“I think I need to see this . . . contraption,” I tease her.
“Hey, Lex loves it.”
“Uh-huh.” I stand and pick up our dishes. “I’ll clean the kitchen real fast and grab a quick shower.”
“And we,” she lifts Lexi from the floor, “will go pack your bag, little miss.”
Today, Evan, Lexi, and I leave for Alabama. We decided to drive since little miss requires so much gear. It’s an eight-hour drive, so here we are at five in the morning, piling into the car. My family, as well as Evan’s grandparents, will be flying out this weekend for the wedding. We’ve decided to keep things as simple as possible, but all the family needs to be there for appearance’s sake. His grandparents don’t get around all that well, but insisted they be there. Evan tried to tell them we understood, but like I said, they insisted.
Evan loaded the Durango last night, and I spent the night here; it was just easier. Not to mention, when we come back from Alabama, this is where I will be living. I will continue to use my studio at my parents’ and Mom is still going to help out with Lexi on the days I cannot be with her. Everything’s falling into place.
“Okay, I think I have everything. I loaded the last of our bags with toiletries. You girls ready to hit the road?” he asks.
“She’s oblivious,” I laugh. Lexi is now three months old and sleeping through the night. When Evan got her out of bed this morning, she just stretched and fell right back to sleep after her diaper change. She’ll be ready to eat around seven, which will be the perfect time for us to stop and eat breakfast as well.
“Let’s do this.” Evan swoops down and picks up the car seat before holding the door open for me. Just like that, we’re on the road to Alabama to be married.
I’m marrying Evan Chamberlin!
“Can you believe Aaron got ordained?” Evan laughs.
“I know! I mean it makes sense, keeping it all in the family, but it’s going to be weird, right?”
Evan reaches across the console and rests his hand on my knee. “It’s going to be fine,” he says with confidence.
During the past few weeks, we’ve kissed a lot. There’s been more a few times, but not much. Neither one of us talk about it. We slip into his room late at night, and then the next day, it’s like it never happened.
Except it does.
My heart knows it and so does my body. I ache for his touch and long to be in his arms each night. After this trip, we’ll be sleeping under the same roof every night. So far, it’s just been the occasional evening when he has to work late, so I watch Lexi and end up staying instead of driving home. It’s a weak excuse, considering my parents’ house is not a five-minute drive from his.
“So, depending on how she does, we should be there tonight. We’re in no rush, so if you decide you want to stop somewhere and spend the night, we can.”
“Sounds good. Everyone else will be there on Friday. I’m glad you’ll have a few days to spend with your parents and grandparents with Lexi before everyone arrives.”
“And you,” he says.
“Me?”
“Yeah, they get to spend that time with the three of us.”
He’s been doing that a lot lately—including me in the small group that is made up of him and Lexi.
“The way our mothers are acting, you would think we’ve been dating for years.”
Evan chuckles. “I know. I mean, our families have been intertwined for as long as I can remember, but they know, you know what I mean?”
I know what he means. This isn’t a real marriage. We’re not madly in love and suddenly going to live happily ever after. We care abo
ut each other and I love his little girl. We’re doing this for her.
“Yeah,” I finally say.
“You can catch some more sleep if you want. I’m going to drive until she decides to wake up. No sense in waking her.”
“I think I might. I can drive whenever you want.”
“I’m good, babe.”