Page 40 of Holding You
All eyes float to me in the doorway.
“I might have done something stupid,” I say, finally closing the door, shrugging off my jacket, and joining the gathering.
Sure, I could have texted them about this all day long, but I needed to be face-to-face.
“Oh, this will be good,” Brooke says, handing me her drink. “Take this. I’ll make another.”
I happily take the glass and sip as I try to process everything that’s happened since last night.
Brooke returns from the kitchen, and guides me to a place to sit, since I’d just been standing in the middle of the room.
“Okay, go.”
“I … wow, I never thought this would be something to come out of my mouth, but Declan is moving in with me.”
A collective gasp fills the room.
“And Susie, of course.”
“How did this … what did … are you two?” Brooke pauses to take a breath. “Did I miss something?”
My head jerks back like she slapped me. “What? No—God no. It’s a long story.”
“Good thing we have time.” Grace grins and leans back, popping a piece of cheese into her mouth.
It takes me a moment to remember that neither of them were at Sunday breakfast.
“It’s crazy, I know, but Logan is basically kicking him out of the rental.”
“You used to want that. What changed?” Grace asks.
“Yeah, the other morning you were pretty dead set against this idea,” Shay reminds me.
“Max and Susie changed that.”
And the money idea, but I’ve never shared that part of my life with them, so they have no idea it’s even a thing.
No one speaks, and I know they are waiting for me to elaborate. I know I shouldn’t rearrange my entire life for my child’s feelings, but I’d do anything for him and that includes letting the enemy move into my basement.
“It’s not a secret that the friendship the two of them have formed has been amazing for Max. Turns out, Declan feels the same way for Susie.” I shrug. “Neither of us wanted to let them down.”
“Oh, that’s cute. They truly are little besties, huh?” Tears form in Shay’s eyes.
I nod. “I’m a little envious of it. I grew up without someone like that. I had friends, sure, but a best friend wasn’t in the cards for me. Knowing I was taking that from him made me rethink everything.So, when Declan came home from boys’ night last night, I offered the basement to him.”
“And he was fine with it?” Quinn asks.
“He … would also do anything for his daughter, so yeah, he’s in.”
“I bet the kids were happy.”
I smile, thinking about the hug Max gave me after I explained everything this morning. He has not stopped smiling since.
Then when I walked him to Declan’s house before I came here, both kids immediately started planning movie nights every night.
That’s obviously not happeningeverynight, but there will be lots of them.
“Yeah, I can suck it up for him. It’s only a few months.”
