Page 118 of War

She tries to blink away the tears, but I don’t miss them.

I stroke beneath her eye, catching each one as it crests her lashes. “I love you. I’m always going to love you. And I’m always going to want to know you. So when you’re ready to share whatever is going on in that pretty head of yours, I’m right here.”

She blinks like she can’t believe I’ve finally said it. I can’t really either. Only because it feels like I’ve been saying it over and over again to her since the day we met. Telling Ava I love her is as easy as breathing.

“I love you,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to her lips. “I love you.” A kiss to her chin. She lifts her neck, and I run my teeth against her jaw, then nip her neck. “I love you.” She falls backward, her legs falling open for me, her hips lifting, searching for comfort. I glide my hand down her hip and then press my thumb to her clit, rolling it once. She bucks up against it and moans. “I love you,” I tell her over and over as I begin to fuck her with my fingers and then my tongue. Only after she’s come twice do I sink inside her, kissing her slowly as I make love to her, promising that I’m her safe space. That I’ll always be her safe space. And as I come apart inside her, I whisper into her mouth that I’ll always love her. No pinky promises needed. She finally knows I’m a man of my word.

FORTY-FIVE

AVA

“What arethe chances that you’re pregnant?” Tyler rasps in my ear as I’m swallowing yet another bite of Josie’s churro.

I glare at him. “Shut it.”

Chuckling, he holds up his hands. “That’s your third dessert. And don’t be mad at me. I’d be ecstatic if you were.”

We’ve spent four days in this perfect little bubble, but tonight is the last night of our vacation. While traversing Disney has been exhausting, I have loved every second of it.

“Don’t you want the honeymoon phase of our marriage first?”

With a squeeze of my hip, he presses a kiss to my neck. “We already have three kids.”

I eye Josie, who’s skipping a few feet in front of us. I swear the girl has skipped everywhere since we arrived. She’s wearing an Elsa dress while Scarlett, who’s still staring in wide-eyed wonder at the sights from Brayden’s arms, is dressed like Princess Anna.

“Have you heard anything?”

We have a status conference with the judge in two days, and as hard as I’ve tried to steer my thoughts away from it, now that vacation is coming to an end, it’s all I can think about.

Tyler sighs. “No. Madi says that not much will happen at this hearing. It’s the one in April we’ve got to worry about.”

My heart lurches. “You think we should worry?”

Tyler squeezes my hip again. “No, I mean that the hearing in April is the important one. That’s when they’ll declare her ours.”

“Don’t jinx it,” I mutter, a ball of dread sinking in my stomach.

“I’m not jinxing it. I’m being practical. Josie is happy. Both of her siblings are ours. She has the best mom anyone could ask for. Why the hell would they take her from us?”

There’s no stopping the smile that pulls at my lips when he calls me her mother. It’s all I’ve wanted since the moment I met her.

“Can we watch the fireworks?” Josie asks, clumsily skipping backward now and peering back at us.

Because there isn’t a thing my husband wouldn’t do for her, he rushes her and scoops her up. Then, balancing her on his shoulder, he turns and heads for Cinderella’s castle, where the crowd is probably already gathering.

Beckett: Hope you had the best time in Disney with the kids. Wanted to let you know the event raised double what we did last year. We’re going to match it, and the wing at the children’s hospital will be fully funded.

Tears fill my eyes as I reread the text from Beckett. Just as I was preparing to power my phone off for the flight home, the message notification appeared.

Beckett: We’re going to have a ceremony when it opens. You should invite your parents. The movie theater will be named after your sister, and the entire wing will be called Josie’s Corner.

With a shaky hand, I cover my mouth.Thisis why Beckett is my favorite Langfield.

While Tyler is busy trying to convince Scarlett to sit still in her seat, I take a deep breath and text my sister.

Me: I’m sorry I haven’t texted in a while. Things have been so good, though. I’m really happy. Just like you said I would be. Tyler wants to meet our family. But I don’t know how to come home again. I don’t know how to face everything. I feel like I’m getting everything I ever wanted. Everything we ever wanted. But I also feel like my happiness is a betrayal to you. And I don’t know how Mom will handle me being this happy. I wish you were here.

When the dots start to dance, my heart rate picks up. It’s been years since I’ve gotten a response from her.

---