“Great.” He leaned in for a slow kiss as I memorized the feel of his lips against mine. “I missed you.”
“You missed me in the hour I’ve been inside of the house?” I teased him.
Austin laughed and pulled the ball cap tighter over his messy curls. Austin still wore a Yankees cap around the house since he claimed he’d fallen in love with the team while living in New York.
“Of course. I always miss you when you’re not by my side, Rebecca.” Austin kissed me again, and I grinned.
“It’s a special day for us today. I’m so glad that we’re having everyone over.”
He gave me a curious look. “It is?” Disappointment surged through me as he frowned thoughtfully. “No birthdays. It’s not our wedding anniversary, and we already celebrated the one for our very first date in high school.” Austin watched as my face fell before he barked out a laugh. “Gotcha, Rebecca. I know that I came to your parents’ door three years ago today begging for another chance. I’ll never forget that. It was the first time in my life that I ever felt complete.” He hugged me close to him, and I closed my eyes. “I love you, baby.”
“Any regrets?” I teased him as he kissed me softly and looked into my eyes.
“It will always be the same. Leaving you. I’ll never make it again.”
I heard a car and then the unmistakable sound of AJ calling my name. I playfully rolled my eyes.
“I love you. I am going to finish up in there and see what he needs,” I told him before Austin kissed me again. I turned to head back to the house, shaking my hips as I glanced back to see Austin watching me hungrily. I entered the kitchen, and AJ ran for my arms while Kim called me to the living room.
“Becs. You’ve got to see this!”
I carried my whimpering son, still tired from a nap, into the living room where our favorite gossip show was on. I took a seat as Sally came inside the house and greeted us before walking into the kitchen.
The segment was about Mia Laht. It seemed that her modeling career started to have problems a couple of years back, but now it tanked completely. She’d earned herself a bad reputation with her manipulative ways, and nobody believed a word that she had to say. Add some very high-profile social media mistakes, and the life that she knew was over. I looked at the picture of the woman, no longer hating her but feeling sorry for her.
She lost Austin a long time ago, and now it seemed that she’d lost everything. “Karma is a bitch for a bitch,” Kim told me softly.
I looked at her and shrugged. “I let that go a long time ago. I am happy with my life here, and I don’t worry about other people now, Kim.” I smiled at her, and she wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
I helped Sally with the strawberry shortcake she’d bought at the store, chopping up the berries and getting them into a bowl so we could just throw the dessert together later. She made a big bowl of coleslaw as well, making me laugh as I looked around at all the food. “You know that the neighbors are bringing stuff too, don’t you?”
“There should be more than enough food for a meal with friends. It leaves some to send home with everyone, and my son loves leftovers.” Sally shook her head. She was right. Austin had learned how to cook even more things since moving back, and we even watched shows together to get new recipes. I saw some of the people that he mentioned before and was surprised by how down to Earth Bobby Flay was when he came to North Reed to visit us. He and Austin spent hours in the kitchen just laughing and catching up, and we all ate very well that week. I loved seeing that little glimpse much more than the picture of Austin and Mia.
We lined up everything on the long counter inside of the house to keep the bugs from getting into the food. The twenty or so people that were there lined up to fill their plates, talking and laughing easily.
I felt the tears form in my eyes. This was everything that I’d ever wanted in life. Austin and I went last, getting a small plate for the baby before we headed outside.
Half an hour later, we all gathered outside at the tables that Austin built to eat, watching the sun set as our backdrop. It was perfect, and as I handed AJ another piece of fruit and Austin kissed me, I knew that everything was perfect for all of us.
After the last person went home with a full plate of leftovers, Sally helped me to get everything else into the fridge for us the next day. Dinner had been a hit, and I felt good as I gave the counter another wipe down and looked around.
“Thanks, Mom.” She hugged me as Mel watched us from the quiet living room since Austin was putting AJ down for the night.
“It makes me so happy to see you here with Austin. I hoped for years that he’d come back and realize what a fool he’d been for leaving.” I chuckled and shook my head. “Now
you have that beautiful baby, and he’s so happy, Rebecca.”
“So am I,” I assured her. She smiled tearfully.
“Mom, what are you crying about now?” Austin asked her as he came into the kitchen, running a hand through his hair.
“I’m just so happy that y’all stayed here, that’s all. It’s so nice having nights like this.” She hugged him as I watched, leaning against the counter. We visited for a short while longer, talking about my parents’ visit in a few weeks and other things. Sally took the plates that she’d made after they hugged us both goodbye, and Austin walked them out as I checked on AJ.
My sweet baby. He looked so peaceful when he slept, and I stared at him from the doorway for a few moments, lost in thought. I felt someone wrap an arm around me and glanced over to see Austin smiling at me.
“How about we head to bed and maybe work on a brother or sister for him?” he asked me in a seductive voice.
Warmth flooded my body. We’d been talking about it since AJ’s birthday, and I leaned up to kiss him.