Page 76 of Living for Truth
“Ah, playboy. You know ‘playboy reformed’ is one of my favorite romance tropes. I think I can fix him.”
“You don’t even know what he looks like!”
“I know Morgan is hot and Kendall is an athlete. There’s no way he’s not attractive. Come on, Hannah! We can be sisters-in-law!”
I shake my head. “No way! I don’t want to be responsible for your heartbreak. If you guys meet and hit it off, fine, but I will not be instigating it.”
Sage rubs her hands together like an evil villain. “I shall make him mine!”
God, she’s weird.
The rest of the day flies by after that, and when I get off of work, I head over to Morgan’s house for dinner.
Has he talked to Aly already? Am I spending the night?
I pack an overnight bag to leave in my car, just in case.
Chapter 35
Morgan
Iwanted to talk to Aly alone about Hannah staying over, but then I reconsidered. If Hannah is going to be a big part of our lives, then I think it’s a conversation the three of us need to have together.
I asked Aly if I could invite Hannah over for dinner to talk about something important, and she gave me an enthusiastic yes.
Aly and I are in the middle of chopping vegetables when the doorbell rings, signaling Hannah’s arrival.
“I’ll get it!” Aly drops her knife, and it clatters to the counter as she sprints to the door. I fight the urge to follow her to get a glimpse of Hannah.
It’s only been twenty-four hours since I’ve seen her, and that’s already too long.
I hear Aly and Hannah chattering away as they come down the hall, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. They sound happy, though, and it makes my heart soar to hear them getting along.
“...and then Josh K. said I wouldn’t be able to readGoosebumpsbecause it’s too scary and I’m a baby,” Aly huffs.
Josh K. is a kid in Aly’s class who won’t leave her alone. He picks on her for anything he can, and when I tried to talk to her teacher about it, she just brushed it off as “kids being kids” and “boys being boys.” Apparently, Josh just has a crush on Aly, andthat’swhy he’s being mean. But I don’t want Aly to grow up thinking people who are interested in her romantically will be mean to her, so I have never once said that to her.
“It sounds like he might be speaking from experience. Maybe those books were just too scary for him. Do you want to read them?” Hannah asks.
Aly wrinkles her nose. “Not really. I like to read about princesses and mysteries. Not scary things like that.”
“Magic Treehouseis a good series. Have you read those yet?”
“I read those last year. I liked them! I’ve also readJunie B. Jones.” “Read” is an understatement. More like devoured. There are fourteenMagic Treehousebooks and twenty-eightJunie B. Jonesbooks. She read all of them so fast, and she’s been struggling to find other books she likes as much.
“Oooh,Junieis a classic. If you like those books you could tryJudy MoodyorRamona and Beezus.If you want more mysteries,The Boxcar Childrenis a good one orThe Secret of the Hidden Scrolls.If you want mysteries and princesses,The Rescue Princessesis really good, too,” Hannah says, still focused on Aly, even though they’re in the kitchen now, and she could have easily switched her attention to me. The fact she’s giving Aly her undividedattention makes my heart soar, and I have to stop myself from dropping to my knee and proposing right now.
“That sounds like a long list. Can you write it down for me?” Aly asks, heading to the junk drawer for a pen and paper.
“What if you come to the library sometime and I help you pick them out? That way you can see them and read the descriptions before you decide.”
Aly looks at me. “Can we go this Saturday, Dad?”
“Sure, Bub. If it’s okay with Hannah.”
Aly looks at Hannah in anticipation. “Of course it’s okay. I don’t work Saturday, but I’m more than happy to meet you there.”
“What if we made a fun day out of it?” I suggest. “We can go to the library, pick out books, grab lunch, and then come home and have a read-a-thon.”
