The Neighbor - Don't Hate Me

Max had a smile on his face that didn’t disappear the entire night. He seemed really happy. And for the first time, in a very long time, I felt happy too.

At the end of the night, the three of us watched a movie together. Lily was on one side, and I was on the other. She leaned against his side, and he had his arm around me.

It was crazy how comfortable I felt being in Max’s house… with him and his daughter. It just felt so… right.

After Lily went to bed, Max and I cuddled on the sofa. He rubbed my feet while we watched TV.

“Max,” I said, breaking the silence. “What happened to Lily’s mom?”

“She didn’t want to be a mom,” Max said. “Or a wife.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

Max patted my thigh. “No, it’s fine. You can ask whatever you want. I want to know everything about you, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Oh, wow. There isn’t much to know,” I said.

We talked for hours—both of us falling asleep eventually.

Lily woke us bright and early at seven in the morning. She didn’t seem upset or surprised to find me there.

“I should go home and take a shower,” I said. I stood and straightened my clothes.

“Are you going to come back later?” Lily asked.

“Oh, um, I don’t know,” I said.

Max folded his hands together. “Please!”

I laughed. My eyes locked with Max’s. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

I smiled. “Okay, then it’s decided. I’ll be back later.”

Epilogue – Hope

We saw each other almost every day for the last year. My job at the hospital was going well, and it helped that I could see Max on lunch breaks once a week.

Lily and I had grown close. So, close I couldn’t even imagine my life without her in it. I also couldn’t imagine my life without her dad.

I spent more time at their house than I did at mine. But Olivia kept my house clean… ish.

We didn’t have parties at my house anymore. Not because Max didn’t like it but because I wasn’t interested.

My days were filled with work and spending time with Lily and Max. It was the first time in my adult life everything felt like it was in place.

I was Max’s missing puzzle piece. Lily and Max were my long-lost puzzle.

Max and I were busy working on decorating the backyard for Lily’s birthday party. The cake was in the kitchen, and it wouldn’t be long before the children would arrive.

“Oh shit,” Max said. “I forgot something. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” I said as I twisted a streamer along the fence.

A few seconds later, Lily and Max came out of the back door, both with big smiles on their faces. They looked guilty.

“We can’t wait,” Lily said.

“What are you talking about? We have to wait,” I smiled as I twisted. “It won’t be much longer.”

“Not that,” Lily said. “Better than the party.”

I narrowed my eyes.

Max stepped over to me and dropped down on his knee. Lily clasped her hands together and squealed.

“Drop something?” I asked.

Max took a little box from Lily and looked up at me. He cleared his throat. “Hope?”

“Yes?” I said suspiciously. It hit me like a fist to the gut. What was happening?

My breath felt like it was caught in my throat. I brought my finger to my lip as if that would somehow help.

“I love you,” Max said. “More than I ever thought I could love someone that wasn’t my own flesh and blood. Lily and I want you to be part of our family forever. Hope Blair, will you marry me?”

“Marry us!” Lily said as if she were correcting and begging at the same time.

Max opened the box and showed me a gorgeous ring. The diamonds sparkled in the sunlight with a pale blue tint. It wasn’t large, and it wasn’t gaudy. It was absolutely the kind of ring I’d wear. It was perfect.

“Are you serious?” I asked when I finally found my words.

“Yeah!” Lily said.

Max smiled. “This isn’t something I’d joke about.”

“It’s her birthday,” I whispered as if I didn’t want to take away from Lily’s special day.

“I wanted to wait,” Max said. “But Lily insisted we do it now. Guess she couldn’t wait another minute. Not that I wanted to wait either.”

Lily hopped. “We’ve waited like a week. It was so hard not to say anything to you! Are you going to say yes or what?”

“Oh my God, yes,” I said. I covered my mouther and forced myself to stare at the ring, so I didn’t start crying. “Definitely, a hundred times, yes.”

“Yay!” Lily squealed. “Daddy, she said yes!”