Page 95 of The Lake House

“Yay! We won!” Lily cheers. Stepping forward, she bangs on the table and says to the carny, “I want the koala with the pink tutu, please!”

He breaks a smile, unable to resist how cute she is. “You got it, little miss.” He grabs the koala off the shelf and hands it to her.

“Thank you, mister!” She beams as she holds the stuffed animal in her hands, and then she brings it up close to her chest. “I love it!” Turning her head to face me, she then says, “Thank you, Giules! I’m going to sleep with Coco the Pink Tutu Koala every night!”

Declan and I laugh.

After we catch our breath, Declan says, “Well, looks like she already named her.”

I smile. I’m so happy I could win it for her.

We spend the rest of the day playing more games, enjoying other carnival rides, eating greasy foods, and laughing more than I could have ever expected. This day turned out perfect, and I’m so glad Declan invited me out to join them.

ChapterThirty-Four

GIULIANA

It feels so good to sleep in late. I didn’t have to work this morning, so after spending the night with Declan, sharing one orgasm after the next, I fell asleep wrapped up in his arms right around five in the morning.

These past two weeks have been absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to have him yet again. He feels so perfect in my bed, I never want him to leave.

Now it’s just after eleven and he took off to pick up Lily from his sister’s house. He is going to come back this afternoon for a little bit, but I’ll be spending tonight at Liv’s. If I had my way, we’d be together every night, but for now, this is just the way it has to be. I don’t want Lily to get freaked out. Things between Declan and me are serious, yes, but there has to be the right time for him to let her know that I’m his girlfriend.

I chuckle at the thought. It still sounds so silly to think that I’m someone’s girlfriend. I used to be a wife, but look at how that turned out.

I quickly shake the thought from my head and decide to get ready for the day ahead.

* * *

Ipick up a onesie from the laundry basket and fold it. I got to Liv’s about an hour ago, and we’ve been organizing all the things she received for the baby from the party. I can’t believe how tiny this item of clothing really is. I’m still amazed at how a human can be so small.

“At this rate, you won’t need much more for the baby for the first six months.”

Liv chuckles. “I really didn’t think people would bring me gifts, considering I’m still a few months out, and there’s going to be a baby shower as well. Plus, they didn’t even know the sex till the end of the party.”

I place another onesie on the already folded pile and then pick up the next one. “Well, you’ve got good people in your life excited about the new addition to your family coming soon.”

She rubs her belly. “Yeah, I guess I do. Thank you for the massive gift card, though. You didn’t have to.”

I shrug and take a seat next to her. “Please, it’s the least I could do. I wanted to make sure you had the chance to pick up whatever you wanted in case people ended up buying you things.” I look around and chuckle. “I just didn’t expect it to be this much!”

“You and I both, girl!”

We laugh lightly and once we’re all done folding all the new baby clothes, we sit back on the couch and Liv puts the TV on. She flips through a couple of channels before putting onThe Pet Collectiveto watch funny pet videos.

“So Josie and Dave are out for the day, huh?” I ask, as a German Shepherd pup pulls a roll of toilet paper out of the bathroom and runs into the living room with it. This show has got to be one of my favorites to pass the time.

From the corner of my eye, I see her nod. “Yeah, he’s taking her for pizza and ice cream, and then to the park, I think. Or maybe they’ll swing by his mother’s house for a bit.”

“That’s good. Gives you some time to unwind,” I say.

“Yeah, but you know what I have been thinking of lately, Giules?”

I turn to face her. “What’s that?”

“How much I miss having hot, unpredictable sex with my husband.”

I chuckle gently. “What?”

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