Page 16 of Stolen Kisses

“You never told me you were living in a McMansion,” I whisper in my friend’s ear.

“Oh, stop it! It’s big, but I think we’ve made it pretty homey inside.” She pulls away from me, ruffling Austin’s hair. “Hey, Austin.”

“Hello, Ms. Summer.” Austin greets his teacher with a huge smile on his face.

She lowers her voice, speaking quietly to my big boy. “Hey, Lachlan.”

Lachlan works hard to look at Kate’s face as he gives a small wave. “Hello, Ms. Summer. How are you?”

“I’m great, thank you for asking. Thanks for coming to my party.”

“I didn’t have a choice. Mommy decided for all of us.”

Kate’s eyes widen and her mouth presses into a tight line as she tries to hold back her laughter. “Well, I’m so glad you came.”

“That’s good,” he responds.

More guests arrive, so I take that as our cue to leave Kate and Oliver to greet their friends. Stepping inside, Margie meets us in the foyer as my jaw drops to the timber floor. “Margie, this house is gorgeous.”

“I know. Kate and Oliver have done a wonderful job to make it so homely.” She pulls me into a tight hug. I haven’t seen her since Oliver carried Kate out of the café on that fateful day. I’m so happy he didn’t let her insecurities get in the way of theirhappy ever after. “You should see my place out the back. I can’t believe they invited me to come live with them.”

“I’m not surprised. Kate thinks the world of you. There was no way they would have left you behind.” I reassure her.

“I’m so touched. I was only her neighbor, you know.”

“You were neveronlyher neighbor, Margie. You’re one of her closest friends. She loves you to pieces. They both do.” I squeeze her in a side hug.

We wander out to the back deck and the back garden is as spectacular as the rest of the home. It looks across the river to the city on the other side. Margie shows us the space which Kate has made available for Lachlan if he feels he needs a quiet place to go. He gives us a serious nod in acknowledgment. I’m not sure he’ll need thespace,he’s becoming better at self-management the older he gets. He’s able to read his body signals when he’s had enough and quietlystepsaway to recalibrate himself. That’s not to say he doesn’t have his moments, because he certainly does.

A young, fair-haired guy, who could easily be a model, steps out onto the back deck, collecting a drink as he nods to me with a friendly smile. Kate’s brother, Toby—did I mention—Toby Summer’s here! He’s so freaking good-looking and a nice guy to boot. If he wasn’t a decade younger than me, I would consider jumping on that. Anyway, where was I? Yeah, that’s right, Toby steps up onto the back deck and greets the young guy as though they’re old friends. Together, the two of them could make women’s panties disintegrate instantly. Two older couples step out onto the back deck, chatting animatedly among themselves, closely followed by half a dozen kids dressed in their swimwear. A giant of a man follows them closely, running his hand through his hair as he surveys the kids—this must be Roman. Kate and Oliver finally step out onto the back deck and Kate’s smile is the biggest I’ve ever seen. I’m so freaking happy for my friend that she’s found the love of her life.

“Emma, come meet Roman and the kids.” She grabs my arm, dragging me forward. My boys diligently follow me over to the pool. Austin’s been itching to go in from the instant he saw the swimming pool, but I told him he had to wait until everyone arrived. “Roman, this is Emma and her boys, Lachlan and Austin.” She gestures to each of the boys in turn.

He reaches his hand forward, so I take it as we say hello. Kate’s eyes ping pong between us, waiting for cupid’s arrow to hit its target. She’s made it pretty obvious that she thinks we would be a good match. But when Ishakehis hand, there’snothing. Less than nothing. No spark, no interest. Sure, he’s a great-looking guy, looks fit for his age, but he doesn’t get my heart hammering like my new neighbor does. He steps away to deal with his charges and Austin takes the opportunity to remind me that he’s still waiting to get into the pool.

While Austin plays in the pool with most of the other kids, splashing about and having a great time, Lachlan seems to have made a friend of his own as they sit side-by-side on a lounge chair far enough away from the action that they won’t get wet. As is the norm for Lachlan, he doesn’t make eye contact with his new friend, which most kids find a little disconcerting, but Evelyn (if I remember correctly) seems to be okay with this quirk. I spend my time watching the kids in the pool and catching up with Margie, enjoying the warm spring sunshine on my skin along with the delicious food Kate organized for the afternoon.

As the afternoon wears on, shadows grow longer across the backyard.Roman gathers the kids out of the pool to dry off—and I can tell they’re incredibly excited about something. Austin begrudgingly gets out of the pool. “It’s no fun without friends.” Hepoutshis blue lips. It’s probably a good thing he got out.

“I know.” I wipe him down with his towel then wrap it around his body.

Oliver calls everyone’s attention to the back deck, so we gather around to listen to whatever he needs to say. From what Kate’s told me, he’s an extremely successful businessman, but the man I see up on the deck is as nervous as anything. He wraps his arm around her shoulder, placing an incredibly sweet kiss on the top of Kate’s head. It’s very clear to everyone here, how much he adores her. He thanks us all for coming as he holds Kate impossibly close.

Sigh, I would love to have that. To have someone who loves and adores me as much as Oliver loves my friend.

The kids all move forward with poster boards and I gasp at what I read! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m here to witness this. Looking back at my friend, I see the moment the words register for her. Oliver’s down on one knee with his heart in his eyes and hope heavy on his shoulders. There’s no way she’ll say no. My chest feels tight as myheart ratepicks up speed in excitement for my friend—she’s nodding, as her lips spread wide. Iblow outthe breath I was holding in anticipation of her answer, smiling for my friend.

“What’s happening, Mommy?” Lachlan steps up beside me.

“Oliver just asked Ms. Summer to be his wife and she said ‘yes’.”

Kate drops to her knees and they share a sacred moment as they seal their promise with a heated kiss. Watching their explicit display of affection, I feel my cheeks warm. Geez, no wonder she’s always got a smile on her face.

“Why are they kissing in front of everyone? That’s gross. Do they know how many germs are in a person’s mouth?” I giggle internally. Trust Lachlan to know something like that.

“They’re kissing because they love each other and they don’t mind sharing each other’s germs.”

“Well, it’s disgusting. I’m never going to share mouth germs with anyone.” He wanders away in disgust. I hope he shares mouth germs with someone special when he grows up. I want him to experience that all-encompassing love that’s supposed to exist.

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