Tumble (Dogwood Lane 1) - Page 89
“And a husband.” The receptionist shrugs. “Sorry. It felt like it fit, and I’m totally shipping you two together right now.”
“I can have a husband.” Neely blushes. “And maybe a daughter that’s not my blood, maybe, but is mine in every other sense of the word.”
I lower my lips to her ear. “And babies. Tell me you’ll have my babies.”
The receptionist moans, throwing her head back in her chair. “I gotta get a cold drink,” she says, getting to her feet. “Good luck to both of you, although I don’t think you’re going to need it.”
“Bye, Georgia,” Neely says, laughing.
She just tosses a wave over her shoulder as she disappears into a back room.
The room thins out, everyone going back to doing whatever it is they’re supposed to do. Frank and Neely say a quick goodbye that would’ve gone easier if I would let go of her hand.
Finally, it’s just me and her.
“What do we do now?” I ask. “Do you have stuff to get? Or do we go to the airport? Or do you want to stay in the city for a day or two? Haley will stay with Mia until I can convince you to come home with me.”
“I’d love to show you the city, and I do have things I need to get from my apartment. I probably need to cancel my lease too.” She bites her lip. “But there’s one thing I need to do before I do any of that.”
“What’s that?”
“I need to apologize to a little girl.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
NEELY
You’re going to have to let go of me at some point.” I giggle as Dane tries to shut the door behind us without releasing my hand. “I swear I’m not going anywhere.”
“Oh, I know that. Trust me. I just spent more time than necessary in a cab in New York. I’m pretty sure that has you owing me for the rest of our lives.”
I’m glowing. I know it. If the light were on or if it weren’t already dark outside, I’d look at my reflection and laugh, I’m sure. I can feel the joy oozing from my pores. It’s weird, but it’s so wonderful.
Dane sweeps me into his arms and kisses my neck. “Welcome home.”
“Don’t say that yet,” I warn. “I need to talk to Mia.”
“Yeah. Like she’s gonna kick you out. She’s the one who made me come get you. And her too,” he says, nodding toward someone approaching us from the kitchen. “Hey, Haley.”
“Hi.” She gets closer and I can see her giant smile. “Hi, Neely. Welcome home.”
“Thanks. And thank you for insisting Dane come to New York. I was on my way back, but he made quite the scene in my office. I’m pretty sure we’re legends there now.”
“I wish I could’ve seen that,” Haley gushes.
“It was epic.”
“Now that you’re back and, I’m guessing, moving in here,” she says, “I want you to know I can give you my key.”
I look at Dane before glancing back at her. “Why would you do that?”
“Yeah, crazy lady,” Dane says. “Why are you giving us your key?”
“I said I would. I don’t know how Neely feels about some woman she doesn’t really know having a key to her house, and with all the energy we’ve put into getting you two back together, I’ll be damned if I cause any ripples.”
“Keep your key.” I laugh. “If for no other reason than so Dane can call you and you can come over and talk sense to him. I hear he listens to you.”
“Not enough or you wouldn’t have been in New York to start with.” She heads to the couch and picks up what looks like a giant pink bag. “I’m going back to my house now so you two can have some time alone. Well, with a child upstairs. On second thought, want me to take her with me?”
Dane finally releases my hand. I shake it to get some blood back in my fingers. “That’s really sweet of you,” I say, flexing my hand, “but I need to talk to her.”
She nods. “I think that’s an awesome idea.” She heads to the door. “I’ll just play the next few days by ear. If you guys need me, call. If not, enjoy your time together.”
“Thanks, Haley,” Dane says. He walks over to her and they share a few quiet words before he closes the door behind her. “You ready to go upstairs?”
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Can I talk to Mia alone? I know you might not trust me yet, but—”
“Really?” He laughs.
“Well, the last time we talked about it, you said you’d filter through what you wanted her to know, and I get that. She’s your child.”
He takes my hand again and leads me up the stairs. “The last time we talked about this, I was pretty pissed at you. You were basically breaking my heart, and I was in Daddy Mode.”
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