Page 89 of Laugh

“You’re going to emasculate me.”

“Oh, absolutely. I love you for letting me.” Standing up on her toes, I ignore the dog wiggling between us when she presses her lips against mine. “Truly. Thank you so much. I love him already and I promise I’ll take such good care of him. I can tell he’s already a perfect good boy. Aren’t you, Barkus?”

She directs the last question to… Barkus, and it’s like the damn thing already recognizes his name.

We spend all afternoon getting to know our new family member. We haven’t done anything except play with him on the floor, take him for a quick walk to show him the backyard where his new toilet is, then we showed him where the kennel will be set up. For now, we decided to keep him in one of the guest bedrooms that’s right next to ours.

Haddie suggested a baby monitor, but I promised her she’ll hear him just fine. Dogs arenotquiet when they want your attention, and this little guy is extra yippy. As the sky begins to darken, bringing the night quicker than we realize, the three of us are lying on the floor in the living room with Barkus knocked out between our bodies.

Haddie has her head on a pillow, just watching me while I study her. She’s unbelievably beautiful and my heart thumps hard once as I feel content knowing that this woman is going to be with me forever. I know it in my soul.

She breaks the silence first.

“I love you with all my butt.” It comes out so sweet and filled with love but has that special little Happy touch to it.

“Because your butt is bigger than your heart?” I ask her, knowing exactly what she’s trying to say.

Her eyes light up. “Yes! You’ve heard… wait, did you just tell me I have a fat ass?”

I can’t stop my eyes from rolling at her question. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. It’s not a common saying. ‘I love you with all my butt because it’s bigger than my heart’. You’ve seriously heard that?” She actually looks pissed at me for disrupting her proclamation of love.

I scowl at her. I’m not completely disconnected from the world. No matter how much time I spent completely focused on sports and school, under my dad’s thumb and heavy guidance, I wasn’t disconnected.

It still blows my mind how much he’s changed since Haddie put him in his place. We actually had a very long, uncomfortable talk a few days later where I was able to express to him how I’ve always felt like I’ve been nothing but a disappointment for him. It horrified him that I felt that way and he actually got choked up, like he failed me as a father. Our discussion got heated at one point, but Rosemary Hudson was quick to rein us in with a smack to the back of our heads.

I realize my mind ran off when I find I’m still scowling at her.

“Alright,” she breathes out. “Apparently, you’ve heard it. Thanks for ruining my declaration of love here.”

Carefully leaning over the sleeping dog, I deliver a soft, but brief, kiss. “Sorry. Feel free to try again.”

Her eyes find the puppy to make sure I didn’t wake him up, and she smirks. “It’s kind of funny. He evensnoreslike Marcus did. I bet if I told him that, he’d put his nose up at me and walk away with a snooty little strut and his tail straight up. He’s going to be sassy, don’t you think?”

My laugh rumbles out of me, and I have to bite my cheek from laughing louder when I notice myself trying to stay quiet so not to wake the dog.

“You got yourself distracted. You were professing your undying love for me.” I tap her nose and grin when she crosses her eyes, trying to follow my finger. I want to rub the skin across the bridge when she wrinkles it after I touch her.

Then her face smooths out, and she relaxes against the pillow once again. “I apologize for getting distracted. I wastryingto tell you I love you more than MacGyver loves duct tape.”

I’ve been ready for the next one, and I’m determined to stick to football topics while still keeping it diverse. With exaggeration, I clear my throat and pretend to prepare myself for something great. “I love you more than coaches love sprints.”

Haddie covers her mouth, keeping the giggle from coming out. “So… wow, that must mean you love me a lot? Does that mean you’re going to give me pretend food now so you can mount me from behind?”

I can’t do anything but groan internally and shake my head at her. I literallyjustread her rough draft for ‘Cock-A-Doodle-Doo’. “I… I just… fuck, Happy. Your head is all over the place and I’m not sure if I should be worried or proud of the fact that I know where you’re coming from?”

A slow, radiant smile stretches across her face from where she’s watching me as she lays on the floor, snuggling the dog. “Proud. Definitely proud. Never be worried about the two of us. Well… three of us. Isn’t that right, Barkus? Who’s my good boy?”

When she speaks his name, instantly his head pops up with a quick look around. It’s like his battery just finished charging and he’s ready to go. He shoves his body right into her chest, forcing her to roll on her back with laughter as he attacks her face with more licks.

I scowl at the thing, grumbling, “I shouldn’t have given you that damn dog.”

Haddie fights against his attack in an attempt to cover his ears before glaring at me. “Beau! Howcouldyou? Dogs understand more than you know. You don’t want him to feel unwelcome in his own home, right?”

“I feel like this whole conversation has completely gone off track faster than I was ready for.” Completely derailed by the gift Ithoughtwas a good idea. I really fucking hope I don’t regret giving him to her. I’ll just need to remind myself to look at her face when she’s with him and remember her reaction when she saw him for the very first time.

“Gotta keep up or you’ll be left behind,” she teases me with a wink.

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