re coming home soon and I get to see you right when we get there, right?”

Even in the small box at the corner of the phone screen where we were displayed, I could see the emotion wash over Josh’s face at hearing his son confess that he missed him. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I watched Josh’s throat bob before he cleared his throat.

Why was it that watching him be a dad—and be a good one, at that—such a turn-on?

“Yeah, I’ll see you as soon as you get back on Sunday. Do you want me to bring pizza?”

Zach was in the middle of shrieking about the kind of toppings he wanted on his pizza, jostling the phone every which way when it was steadied and pulled from his hands.

As evidenced by our faces, neither Josh nor I were prepared for Sam’s face to replace Zach’s on the screen.

“Sorry, he’s gotta go to bed. He’s absolutely exhausted from playing in the snow all day,” Sam spoke as she walked around the house they were staying in. We could still hear Zach in the background, whining that he hadn’t finished telling his dad about the pizza he wanted.

“Okay, can I at least tell him goodbye?”

She huffed out a breath. “Yes, Josh, of course I will let you say good night.”

“You did just snatch the phone out of his hands,” Josh mumbled low enough that Sam couldn’t hear him.

“I will give him the phone back. But can you just listen to me for a second? I have some news I want to share.” And then she thrust her hand in front of the camera, flashing the shiny new engagement ring wrapped around her finger. “Travis proposed this afternoon, and I said yes!” By the high-pitched tone of her voice, I could tell exactly where Zach inherited his intense squeal.

Josh stiffened slightly, but his expression was unwavering. “Congratulations, Sam. I’m very happy for you,” he said, even his tone was unflappable against the news. But I hadn’t expected much different—Josh hadn’t harbored feelings for Sam in several years, so her engagement wouldn’t have affected him all that much. Except for the fact that Travis would now be his son’s stepfather.

“Yes, congratulations!” I said with a little faux enthusiasm for her benefit. “That’s really exciting, Sam.”

“Thank you, Amanda,” she said quickly, turning her attention back to Josh next to me. “Anyway, I just wanted you to hear it from me first.”

Josh shot me a look that said he wasn’t convinced of her unselfish intentions, but his words belied something different. “I appreciate that, Sam, and I’m genuinely happy for you. I’ll say good night to Zach and let y’all go.”

Sam gave the phone back to her son, who accepted it with a huge smile.

“Daddy, I gotta go to sleep, but you’ll see me soon, right?”

The shift in Josh’s mood was noticeable. “I’m going to see you so soon, bud. And I’m bringing pepperoni and pineapple pizza.”

“Yes! Because that’s my favorite!” Another squeal and as my eardrums burst so did my heart.

“Yes, that’s exactly why.” Josh laughed at Zach’s excitement.

“Mama told me I have to go to bed now. She’s giving me that crazy-eye look. Good night, Daddy, I love you.”

Scratch my earlier heart-bursting comment. Hearing Zach telling Josh he loved him, that actually did it.

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