Page 117 of Give Me Forever

I elbowed him lightly. "Hey. I'm trying to get better at cooking.”

"Who knows? We might even move out of the loft by next year," he said.

We kept thinking about it, but honestly, at this point it just wasn't a priority. He was busy, still working at the hospital while supervising the process of starting his clinic.

I was a busy bee too. My custom-made jewelry business was going well. A couple weeks ago, Declan and Sam worked their Maxwell magic, as I liked to call it. It turned out Declan was right. I could sue Sophia for stealing my designs—and in proving she had ill intent, he recouped every cent she stole too.

Being able to pay all my debt was a huge relief. I could now focus on the future without feeling the past dragging me down. I was immensely grateful to both Declan and Sam.

"Come on. Give her back to me so you can eat," Bonnie told me.

"I could keep her, you know, while you eat first," I suggested, not ready to part with my darling girl yet.

"No, she's very fussy at the table, but I know just what she needs," Bonnie said, so I reluctantly gave back the baby.

Sam put an arm around my shoulders and brushed his lips against my temple. "You're adorable," he murmured.

I blushed and pulled back a notch, looking up at him and grinning. "She just captured me. She's so cute and has some Maxwell charm, even though she's tiny. Although, to be fair, that might just be baby charm."

We all sat around the huge table. Sam and I were opposite Beatrice, who was looking at us with warm eyes. "I'm so glad you're here with us, Avery," she said unexpectedly.

"I'm happy, too, Beatrice."

She looked at Sam, then at Travis, who was sitting next to me. "And I'm glad my advice is making the rounds in the family. I heard about the boat trip."

Don't blush, Avery. Don't blush. She doesn't know the details, just that we went on a boat trip.

"Oh?" I asked, hoping she couldn't tell my face was on fire.

"Gran is the one who taught us the art of the grand gesture," Tate explained.

"Oh!" I had a whole new appreciation for Beatrice. I looked around at the girls, who smiled, looking warmly at their guys.

"I think I speak for all the women here when I say we owe you a big thanks, Beatrice," I said.

"My pleasure. That's the one good thing about being old as dirt: I know all the tricks in the book, and I don't mind sharing them. And I'm happy my grandkids are fast learners and that they listen to their old gran."

Sam kissed my hand. "Well, I'm thankful to the whole family this year. But most of all for reconnecting with Avery."

"See, he's got his girl, and now it's like we’re second-rate citizens," Luke muttered for the whole table to hear him.

I started laughing along with everyone else. I was blushing even more than before.

"Don't be a buffoon, Luke," Sam said.

"Impossible," Declan said. "That's just who he is."

"Someone needs to be the yin to your yang, brother," Luke said, patting Declan on the shoulder. "Otherwise, you'd bring down the whole mood with your sunny personality."

Sam looked at Beatrice, then at me and said, "Gran, you were right all those years ago when you told me to go chase after her. But I'm also happy I didn't take your advice."

Beatrice smiled. "Hindsight is twenty-twenty. I'm happy the two of you met again at the right time."

That was exactly how I felt. Also, Beatrice had told him to chase after me? I loved her even more than before, and I hand’t thought that was possible.

"I'm also grateful to all of you for the help you're providing with the Maxwell Clinic," Sam announced.

"Hey, we're happy you're finally acknowledging you're a Maxwell," Travis said lazily, taking the baby from Bonnie, who was now trying to eat her meal.

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