Page 201 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Perry is running across the parking lot. Not driving.Running.
What on earth? My heart lifts at the sight of him, but then I remember our conversation the other night, and uncertainty fills me all over again.
If he wanted to be here, why didn’t he come on time? Did he show up late to give me athanks, but no thanks?Then again, heisrunning. Maybe something happened to his truck, and that explains why he’s so late?
He stops a few feet away from me and drops his hands onto his knees, his breathing labored. “I’m here,” he manages between breaths. “I’m so sorry I’m late, but I’m here.”
He’s here. Peace settles over my heart.He’s here.
“Um, did you run the whole way?”
He stands fully upright and holds up a finger, like he’s really struggling to catch his breath. I turn back to my car and pull out one of the extra water bottles left over from the last time I had to bring snacks to one of Jack’s games. I take a few steps forward and offer it to him. It’s mid-November, so the temperatures arein the upper fifties, but he’s stripped down to his t-shirt and sweating like he just ran a half-marathon.
Perry grabs the bottle, twisting it open and draining it in a matter of seconds.
“Better?” I say, reaching for the empty bottle.
He nods. “There were cabbages all over the interstate,” he says. “So I had Brody come pick me up, and we drove up 176 to get here, but there was a parade happening in Flat Rock and then an accident that stopped traffic, so I just got out and ran.”
Oh, my heart. “How many miles?”
He glances at his phone. “Four-ish? I think? I tried to call you.”
“I left my phone in my car.”
His expression shifts. “So you thought I wasn’t coming?”
Tears well in my eyes, and I look away. He’s here now. That’s all that matters.
“Lila, I love you.” He takes a step forward. “I’m so sorry I put you through all this. That I freaked out. You were right about what you said. About me wanting to do it perfectly. But then I realized the thought of walking away from you—and from Jack—it hurt too much. Somehow that kid has worked his way into my heart almost as much as you have.”
The words feel too good to be true.
“I don’t really know how to be a dad,” Perry continues. “And I can’t promise I won’t screw up. In fact, I should probably promise that Iwillscrew it up. But I promise I’ll do my best. I won’t ever stop trying to be my best for you. And for Jack, too.”
I launch myself into his arms, not even caring that he’s sweat-damp and smelly. My lips find his as I cradle his face, and he tugs me closer, his hands pressed against my lower back. We kiss until a cheer erupts beside us, and we break apart to see Brody, Kate, Lennox, and Olivia hanging out of the windows of Brody’s SUV as they cheer and clap.
“Somehow, it feels very appropriate that your family is a part of this moment,” I say.
Perry chuckles. “They’ll be a part of everything if we let them. Soccer games. School plays. Birthdays. Random holidays no one really celebrates.”
I snuggle a little closer. “As long as we can close the door on our wedding night, I’m in.”
“Our wedding night, huh?”
“Oh, come on. You just talked about being Jack’s dad. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
“I thought about it that first day. When Jack asked if I could be his stairdad, something tugged in my heart. Like a part of me already sensed that’s where we were headed.”
“How poetic. You were seeing our future while I wanted to crawl under my car and disappear. I was so embarrassed.”
Perry grins, so different from the grumpy, frowning man I first started working for. “I was enchanted,” he says softly. “Still am.”
I kiss him again—because honestly, after that line, how can I not?—not stopping until Jack is out of the car and tugging on our hands. Perry drops down and scoops him up so he’s resting in the circle of our arms.
“Hey, Perry,” Jack says like it’s perfectly normal he’s here with us, holding us like we’re his family.
“Hey, kiddo,” Perry says simply.
