Page 79 of Take 2
I nod, and my foot catches on something, sending me tripping forward. Preston pulls my hand back and leans in to catch my waist with his free one. “You really have a difficult time staying on two feet lately.”
“Last time was entirely different,” I say, straightening myself up.
“Good thing you have food in you this time.”
I tuck in under his arm and breathe him in as we continue on. “Good thing you keep being close enough to catch me.”
“All bets are off on non-girlfriend days.”
“Oh really? You’d just let me smash my face on cement?”
“Not on purpose. But your hand may not have been in mine.”
“This is blackmail.”
He chuckles. “Are you that unsure of your ability to not fall down?”
“This trip has shown me that I shouldn’t be particularly confident in any of my abilities.” My ability to shut down Preston has been blown. And it is blown yet again in the morning when he asks me to be his girlfriend, and I say yes.
Chapter Thirty
Three Years Ago
“IwishIwasthere!”Morgan pouts on my iPad screen.
“We wish we were there to squeeze those cheeks!” Cece’s squishy baby voice is almost as precious as our sweet little niece in Morgan’s arms.
“The squishy cheeks are nothing compared to the addictive baby smell.”She takes a whiff of Mia’s head and sighs.
“How long does the new baby smell last?” I ask. “Will I still get it in October?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t give her any baths until then, just in case.”
Stephen makes a disapproving sound. “That’s disgusting.”
“Not like Mia is going to be working out,” Cece says.
Morgan lets out a sarcastic huff of a laugh. “Oh, tummy time is intense.”
“I saw that video,” I say. “She looked miserable. Stop making her do that.”
“She has to.”
“Auntie Cece will come protect you, baby girl.”
Morgan rolls her eyes. “Please do come visit, but you can’t cancel tummy time. Anyway, I’ve gotta go. Unless you want to see me whip a boob out here.”
“We absolutely do,” I say.
She laughs. “Have so much fun. Photoshop me into a group picture, please.”
“Will do. Love you!” I blow her a kiss, and everyone calls their goodbyes out. “Pictures before we forget!”
All possible combinations of group pictures are taken andagainJames makes fun of me for having an assistant to post stuff for me. “I literally don’t have the app on my phone anymore.”
“Diva,” he mutters, and passes out champagne glasses. “How much of a train wreck is this no-host thing going to be?”
