Page 53

Paige

SIX MONTHS LATER

E aston drops his bag to the floor as he slumps against our bedroom door, his expression weary. I toss my book onto the bedside table and open my arms for him, welcoming him into my hold when he drags himself over.

Lying down, he rests his head on my chest and sighs. He doesn’t need to tell me what happened—my dad called on his way home—so I give him the moment of silence he desperately needs.

The new GM quit at the end of last season, right before their playoff loss, and this time it didn’t come from my dad. Apparently, he and Coach Pierce hadn’t seen eye to eye, and when he took his concerns to my dad and the board, they all agreed they wanted Pierce to stay. Understandably. With how well the team was playing, they’d be crazy to fire their head coach.

Still, losing another GM so soon didn’t look good for the team, but it was barely mentioned in the media. Until now. With the new season starting, it’s become the hot topic again. And it’s stressing my dad out. And Easton by the looks of things. Although he’s stressing for an entirely different reason, and I give him about three minutes before he mentions it. We don’t hold back our thoughts and feelings anymore. We’re a team. We share everything.

In fact, sometimes I share too much and take enjoyment out of his reactions. Especially when it elicits a quiet groan from the back of his throat. Like when I told him I thought his mom was glowing and was ninety-nine percent sure it was due to her great sex life. Whoops.

Speaking of… Easton releases a guttural groan as he buries his face into my chest before rolling onto his back, throwing his hand over his eyes as he speaks. “Another day, another scandal for the Storm.” He blows out a breath as he half laughs. “Do you know people are saying they want a second season of that damn show? They want to know all the crazy that’s been going on behind the scenes.”

He doesn’t mention Macy specifically, but I know he doesn’t want that brought up again, not now that she’s finally out of our life.

“Dad will never sign off on that.” I wriggle down the bed until we’re face-to-face and grab his chin, forcing him to look at me. “That part of your life is closed. I can promise you that.” I don’t even have to ask Dad if that’s true. He still curses every time someone brings it up.

Easton sighs and looks away. “I know he’s got our back in that sense, but just the fact that there’s controversy again makes me wonder if I should throw in the towel. Step away before it blows up in all our faces.”

And there it is. That’s what I’ve been waiting for.

After their AFC championship loss, Easton mentioned retiring again, and I said then what I’m about to say now. “If that’s truly what you want to do, I will support you one hundred percent. But if there’s any part of you that still wants to play football, Isaac and I have got this. We’re a team that supports you, just as much as you and I are a team looking out for Isaac.”

Easton sighs as he reaches out to squeeze my hand.

After his mom’s fall at Thanksgiving, I stepped away from my modeling and charity commitments—despite Easton’s reservations—only helping my dad, and took over the care of Isaac while Easton was working. And I love it. He’s going to be in school soon, so I consider it my time to bond with him. To really get to know him since I’m already behind. I missed out on the first three years of his life, and I refuse to miss any more.

We visit Easton’s mom at least once a week too, but I stay and work in her home office, giving her and Isaac a chance to spend time alone together without anyone stressing. I know it upsets her. We’ve spoken about it often—she’d much rather be able to live her life as though nothing has changed—but she understands that it’s not only Easton that worries. Isaac still asks if she’ll be okay every time we visit.

And because of that, he’s been seeing one of Thomas’s friends who’s a child psychologist… And he loves him. He’s really grown in the last couple of months.

“How are you real?” Easton asks, lifting to his elbow as he looks down at me with awe in his expression. “We’ve been together for months and I’m still asking myself that.”

“You once said that you were just you and I’m the same. I’m just me.” I shrug, feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze. I don’t think I’m doing anything special—anything different from millions of others—and yet this feels more important than anything I’ve ever done.

“Well, you’re pretty special to me. I—”

Easton’s phone rings, cutting him off, but since it’s out of his reach he ignores it. He’s about to continue whatever he was going to say when my phone rings instead. And it’s Keeley.

“I think she wants you.” I hand him the phone and sit up, a nervous energy running through me.

“Keels?” he answers on speaker, his face dropping when she responds.

“I’m worried about Mom.”

“What happened?”

Keeley sighs. “She said she was fine, but I was just talking to her and I swear she was slurring some of her words. Not all of them but—”

“Enough to worry you?” Easton cuts Keeley off and runs a hand through his hair as he releases a breath through his nose. “She needs to go back to her specialist.”

“I know, but try telling her that.” Easton’s face scrunches. Rochelle is as stubborn as they come where her health is concerned. “Maybe Paige can talk to her? It’s harder to argue with someone that isn’t a family member.”

“Have you met Mom?” Easton counters. “She’ll argue with anyone. And Paige is a family member. I hope she slaps you for that comment.”

He turns my way with wide eyes, and I laugh. Lucky for him, I knew what she meant.

Easton and Keeley fall silent, and I almost take the phone away to speak for them, until I realize they’re both lost in thought. They’ll never admit how alike they are and deny it when I point it out. “I don’t know what to do, Keels,” Easton says after the longest pause, “but we can’t sit still and do nothing.”

“I know. Are you around tomorrow? Family day?”

Easton glances my way, and I nod. “We’ll be there.”

He hangs up and sinks into the bed, looking more defeated than he did when he first walked in. He’s quiet until he reaches out and pulls me into his arms. “I don’t want to lose her, Paige. It’s going to kill Isaac.”

“Just Isaac?”

He hides his face in my neck and shakes his head. “It’s going to kill me too.”

“Whatever happens, we’re going to get through this together. But for now, we need to keep acting like she’s well. She deserves that.”

Easton groans and I laugh. “I both love and hate when you’re right, D’Angelo. Maybe forcing her to see specialists isn’t going to help. She knows what it is.”

“Exactly.”

“So instead, we should, I don’t know…take more photos, be more present, try and keep things as normal as possible but also help in any way we can.”

“I think she’ll like that. And…ah…speaking of photos,”—I grimace—“I did a thing.”

Easton sits up and frowns in confusion. “You did a thing?”

“Yeah. And I wasn’t sure if I’d ever share it, but I think your mom might like it.”

“What is it?”

Instead of explaining, I get up and head out to the living room, grabbing my sketchbook from the drawer in the desk I've taken over. As I walk back to the bedroom, my breath catches, my heart slamming in my chest. I’ve shown Easton my sketches before, but this one is a little different, and I’ve been holding on to it for a while.

Forcing out a shaky breath, I climb onto the bed and hand over my book. “Have a look at the back page.”

Easton flips it over without saying a word, and when he opens the cover, he freezes, his jaw agape, seemingly lost for words. And while I’m certain that’s a positive response, it still freaks me out.

“What do you think?” My legs bounce as I ask, and Easton places his palm on my knee without taking his eyes off the sketch, instantly calming me.

“This… The… I have no words, Paige. Except maybe when? Or how?”

“I started it when I first saw them at the pool. And the rest was done from memory.”

Easton shakes his head, his gaze locked on the sketch I drew of his mom and Isaac laughing in the pool. She’s holding him and he’s staring at her like she hung the moon and personally lit all the stars surrounding it. I have to admit, it’s the best piece I’ve ever created. But it’s intimate and raw and maybe a little intrusive. I wasn’t sure I’d ever share it.

“You can say no, but… ah… Do you think your mom would want it?”

“Want it? Paige, if my mom knew this existed, she’d be breaking down our door to steal it. Do you realize how incredible this is?”

“I know it’s special, yes.” I feel myself blush and laugh. “God, I’ve had my tits out in a magazine, but sharing this makes me feel incredibly vulnerable.”

I cover my face with my hands, but Easton pulls them away, his thoughtful eyes locking with mine.

“It’s because your heart and soul are here, in this work. It’s… I—” His voice wavers and he pauses, shaking his head as his eyes water. “Dammit, Paige.” I don’t say a word as he wipes at the tears threatening to fall. “They should have had decades together, not years. I hate this. And I’m so fucking scared.”

“I know.” I curl my arms around him and press a kiss to his temple. “Me too.”

I bounce on my toes as Rochelle wordlessly stares at the sketch, completely still. And since I can’t see her face, I have no idea what she’s feeling until she glances up and her tears summon my own.

“Thhhank you, Paige. This is… in-incredible,” her voice cracks and I smile. “Sorry. I’m a little lost for words… but… this means the world to me.”

She reaches out and I take her hand, noting the shake in her palm. “I wanted to do a family one too, but I tend to draw people I know or see often. And I haven’t met Addison yet.”

“That’s great and all, but this is more sp-special. I’ve spent years looking at th-their annoying faces.” Her words falter but they're not as slurred as I was worried they’d be, and her spirits are still high. We both laugh, knowing she’s joking, but after a few seconds, her face drops.

“I think I could s-spend a lifetime with Isaac and never get over it. No amount of dayss will ever be enough and I-I hate that it’ll be cut short. But more than that, I hate that I’m aware of it. I’d rather be kept in the dark and have it happen out of nowhere.”

She laughs again and I smile. Easton told me she jokes when she’s emotional.

“I can bring him around more often if you’d like. Easton wanted to give you time to yourself, but I’m happy to come around. I don’t want you to think I’m monopolizing his time.”

“Oh, Paige. I don’t think that. I love seeing the two of you together, hearing I-Isaac talk about you. You’re the mother he always needed, the mother he deserved.”

My stomach knots but I smile through it. “I don’t know about that, but I’m trying. And praying I don’t fail them.”

“You won’t. I’ve never seen those boys so happy and that’s all thanks to you.” The slower she speaks the clearer it becomes, and I can see her working hard but also willing me to continue. She doesn’t want us to act differently around her.

“I love them both so much. All of you. But sometimes I wonder if that’s enough.” If I’m doing enough.

“Easton told me you don’t want to get married.” Rochelle misunderstands me, or perhaps she knows me better than I know myself because when she says it, I realize it’s been playing on my mind.

“Oh. Ah…” God. Maybe I’m being selfish. Dad always said I was a brat. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, not knowing what else to say.

“Why are you sorry? I made the same decision. And so did Easton. Why do you think he and Macy never married? He’s cynical because of me and his dad. True, we never tied the knot, but it wasn’t because we didn’t love each other. God, I loved that man more than I’ve loved anyone else, apart from my kids and Isaac. At least, until I met Phil. Marriage wasn’t something I ever wanted. I still don’t want it. The thought of being locked into something…” She shivers and I panic.

“That’s not it. I…I don’t mind being locked into something with Easton and Isaac. I have no plans to ever leave, but I—”

“Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I completely understand, Paige. I do. That piece of paper doesn’t change anything. Nor should it.”

A thought hits me, and I gasp out loud, because… “Actually, it does.”

“What?”

“It does change something. I’ve got to find Easton.”

“Paige, are you okay?” I pause and spin around, checking on her.

“Sorry, do you need anything before I go and find him?”

Rochelle smiles knowingly before shaking her head. “I have a feeling you’re about to give me everything I’ll ever need. Go. I’ll be okay.”

I stare at her in question, puzzled, until she laughs. “Go, Paige. I’ll bet wherever Easton is, he’s waiting for you. I think he’s been waiting his whole life.”

I search the house and find Isaac and Keeley, but Easton’s nowhere to be seen. I’m about to interrupt their game until I notice him through the back window, stalking across the yard, making his way to the back gate that leads to a park.

I rush through the house, making it outside as he reaches for the lock.

“East, wait.” He pauses and spins, his face lighting up when he sees me, though it doesn’t hold the same happiness it usually does. He’s still worried. Not that he’ll admit it too often.

I jog toward him, and he opens his arms as I reach him, pulling me into his hold. “Hey, you. Did she like it? I bet there were tears.”

“You’re right. But they were mostly mine. Your mom is one tough woman.”

Easton laughs as he nods. “You’re not wrong. Stubborn as hell too. Kind of like someone else I know.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I laugh because he tells me that on a daily basis, and now I’m about to shock him. “I want to get married.”

“What?” He coughs, seemingly choking on nothing, and I laugh louder.

“I want to get married, and I want to adopt Isaac. Officially. As your wife. As a family.”

Easton’s jaw drops and he stares at me in shock. “Did Mom threaten you with something?”

“No.” I give him a shove and scoff. “She was all for us never getting married. Practically encouraged it.”

“Sounds like her.” He laughs.

“So…” I pause, waiting for him to give me an actual response—maybe tell me it’s a good idea or that I’m crazy—but instead he raises a brow with a smirk.

“Are you proposing?”

“What? No.” I burst out laughing. This is not a conversation I ever thought I’d have. “I just realized I want it all. I want to marry you.”

“Okay. Well, that’s great. But there’s one little issue.” He grimaces and I roll my eyes, knowing what’s coming. “I haven’t asked.”

“I know.” I wink. “But you will. And I’ll be waiting. It better be good, Wilder.” I spin on a dime and walk away, leaving my words hanging between us while he chuckles behind me.

I’ve made it halfway across the yard when he calls out and I pause.

“I’ve already got the ring.” I turn so fast I get dizzy. Meanwhile, he shrugs like it’s no big deal.

“When did you buy that?”

He shrugs again as he walks toward me, but there's a hint of mischief in his expression. “It’s something I’ve had lying around.”

“For how long?” My brows furrow. We’ve never spoken about marriage other than one early conversation to admit that neither of us wanted it. I’m a little confused.

“I got it about five months ago.”

What ? “Five months? Even though we spoke about never getting married.”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“For this moment.”

“But—” I don’t even know what to say.

“You may have told me you never wanted to get married. But you also said that Isaac was your number one priority. And that you’d choose him over me. Any day of the week, right?”

“Right.” I bite back a smile when he pretends to be offended.

“Well, I guess I figured that one day, you’d want to make that official. And I wanted to be ready.”

“I could adopt him without it.”

“You could, but it would be significantly harder.”

“What happens if we get divorced?”

“We won’t.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah. I do.” He stares at me pointedly, telling me there’s no room for arguments. “You’re not getting rid of me, Paige. Isaac and I are here to stay. Through the good times and bad, sickness and health, till death do us part.”

“I think that might be the most romantic thing you’ve ever said.” I bite my lip and Easton shakes his head.

“Don’t get used to it.”

“Never.”

“So, what do you say, D’Angelo? Should we go and talk to Isaac? See what he thinks?”

Tears prick the back of my eyes, and he hasn’t proposed yet, but I know without a doubt that this is exactly where I’m meant to be. Forever. Easton and Isaac are already my family. In my eyes, I’m already Isaac’s mom. But… “Nothing would make me happier. I love you, East.”

“I love you too, future Mrs. Wilder. And here’s Isaac, right on cue.”

I glance up to see Isaac racing toward us, his face alight with a smile. I quickly wipe my eyes, grinning when he reaches us.

“I helped to make a cake. Come and eat it.”

“Mmm, that sounds great, Buddy. But first we have something to ask you.”

“What?” He frowns, his gaze darting back to the house as though we’re ruining his life by keeping him from the cake.

Easton smiles as he looks my way, silently asking if I want to speak. And I do.

“I wanted to know how you’d feel about me becoming your mom.”

His eyes widen before his gaze bounces to Easton, who nods, giving him an encouraging smile. “Yes,” he says. “Yes, please be my mom. Please.”

He tentatively steps forward as though not knowing what to do next, but I rush toward him, sweeping him into my arms and pressing a kiss to his head. “Thank you, Isaac. You just made me the happiest person alive.”

“Why?” He pulls back and glances up at me.

“Because I get to call you my son.”

The beaming smile he blesses me with holds the power to light up so much darkness that it melts my heart. Reaching for Easton’s hand, I give it a squeeze, smiling when he winks.

And just like that, they’ve given me everything I’ll ever need…and never even knew I wanted.