Page 40 of Attached At Heart
“The puzzle was a picture of a tulip field,” I continued. “There’s one lone windmill surrounded by thousands of tulips in all different colors. One time, she asked me if I could ever imagine seeing that many rows of tulips in real life. I didn’t have an answer at the time, but things are different now. And it just so happens that the tulips are in bloom this time of year. It’s just getting to the end of the season, but I think we can still get there in time.”
Delaney stared at me. And then she started to shake her head, in denial of everything I’d just said. The room was quiet, the silence eating us alive, until Natalie broke it.
“Shut up, that’s so cute.”
Still, I didn’t look away from Delaney.
Not until my sister gasped, yanking my attention away.
“Oh, and thering,” she crooned, leaning forward to get a better look at Delaney’s hand, the one that wasn’t in my grasp, from across the table. “Blake?—”
“One thing at a time, Nat,” I laughed. Nervously, hoping my interjection would distract Natalie from bringing the ring up again. “So, what do you say?” I asked Delaney, even though there was really only one thing she could say right now, considering the circumstances. There would be a car conversation later, Iwas sure. But I couldn’t help but hang on to her response all the same.
“Blake,” she said breathlessly, a smile creeping onto her face to mix with slight exasperation. She couldn’t believe what I was spinning this into, and I could also tell that her speechlessness wasn’t fake. And I was maybe enjoying that a little too much. “Yes.”
I squeezed her hand in response, and all she could do was shake her head with a growing grin.
This was the third time I’d gotten a yes out of Delaney Delacroix since she’d moved to Boston.
Marriage. Moving in. Honeymoon.
And I knew they all had asterisks next to them, but at the moment…frankly, I didn’t care.
I followed Natalie into the kitchen after dinner, even though I knew she would argue with me about doing the dishes. But she’d already done enough as a hostess tonight, and my sister was tired. I could see it in her face, and while I might not be able to fix all her problems, I could clean her kitchen.
“Thanks for dinner, Nat,” I said as I plucked the empty salad bowl out of her hands and took it to the sink. “I’ve got it from here.”
“Oh, Blake.” She sighed, her eyes rolling up. “Thank you, but you know better than to leave Delaney at the hands of our siblings. Go back out there with her.”
“She’s not with our siblings,” I said pragmatically. “She’s with Gemma, Chloe, and Delilah in the living room.”
Natalie nodded her head from side to side, satisfied with that answer and coming to the conclusion that Delaney would, in fact, be okay given her current company.
“Get yourself a glass of wine and relax, Nat,” I encouraged, and that seemed to be all I needed to say. Natalie grabbed a bottle of pinot off the counter and filled a glass with it, sighing heavily for the second time.
“Thank you.” The words were muttered into a wineglass, and I chuckled before starting to load the dishwasher.
“That asshole still causing you problems?” I ventured lightly, not sure if she’d want to talk about her ex-husband right now. But I also knew that Natalie didn’t have a whole lot of people to talk to. She didn’t slow down enough to talk, not unless it was carefully scheduled into her life. So maybe now was the perfect time.
She nodded, glancing at Noah as he walked by her carrying a load of dirty plates. “He’s filing for more custody of Chloe, and I need a new lawyer.”
“Why?”
“My previous divorce lawyer is no longer practicing.”
“I could just kick that asshole’s ass,” Noah muttered beneath his breath as he lowered the plates into the sink.
I nodded, on board with this plan. “Noah and I could show up at his office. Have a nice little chat.”
“Don’tdo that,” Natalie said pointedly, glaring at the both of us above the rim of her wine glass.
Noah’s shoulders slumped, relenting because we both knew Chloe was what was at stake here.
“Fine, then at least let me find you a lawyer. I think Julian and Juniper are visiting Juni’s sister in New York this week, but when they get back, I can get you in touch with them.”
Natalie frowned. “Thanks, but I’m not sure I can wait a week before at least getting the process started and having contact with someone about it.”
Noah slipped his phone out of his pocket. “Then I’ll ask them if they know anyone else who can help.”
