Page 137 of Play Pretend

One thing at a time.

I clung to him, my fingers tangling in the short hair at the nape of his neck. An excited laugh bubbled up my throat, and he pulled away, smoothing my hair from my face.

“You’re sure you can handle living with me?” he asked, his eyes flicking between mine. “I’m not easy to live with.” A shyness I didn't understand filled his face, pink tinging the tips of his ears. “Some days are worse than others…with my OCD, I mean.”

“I’ll be here,” I murmured. “I can try to help you.”

“On nights where it was really bad, I’d do some house project and drive you nuts with my power tools,” he explained, and my eyes widened. “But I’ll figure out another way to deal?—”

“You said you weren’t using power tools!” I gently tapped his chest. “I thought I was losing my mind!”

He laughed again, his eyes twinkling. “You’re sure you can put up with all that?”

“I’ve already been putting up with it.” I rolled my eyes teasingly.

“Yeah, but now it’s official.” His lips twitched again, like he was trying to hide his smile. “And permanent.”

Permanent.

The word settled through me—it was terrifying and exciting all at once.

We grinned at each other, our faces just inches apart. A tinymeowbroke us apart, and we turned to find Sailor finally on the couch. He stared at us with wide expectant eyes, his tail flicking back and forth.

“Should I call you his cat dad?” I blurted. Ronan paused, then busted out in a fit of laughter.

“Sounds good.” He wiped his eyes. “Are you his cat mom?”

“Of course. And he’s our cat son.”

He kissed the top of my head. “That makes three of us,” he murmured against my hair.

I paused. Three of us—a family.

It settled in my chest, warm and certain. I’d never felt more sure of anything in my life. It was perfect—he was perfect.

His hands slid to my shoulders, and I turned my head, pressing a kiss to his hand. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t second-guessing if I was wanted, if his feelings were true. I wasn’t waiting for a blowup, or to navigate snide comments.

For the first time in a long time, I felt comfortable. I felt safe. I feltwanted. Loved.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was finally home.

I sank into that feeling, into him. Warmth seeped into my chest and spread throughout my body as I watched Sailor. He darted back and forth on the couch, jumping from cushion to cushion.

Everything felt right. It felt perfect.

And then a sharpringsliced through the air. I froze. I felt Ronan stiffen.

I glanced over my shoulder at him, and his chest expanded with his breath. His chin dipped in a slight nod, and I turned to grab my purse from the coffee table. My hands trembled as I pulled my phone out, my heart lurching into my throat at my dad’s name on the screen.

It took me two tries before I could answer, and I put the phone on speaker, letting Ronan hold it.

“Hello?” I said, forcing my voice to come out calm and not shaky.

Dad roughly cleared his throat. “Hey, how—how are you today?”

It felt even more awkward than usual.

“We’re good,” Ronan said before I had a chance to say anything. Tense silence filled the air, and I heard someone whisper something in the back. I clenched my hands into tight fists, feeling them shake uncontrollably. “What’s up?”

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