Page 150 of Feels Like Forever

I clear my throat thickly and nod.

She—shesmiles.“Landon really, really,reallymisses us, too.”

The words try to plant hope in me, but I don’t allow it yet. “Did he say that?”

She nods. “He said he wants to go back to being with us all the time, but he thinks you’re really mad at him.” Uncertainty crosses her cute face. “Areyou mad at him?”

I shake my head. “No.” Tearing my nervous eyes from hers, I watch my hands start fidgeting with her mussed hair. “You don’t—you don’t thinkhe’smad?”

“Nope.”

I don’t know why that makes me feel better, because I don’t know why I’m even questioning her about this. She’s insightful as hell for an almost-eight-year-old, but sheisonly almost eight. Smart as she is, I don’t expect her to have been able to read Landon’s many emotions.

“I think you should talk to each other,” she says.

I chew on the inside of my cheek before I whisper, “I’m scared.”

“OfLandon?” she squeaks incredulously.

That gets a smile out of me. “Not because I think he’s mean.” I hesitate before I look her in the face again. “I care about him a whole, whole lot, but that doesn’t mean he cares about me the same way, and that’s scary.”

She looks puzzled for a second, and then her eyes go wide. “Oh my gosh, Annie! Do you want to marry Landon?Do you want to marry Landon and you think he doesn’t want to marry you back?”

My eyes go wide, too, and then I bust out laughing. “What?”

She jumps up and down. “Oh my gosh! Are you in love with him? Call him and tell him you love him! That’ll fix everything!”

“Rae, chill! Chill out, babe!” I still her as another few chuckles get out of me. Then I get a good breath and calm down, too. “It’s complicated.”

“Um,” she says, looking confused again, “I think you either love somebody or you don’t. Princesses always know when they love the prince.” After a thoughtful second, she amends, “Well, Annathoughtshe loved Prince Hans, but she was wrong, so I guess you can be wrong.” She sighs, looking very confused, indeed.

“It’s okay,” I assure her. “It’s okay that it’s difficult to understand. Even grown-ups don’t understand love a lot of the time.”

Hell, look at me.

Her expression goes soft. “But…I want you to love each other and get married.”

Oh, my heart. “You do?” I murmur.

“Mmhmm. We’re all really happy together.”

I tuck her hair behind her ears. “Landon say that, too?”

Frowning slightly, she shakes her head. There’s a real,‘Huh? No. What do you mean?’look on her face.

Oh. She feels like that about us all by herself.

My spirits lift.

I mean, I’m not going to take a kid’s advice on marriage, but it sure does feel good to hear that she agrees with Landon’s view on the three of us. After all, how she feels is what matters the most to me.

“Well,” I exhale into a smile, “let’s switch gears for a little bit. You’re still going to the dance at school with him, right?”

Her face lights way up. “Yes! He told me when he came over!”

“I thought so! How about we go find you a dress?”

The eager, “Yes!” she trills out is so loud it puts my hairs on end.

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