Page 24 of Yours Until Forever

I glance at the girls. “How about you two go and work on this some more while we clean up?”

They don’t hesitate, and a second later, Luna is pulling Sarah by the hand while exclaiming, “We need to write scripts!” The last thing we hear is Sarah saying, “No, we need to learn more about forecasting before that.”

Amelia laughs once they’ve disappeared, and as I carry the plates into the kitchen, she says, “Luna is so you.”

“How so?”

“She’s take charge. Confident in herself, in her place in the world. And so damn smart.” She reaches for the plates to beginfilling the dishwasher, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she adds, “That flair for the dramatics though? That has to be Shayla. I can’t imagine you ever being dramatic.”

I arch a brow. “What, you don’t think I’ve got a dramatic bone in my body?”

She tilts her head, playing innocent. “Do you?”

“I’ve got a six-year-old composing villain music like she’s Hans Zimmer on a vengeance arc. Where do you think she gets that from?”

Amusement flickers across her face, then shifts, like her brain just flagged something worth a second look. “I’m impressed you know who Hans Zimmer is,” she says, quieter now, the playfulness stripped from her voice.

I pass her a bowl for the dishwasher, keeping my tone casual even though I caught the way her focus shifted to seeing me a little differently. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“Yes,” she confesses. “I’ve realized that.”

Her admission lands low in my gut but I don’t have time to sit with it because Luna barrels back into the kitchen like a one-kid parade. “Dad! We just had thebestidea!” She’s pure electricity. Wide-eyed, breathless, buzzing with excitement.

“Tell me,” I say as Sarah joins us, looking just as excited.

“Well, you know how we’re recording our weather forecast?”

I nod.

“We need badges! And our own news channel name! And youhave todo the video editing like you did for the video we made Uncle Ethan and Aunt Maddie!”

Luna will always be the best thing I’ve ever done. Nothing compares to watching her grow into herself. Confident. Fierce. Unapologetically Luna.

I ruffle her hair. “You’ve got it. We’ll get badges and figure out your news channel name.”

Sarah steps forward, anticipation shining in her eyes. “And you’ll do the video editing, right?”

I meet her gaze with a smile. “Absolutely. And your mom can compose your channel’s opening music.”

“Yes!” Luna says, bouncing now. “This is going to be so good!”

Within seconds, Luna’s dragging Sarah back to the bedroom, already plotting their next move.

“Do you always just volunteer people for things?” Amelia asks once we’re alone. There’s no annoyance in her tone, but still, I can see she wishes I wouldn’t do that.

“Fuck, sorry. I got caught up in the girls’ enthusiasm.” I want to kick my own ass now for adding another thing to her plate. “I’ll find someone else to help?—”

“No,” she says, placing her hand on my arm, stopping me. “It’s okay. I’ll do it. Just, please”—her voice trails off, but everything she’s trying to say is right there in her eyes—“I’m busy.”

“I hear you. I’ll ask you before just assuming you have time for something, or that you’d even want to do it.”

“Thank you.”

The thread of quiet surprise I hear in her voice, along with the way she stumbled over voicing her request make me wonder how often she feels like people consider her.

While I’m contemplating that, she reaches for the dishcloth and eyes me, her playfulness sparking again. “It’s no wonder your company is so successful. You probably boss everyone into brilliance by noon.”

My gaze locks onto hers with an intensity I can’t dial back. Not when she’s meeting me with this much fire. “You haven’t seen my bossiness, Amelia.”

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