I covered my mouth and didn’t even attempt to hold back my tears. Amelia, Paxton, and Waylynn looked at me, each of them wearing a goofy grin.
“I knew you were, Mitchell,” Melanie said with a wink. “You just needed a little push to say it out loud.”
Standing, he shook his head. “You’re an evil woman, do you know that?”
The whole table erupted with laughter. Mitchell looked back and our eyes met.
His smile faded, and his face filled with disappointment. There might have been a touch of sadness, but not because of what he had said. It was because I knew this wasn’t how he wanted me to hear it for the first time.
“Hey,” he softly said.
“Hey,” I replied.
He took my hands in his. “That wasn’t how I wanted to tell you.”
I couldn’t help my smile. “I know. I wanted you to say it when you were ready.” I shrugged. “It’s still kind of soon, maybe.”
Mitchell shook his head, leaned down, and gently kissed my lips. It was a sweet kiss—short and simple—a kiss I would remember the rest of my life. “What do you say we blow this popsicle stand?” he asked.
My eyes widened. “What about Amelia and Wade?” I asked, peeking over to them. They were lost in conversation.
“I hardly think anyone will notice if we sneak away. I mean, can they blame us after the bomb I just laid out for everyone to hear?”
A giggle slipped from my lips. I glanced around at the tables. No one was paying any attention to us. Well, except for John and Melanie. I could practically feel their eyes burning into us.
“Your parents are staring.”
Mitchell laughed. “My father is probably trying to figure out if the cameras are going to come out and say gotcha! And my mother, well, I’m sure we can guess what she’s thinking.”
A flutter rose in my chest as we gazed at one another.
Mitchell placed his hand on my lower back and guided me into the house. We were in his truck and driving down the long driveway faster than I could wrap my head around everything.
Mitchell loves me.
He’s loved me the entire time.
Warmth radiated throughout my body. My heartbeat picked up, and I swore if Mitchell listened hard enough, he would be able to hear it.
When I peeked at him, he glanced my way and winked. Everything was going to be okay.
Simply because…
He loves me.
I couldn’t be angry with my mother even though I wanted to be. That shit she pulled at dinner had pissed me off, but at the same time, it had lifted something off my shoulders I hadn’t realized was there. Sure, I had known deep down I was in love with Corina. It had been on my lips more than once…especially this past week.
But there was something about hearing myself say the words. It hit home and made everything so damn clear.
I was in a committed relationship, and I fucking loved it. And the woman I was in the relationship with might be carrying my child.
Okay, so that bit of information still freaks me out.
We drove in silence for a bit before Corina finally said, “I think we need to talk.”
The old me would have flipped if a girl said those words, but I knew it wasn’t a Dear John type of moment, where Corina was going to say things weren’t working out between us. It was the opposite.
“I’m heading to the old house,” I said. “I’ve got a surprise for you. How about if we talk there?”
I chanced a look her way, only to be greeted with the most radiant smile I’d ever seen. “I like surprises.”
A small laugh slipped from my mouth. “So I’ve been told…by Paxton.”
Corina chuckled and told a story about when she and Paxton were in college.
“Paxton discovered my love of surprises by accident. One of our neighbors had a cookie bouquet delivery, and they weren’t home to get it. So, Paxton took it and told the delivery guy she’d make sure they got it that evening.”
I grinned like a fool. “Why do I have a feeling I know where this is going?”
She giggled and the innocence made my heart skip a beat. “I came home from classes. Did I mention it was finals week?”
My smile grew bigger. “No, you didn’t.”
“Yep. I was super stressed. Paxton always played it so cool and never made it seem like that week bothered her in the least. I was on the phone with my brother that morning and he told me he would send me something to get me through the week.”
“Oh, Corina. You didn’t.”
“I did!” she replied, laughing hard. “I walked in and saw the cookies. The whole apartment smelled amazing! I ripped open the card and read it.”
“What did it say?”
“Good luck on finals. Don’t stress! We love you.”
“That was it?” I asked.