Page 99 of Secret Love

“No, never. Well, I did, uh, in the beginning,” he stutters. “But not now. No.” He runs his hand down his scruff and takes a deep breath, putting his arm around my shoulder. “But I do like Tru a lot and it’s important to me to be upfront about that. She's not your teacher anymore, but she still wants to make sure you're okay with all of it, and so do I, but I assured her you wouldbe.” He looks at them and they seem to slowly jar out of the realization that their dad has his arm around me. One by one, they come over to hug me.

It's the sweetest thing and I get a lump in my throat.

“Thank you. This means a lot to me,” I say when Cassidy hugs me last. “I hated upsetting you before, and…I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any way.”

“I’m sorry,” Cassidy says. “I shouldn't have ever made an issue about it. You've been great to me, and I just didn't want anything to change that.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I understand the conflicting feelings. But nothing will change how I treat you,” I assure her.

“I believe that now,” she says.

Now I get teary, but I start to laugh. She smiles while I dab my face.

“Sorry. I'm emotional and just really relieved,” I tell her.

“So, are you guys gonna get married too?” Gracie asks.

Audrey elbows her. “Gracie!”

“One wedding at a time, how about that?” Henley says, laughing. “I’m just now getting her to Starlight Cafe with me.”

His eyes meet mine and only the two of us know all the places we’ve gone with each other in the confines of his house and mine.

I wouldn’t trade anything for the time we’ve had getting to know each other while we’ve stayed in our little bubble.

But to have the girls’ blessing and to be out and about with Henley…I’m ecstatic about it. Henley and I exchange a derpy grin with each other and Cassidy sighs.

“It’s still weird,” she says, making a face. “But a good weird.”

“How about we do something together the next time you’re at the house? A fishing day or swimming…or both,” Henley says.

“I’d like that,” Audrey says.

“Can we go fishing right now?” Gracie says, doing a little dance.

“How about Monday? You’re spending the day with me then already, right?” Henley says to the girls. “We might as well make a fun day of it.” He looks at me. “What do you say?”

“That works for me.” I nod and look back at the girls.

“Yay,” Gracie says.

“Well, this is fun,” Bree says. “We should go sit down before they get rid of our table. I’m happy for you guys.” She winks. The girls and Alex start walking to the table and she leans in. “It’s about time you ‘fessed up. You’ve been all lit up for months now,” she says to Henley. “Dead giveaway.”

Henley’s laugh is gruff and warms my insides.

“Go eat,” he grumbles.

Bree laughs and walks away.

Henley and I look at each other for a few long seconds, the smiles uncontained.

“Well, we did that,” he says.

“We sure did.”

“You know what this means, right?”

“What?”

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