Page 150 of The Heartbreaker

“Don’t worry, I’m sure the trip to Croatia is a compromise, and after heading to Europe, they’ll come straight here.”

Her exhale was loud and lengthy. “You Coles and Spades live quite the life.”

“And you’re going to become one soon, so you’re going to know firsthand just how that life is.”

Her face blushed, which happened every time I mentioned that she was going to become my wife.

“Besides, without Macon and Brooklyn here, I get you all to myself.”

She put her hand on my chest. “I don’t hate that idea at all.”

“I didn’t think you would.” I lifted her fingers and kissed them. “Have you heard from Leah?”

She groaned. “Yes. She’s bringing the last of her things to her new apartment, and she hates me for not being there to help carry all the boxes. But she recruited some people from work to assist with the heavy lifting, so even though I’m not there, she’s got it covered.”

My brows rose as I took in her face. “Why is she moving boxes? I paid for a moving company to take her things.”

“She canceled the movers you’d hired.” Her smile told me everything I needed to know even though she continued, “She wouldn’t let you spend a dime on her, but she appreciated the offer and that you were willing to do that because you’d stolenme away from her. She said you owe her a million cocktails instead.”

“Jesus, you two are cut from the same fucking cloth.”

“And now, you know why she’s my best friend—we not only have everything in common, but we also share a brain.” She paused. “And I’m really going to miss her”—she put her hand up—“not enough to leave your house and move back in with her. Just miss her in a way that I won’t get to see her every day.” She flicked her bottom lip with her teeth. “I wouldn’t change anything about living with you and Daisy. I absolutely love it.”

“Now that I have you in my house, I can’t imagine living there without you.” I felt my gaze deepen. “Neither could Daisy.”

“You don’t have to imagine it. It’s never going to happen.” She pushed her hair back despite several of the pieces staying and teasing the corners of her eyes. “Heck, it was hard enough to leave for the week that I visited my sister. How many times a day did we talk while I was gone? At least three million?”

I chuckled. “Just about.”

She raised her hand to my cheek. “You’re stuck with me.”

I kissed the back of her hand, and then I used mine to brush across her forehead and down her cheek to her chest, where the sun necklace sat. “You know, you’re carrying a huge responsibility on your shoulders for the next school year.”

“How so?”

“With Daisy moving on to second grade, you’re going to have to watch her teacher like a hawk and make sure she’s giving Daisy an education that meets your standards.” I gave the necklace a shake and pulled my hand back. “You need to be my eyes and ears at that school.”

She put her hand on top of mine. “Mrs. Larson, Daisy’s new teacher, already knows what our girl needs. We’ve talked extensively about it.” She squeezed my fingers. “Don’t worry, she’s the best second-grade teacher we have at our school.”

I let those words simmer. “Is it a coincidence that she was assigned to her, or did you have something to do with it?”

“You mean, innocent ol’ me, work the system and get Daisy the top teacher? I would never.” She winked.

I laughed. “Does that mean you had Jana do your dirty work and had her shoot off an email to the administration and specifically ask for Mrs. Larson? Or …”

“Would it surprise you to hear that we double-teamed the administration and both Jana and I made the request?” She bit her lip.

“Not even a little.”

She bent her arm to prop herself up a little. “Jana texted me about options for the next school year, and I told her about Mrs. Larson. We thought it would be best if she reached out, and I backed up her request by working some magic in the administrative office.”

My head slowly shook. “You girls are a lethal duo.”

“We get what we want. What can I say? I just love that we got what’s best for Daisy.”

“Remind me to never go to battle against the two of you at the same time—I’ll be fucked.”

She laughed. “Come on … we’re notthatbad.” She paused. “Okay, maybe we are.”