After You (Because of You 2)

“It’s gonna take us like a year to finish that book,” he informs me.

“It can’t take a year. There’s a sequel after we finish the first one. This is a good plan. After Cassidy looks at her books, we’ll go grab those so you can meet Joe tonight.”

Stealing a kiss, he murmurs against my lips, “I look forward to it.”

Chapter Thirty Four

After a day filled with shopping, ice cream, blowing bubbles, foam sword fights at the park (Derek won), and a trip to the toy store so Cassidy could pick out a new accessory for her baby doll, it is finally dinner time. Since she loves Haury’s, we take her there.

“Evening, Nobles,” Ryan says, delivering our menus. His gaze drifts to me, “And Harmon.”

“You can just lump her in with us,” Derek advises him.

“Yeah,” Cassidy agrees. “She’s gonna have my baby sister.”

Ryan’s eyes widen and his gaze shoots from me to Derek. “Uh, then I guess congratulations are in order?”

I cover my face with my hands while Derek laughs. “No, no, not yet,” Derek tells his friend. “Cassidy just subscribes to the notion that if she says it enough times, it will be true.”

“Baby sisters are so cute though,” Cassidy insists.

Ryan grins, then looks at Derek. “Looks like you better get to work, man. Princess Cassidy demands a sibling.”

Derek leans back, shooting me a look. “Hey, as soon as I get this one on board…”

Shaking my head, I inform them all, “My reproductive schedule is not determined by a vote, I’m sorry to disappoint everyone.”

“How about Jenga?” Derek suggests. “We can play for it.”

“We’re going to have to reevaluate the Noble decision-making process,” I inform him.

Once Ryan leaves to find us a waitress, the babymaking talk dies down. Now that I really am moving forward in a relationship with Derek, though, I can’t help getting pulled right into their baby talk. I won’t let them know that yet, of course. They’re both too eager. Derek will be trying to put a baby in me tonight if I let him know the thought of a blue-eyed Derek-baby makes me feel mushy, too. We have too many other things to get in order before we can even think about having a baby.

While we play tic-tac-toe and wait for our food to be cooked, I exchange glances with Derek. He nods and shrugs, like this is as good a time as any, so after I mark my X in the center block, I reach into my purse and draw out a little white jewelry box and set it down on the table.

“So, Cassidy, your dad and I had something we wanted to talk to you about,” I begin.

“Okay,” she says, marking her crooked O, then handing me the crayon. “Your turn.”

I mark down another X and give her back the crayon. “You remember when we talked about how since your mom isn’t around anymore, you’re in a unique situation where you can sort of pick out a replacement?”

“Uh huh,” she says with a nod, studying the tic-tac-toe board.

“And remember how you asked me if maybe I’d like to fill the position?” I ask, hoping she does remember that.

“Of course,” she says, swinging her legs and drawing an O before handing me back the crayon.

Setting down the crayon for a moment, I tap her hand to get her attention and hold her gaze. “Would you still like that?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she says brightly.

“It would mean a lot would change,” I tell her. “I would move here and live with you guys. I wouldn’t just be visiting anymore, I’d be there all the time.”

“Good, I already said you should do that.”

“I know, I just want to make sure you really mean it. We wouldn’t be joking around, we would be a family, for real. Your dad and I were even thinking, if you wanted me to, I could adopt you and make it official.”

“And you’d be my new mom?”