Page 41 of Chase Our Forever

She takes her hand off mine and leans back in the swing. She keeps her knees tucked to her chest as she gets comfortable. Her eyes don’t move from me once as she patiently waits for me to start talking.

I want to say something, but I can’t. I’m too lost in the heaviness of the moment. The way she’s staring at me right now wakes up something deep in my chest. I try to take a deep breath in to stop the hammer of my heartbeat.

She cares so much. Enough to sit here and listen to me talk about the wife I lost, even though I was an ass to her today. I stare into her blue eyes and realize that something I never thought would happen is happening.

I care about Liv.

And because I care about her and trust her, even though there’s so much about her I don’t know, I begin to share with her things about Selena that I haven’t brought myself to talk about in a long time.

25

LIV

Clara’sbusy playing with her dolls on the couch as I set the table for the evening. It’s my second full week here, and we’ve easily fallen into a routine. Dean texted me he’s running a little late, which doesn’t surprise me. It’s Friday night, and it’s been a crazy busy week for him.

Halloween is on Monday, and he’s already told me he wants to get off a few hours earlier than normal to help Clara get ready for the holiday. We’re going to his parents’ house to take pictures with the cousins and have dinner before trick-or-treating at all of the shops on Main Street.

I’m so excited.

I’ve never been someone who loves Halloween. It’s been just another holiday for me that I didn’t really care about, but I’m looking forward to this one. Clara’s changed her mind about what she wanted to be about ten times but has finally settled back on being Elsa.

The timer for the oven goes off, reminding me to check the lasagna I’d made when Dean walks through the door. I pull out the lasagna and set it on top of the oven to rest before turning around to look at him.

“Evenin’,” he drawls, taking me by surprise by wearing a smile on his face.

“Hi,” I respond cautiously, wondering why he’s got his hands tucked behind his back.

“So, I did a thing…” he begins, stepping into the kitchen. He makes sure to keep his hands pinned behind him, holding on to something I can’t quite see.

I pull the oven mitt from my hand and toss it onto the counter. “What kind of thing?” I press. He’s been smiling at me more than normal in the last week. Something changed after the day we went to the pumpkin festival. It was as if hearing he can talk about Selena helped him become a little more free and realize he doesn’t have to hang onto all of his pain alone.

“Clara.” The way Dean says his daughter’s name is adorable. It’s filled with excitement—and happiness. We’ve turned a new leaf, and this Dean who smiles more freely and calls his daughter’s name in a high-pitched tone makes it hard to not develop more feelings for him.

“Daddy!” she cheers, throwing her dolls to the side and running toward us. She was so content playing she hadn’t even noticed he’d gotten home.

“I have a surprise,” Dean tells us both, his lips still upturned in a grin.

“Let me see!” Clara demands. She tries to see what he holds behind his back, but he turns his body from her before she can get a peek.

The surprise rats herself out before he can. A tiny little bark comes from behind his back before he holds a box with the puppy out in front of him.

“Honey!” Clara screams, closing the distance to her dad and grabbing the puppy from the box. The dog eagerly licks Clara’s cheeks, excited for the attention.

Dean stares at his daughter. I love that for even a brief moment, there isn’t any sadness in his eyes. He stares at his daughter so lovingly and happily as she plops to the hardwood floor and cradles the puppy in her lap.

When his eyes move from Clara to me, I suck in a breath.

Happy looks good on Dean.Too good.

“Mom said someone was going to adopt Honey, and I couldn’t let it happen,” he explains with a casual shrug of his shoulder. He tucks his hands into his pockets while his eyes stay trained on me.

“So Honey’s mine now?” Clara asks from the floor.

I want to look at her, but I can’t pull away from Dean’s intense stare. I can’t look at anything but him. Not when his whiskey-colored eyes are locked on me. “She’s ours,” he responds, his voice thick.

My mouth feels dry. I swallow, wondering why those two words send a shiver down my spine.

“You hear that, Livvy?” Clara asks.

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