Page 27 of Promises & Pumpkins
“You and me.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath when he ran his fingers through my hair. “The three of us.”
When I opened my eyes, his were staring deep into mine. “Yeah, troublemaker. Is that okay with you?”
“I don’t know. I’m not really the dating type.” I giggled when my words sounded breathless, and Miles chortled.
“Well that’s too bad because we definitely can’t be just friends.” He kissed me again before breaking into a grin. “Not anymore. You’re mine now.Ours.”
Epilogue
Harper
One Year Later
“Wake up! Wakeup!”Maddie jumped into our bed, climbing between Miles and me. “Don’t you know what day it is?” How could we forget? She had been talking about Halloween since the first leaf fell from the tree.
She squealed when Miles grabbed her, pulling her down so she couldn’t jump up and down anymore. “I thought we talked about you knocking before you barge into our room,” he said when she finally stopped writhing and sat still.
“We did.” She shrugged. “We also said you wouldn’t sleep inso late.”She dragged out the words, throwing her head back so her curls splayed over the pillow.
I sat up, reaching over and tickling her exposed side. Maddie shrieked and giggled, thrashing to get away from Miles. “If we promise to get up right now, will you go out to the kitchen and start deciding what we should have for breakfast?” Maddie looked at me like she was considering my offer. Then she looked at Miles and back to me, shrugging and sliding off the bed.
“Okay, fine. But hurry up!” she demanded while she skipped out of the room. “It’s Halloween, and we havea lotto do today!Remember?” She emphasized each syllable, trying and failing to wink.
I laughed when she walked purposefully out of the room with her finger in the air. Miles chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me against him. “She loves you, you know,” he said before he pressed his lips to my shoulder.
“I do know.” She was adamant about telling me she loved me every chance she could—in the mornings, on the way to school, at dance class, anytime she got lost in thought and looked over at me. And every time she did, it made my heart melt a little more. How had I ever been so convinced that I didn’t want kids? I couldn’t imagine a life without Maddie now, and I definitely couldn’t imagine it without Miles. “I think her dad loves me too.” I giggled.
Miles squeezed me to him harder, nibbling at the soft spot on my neck just below my ear. I whimpered, moaning when he bit my earlobe and goosebumps grew on my skin. “You have no idea,” he said, running his tongue along my jawline. “Hehappens to love you very much.” Miles grabbed my chin, turning me so I was facing him.
“Well good because I happen to love him very much too.” I framed his face with my hands, kissing him gently. Then I threw one of my legs over his lap, straddling him and rocking my hips. He groaned, pulling me in to capture my lips with his again.
“Daddy! Harper!” Maddie yelled. I heard a small but eager pitter patter, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before she was running through the bedroom door again. “Comeon!”
I exhaled, half-sighing and half-giggling. “We should go,” I said when he kissed my forehead, holding his lips there while he took a deep breath. He did that when he wanted to pause the moment. “She’s going to be back any minute.”
Miles chuckled, letting go so I could roll off of him and out of bed. “Okay fine,” he reluctantly agreed, standing up and fixing his shirt. “I’ll go.”
He lingered in the doorway, watching me dig through the closet until I stopped. “What’s wrong?” I asked, holding my hand on the hanger that held my favorite stolen-from-him sweatshirt. Judging by the way he chewed his lip, the only thing wrong was that he couldn’t drag me back into our bed.
“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “I just like looking at you. I’ll see you out there.”
When he walked away, I pulled the sweatshirt over my head. He hadn’t worn it in months, not since I moved in, but it smelled like him and felt like home. Anywhere he was felt like home. I pulled the blankets up, making the bed and fixing the throw pillows he had insisted we didn’t need but got anyway.
As soon as I opened the bedroom door, I heard Maddie gasp. “She’s coming!” she whisper-yelled, earning a low chuckle from Miles. Her steps were quick and frantic, like she was running back and forth, but when I turned the corner, she came to acomplete halt. “She’s here!” she shouted to get Miles’ attention, even though he was standing just behind her.
“I am,” I said, hugging her when she wrapped her arms around my hips and squeezed as hard as she could. “What are you two doing?” I put my hands on my hips, looking suspicious when I realized there was no breakfast sitting on the counter. Most mornings, Maddie had a box of cereal ready to go before we climbed out of bed.
“Will you marry us?” Maddie shrieked, jumping up and down. I narrowed my eyes, stopping my jaw from hitting the ground and looking at Miles.
“What?” I asked, my confused stare bouncing between the two of them.
He shrugged. “I had planned to say something a bit more romantic,” he said. Then he pulled a small, velvet box out of the silverware drawer in front of him, and I gasped.
“Oh my god.” Was he serious?
Miles stepped from around the counter, dropping down onto one knee in front of me. He wrapped his arm around Maddie, pulling her against his side, and then he took my hand. Maddie was grinning so wide we could count all four of the teeth she was missing, and she couldn’t stop bouncing next to us. “Harper, I didn’t know if I’d ever find someone else that made me feel safe and wild at the same time—someone that made us both so unbelievably happy. I certainly didn’t think I’d meet her trying to stop her from breaking into the house next door.”
I giggled, and Maddie let out a semi-forced and too-excited-to-contain-it laugh like she was in on the joke. She reached out for my other hand, and I took it. “I knew the first time we touched that you were different, though, and that you were going to change my life. Our lives.”
