Page 87 of Forever Flames: Padraig & Stevie
As always, the moment we step into my parents’ house, warmth wraps around me. Dad’s voice booms from the living room. Joni’s laughter follows. The smell of Mom’s marinara sauce fills every corner. This house hasn’t changed since we moved in when I was Isla’s age. It’s the heart of our family.
Dinner is loud, comforting, and chaotic in the best way. Jude bounces happily on Coop’s lap while Isla tells my mom about her upcoming horse camp. Joni teases Ziggy across the table. Dad presides over the entire affair by telling age-inappropriate jokes in front of his grandkids and getting chastised by both me and Mom.
Cooper fits seamlessly into the conversation, laughing at Dad’s witticisms and nodding along when Ziggy goes off on a tangent about his latest social media project. Watching him now, it’s hard to remember the overwhelming worry I felt about how my family would react when I got pregnant and married so soon after my breakup with Padraig.
The entire Mcloughlin family has been interconnected with my family from the time we moved in. Holiday dinners,birthdays, late-night card games at this very table, to the two of us christening every room in each other’s houses when we started having sex. My mom used to be a shoulder he could rely on when things were bad at home with his parents.
Our families are permanently enmeshed, even if he and I aren’t anymore.
Cooper isn’t some stand-in for the boy who came before. Mom asks his opinion on the new landscaping like he’s been part of things forever. Joni teases him the same way she teases Ziggy. Dad treats him like a son.
My husband is not only accepted, he’s beloved for how he treats me and our children. The life we’ve built is real. Not some fantasy.
Everything feels easy between us.
After dinner, I’m bent over the changing table in the guest room, singing softly to keep Jude distracted as I wrestle him out of his onesie. He kicks happily, grabbing at the pack of wipes.
“Hang on, buddy. Almost done.” I expertly wipe my fingers on the sheet to avoid getting diaper cream on my shirt.
There’s a light knock on the door before Mom peeks her head in, dish towel in hand.
“Sweetheart,” she starts carefully. “I invited the McGloughlins over for cake tonight. Maureen texted me a little while ago. Padraig’s home and he’s coming over with a girlfriend. I’m sorry if it’ll make things awkward, but I couldn’t exactly uninvite him.”
I pause, holding Jude’s legs with one hand as I secure the fresh diaper with the other. “Mom, you don’t have to apologize. It’s fine.”
“I didn’t want you or Cooper to feel blindsided.” She steps inside. “I never know when her rockstar sons are in town, so I didn’t think to ask. If it makes you uncomfortable—”
“It doesn’t,” I cut in, glancing up at her. “We actually ran into him and his girlfriend when we got here.”
Her brows lift. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” I lift Jude into my arms and fasten the snaps on his clean onesie, the faint smell of baby powder clinging to my hands. “He looked good. Different, but good. And she seems nice.”
Mom sits on the edge of the bed, watching me gently bounce Jude to settle him. “How did it feel to see him after all these years?”
“I dunno.” I let out a breath, my gaze fixed on Jude’s tiny fist curled around my finger. “Strange, I guess. All the cells in my body remember when he was part of everything.”
Mom takes my free hand. “You and Padraig shared a lot and now you’ve built a beautiful life with Cooper and your kids. You’re happy, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am.” I nod, though it feels a little stiff. “Seeing him instantly brought a lot of our history back, both good and bad. We shared a special time, but it doesn’t compare to what I have now.”
She reaches over and squeezes my arm. “There’s no need to compare. Those memories are a beautiful part of you. You don’t need to discount the past to be grateful for the present. You have a good picker. Padraig was a wonderful first love and Cooper is your forever love.”
My eyes sting, but I smile anyway, brushing a hand over Jude’s soft hair. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.” Mom stands. “Now let’s get you both downstairs. I’d better cut extra big slices of cake. You know how those boys love dessert.”
On the way down, the creak of the McGloughlins’ gate carries through the open window, followed by the familiar rise of voices from next door. My pulse jumps, but I steady Jude on my hip and force a slow breath.
I have nothing to prove.
Padraig and I made promises to each other once, but we both made choices leading us to here.
Different lives. Different loves.
I won’t apologize for the beautiful life I’ve built with Cooper.
Not to Padraig. Not to his family.
