Page 133 of The Love You Fight For
I smile and nod.
“Yeah. I think I am.”
I rest my head on her shoulder and we’re quiet for a moment as we watch the boys swim in the lake.
“There is one other thing,” I say slowly, and Lennon hums.
“Hmm? What’s that?”
“I had a missed call from Lynnette when I went to the house to change Gabe. She said to call her back because she had news, so I did.”
Lennon sits up straighter and stares at me.
“And?” she asks, and I shrug.
“They unfroze my trust fund. They didn’t find any suspicious activity, so it’s mine again under the same terms. I get all of it when I turn thirty or get married. Whatever comes first.”
Lennon’s jaw drops, and I smile. I wasn’t expecting to ever see that money, to be honest, so this news came as a surprise. I’m still processing it.
“I don’t even know if I want it,” I say idly.
Lennon shakes her head.
“You take that money, Sam Harper. It’s yours. You fucking earned it.”
I laugh lightly at the vehemence in her tone.
“That’s exactly what Lynnette said,” I say, and Lennon nods in agreement. “I’ll probably have to talk about it in therapy for a year before I finally make a decision, but that’s fine. I have time.”
Lennon tilts her head to the side and studies me.
“Are you going to tell Casper?”
“I don’t think so,” I say on an exhale. “Not yet, anyway.”
“You’re not...You’re not worried that he’d?—”
“No, no. It’s not that. I know he wouldn’t care about the money. I trust him. But I don’t know...if he ever proposes, I want it to be as pure as possible, if that makes sense. I don’t want him to do it because he thinksIwant that money. It took us months before he fully accepted that I didn’tneeda life of luxury, you know? Hell, I don’t even want one.”
I glance down at my hand still wrapped in Lennon’s. I lift my arm to inspect our nails.
“I sometimes miss having a good manicure, but it makes me feel better that your nails are just as trash as mine.”
Lennon gasps and elbows me lightly with a laugh. I’d say I was kidding, but I’m not. Her nailsaretrash, and so are mine.
“If he proposed, would you say yes?”
“Yes.” My answer comes immediately, without any hesitation. “I’ve thought about it a lot in the last year, and I would absolutely say yes if he proposed, but I’m not in any hurry. I’ve only just moved in with him. I like our life how it is right now. I want to enjoy every day and take it all as it comes.”
Lennon laughs, and when I look at her, she’s smiling brightly.
“What?” I ask, my grin stretching to match hers. “What’s so funny?”
“I just love you, is all. I love seeing you happy.” She shrugs and glances out at the water where the guys are swimming with Gabe. “He’s been good for you, and you’ve been good for him. You’regood for each other, and I’m really glad everything worked out the way it did.”
I narrow my eyes in jest.
“You’re just glad that you can go on double dates with your babysitters,” I say, and Lennon grins.
