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“Neely.” I gulp, coming to her side. “Just hear me out.”

  I can’t read the look on her face. It’s a mixture of fear and embarrassment and more sadness than I care to admit.

  Please, God, let this work out. I’ll never make her feel this way again.

  “Dane—”

  “No,” I say, shaking my head. “I came all this way with all these things to say. And I can’t even remember them all, and I left my notes on the plane.” I scratch my head, trying to get myself together quickly before she can tell me no. “I can’t do this again. I can’t. Everything is wrong now that you’re gone.”

  “Dane—”

  “And I realize I might be embarrassing you right now in front of your boss and coworkers, and I hope they will know this is a reflection of me and not of you. I’m the crazy one. Crazy about you.”

  “Oh my gosh.” The receptionist clutches her chest. “I can’t even with this.”

  Neely’s eyes water, the lights above reflecting off her eyes. I feel wetness gathering at the corners of mine too. As hard as it is to stay calm, I have to. This is my one chance to fix every mistake I’ve ever made. My one shot at getting every piece of my life back together.

  “I never should’ve let you leave. I should’ve manned up and told you flat out how I feel. Maybe it wouldn’t have changed things because I know who you are. I know how much this job means to you.”

  “Dane,” she says. “Listen to me.”

  “Just let me finish. Please,” I beg. “I want you to be happy and to get everything you want out of life. But there has to be a way to do that with me and Mia. I know you love us, Neely. I know you love us as much as we love you.”

  I swear Mr. Heart Attack mumbles something along the lines of “I told you,” but I let it go.

  Taking a step toward Neely, ignoring the audience we’re beginning to attract, I take her hand. “I’m sorry for being a dick when you told me you were leaving.”

  “Will you listen to me?” she asks. She sniffles back a laugh, squeezing my hand.

  “No. This is my moment.” I bite my lip to keep from saying anything else for a moment because if I do, I know I’ll cry like a pussy. “Life isn’t about playing it safe or playing the odds. If I listened to either of them, I’d be home right now. But an old man came by the house late last night and asked what I was going to do about you leaving. I had flights pulled up but hadn’t pulled the trigger. Mia had gone to bed, and Haley was on the couch.” I look up at the spectators. “She’s the nanny, just clarifying.”

  The lobby rolls with laughter from the five or six people watching. Neely sets her briefcase down and takes my other hand in hers.

  I don’t want to think this might be working, but it damn sure feels like it. My heart pounds in my chest as I go in for the kill.

  “Dad said something smart for once,” I say. “He said life is not about what happens to you, but how you react to it. My reaction to you leaving is to come and get you because I don’t see another way to live without you by my side. And I know a little girl who thinks the world of you, and I’d be honored if you’d be a part of her life too.”

  “Just marry him,” the receptionist cries. “If you don’t, I will.”

  Neely flashes her a look to stay put before turning back to me. “Can I talk now?”

  “Depends on what you’re going to say.”

  She searches my eyes for a moment. I remain as unguarded as I can, completely opening myself up to her inspection.

  “I love you, Dane.”

  “Yes!” The receptionist gets to her feet and claps.

  “I like your enthusiasm,” I tell her.

  Neely laughs, blinking back tears. “I love you. I love Mia. And I love that you’re here.”

  “I had to come. It was a long time coming.” I lean forward and press a kiss against her lips. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me back like she means it.

  For the first time in my entire life, my world feels like it’s complete. There’s a warmth rising from the center of my chest, and I can’t fight it if I try.

  Despite being in New York, having Mia so far away, being in the reception area of a company that was my mortal enemy until a few moments ago, everything is right in this moment. In this one spot of time, my world is perfect.

  Lifting her up, I spin her in a circle and enjoy the feeling of her in my arms.

  “I hope you know I’m never letting you go now,” I whisper in her ear.

  “I hope you know I’m never going to let you.” She lays her cheek against mine and sighs. “I missed you, Dane.”

  “I missed you, babe.” I put her back on her feet as the crowd cheers. Resting my forehead against hers, I laugh. “I didn’t embarrass you, did I?”

  “Hardly.”

  Looking up at Mr. Heart Attack, I nod. “I’m sorry if I made a spectacle out of your lobby.”

  His large belly bounces up and down as he chuckles. “Son, that was the best thing to happen in this building in the twenty-five years I’ve worked here. I think you’ve given us all something to think about.”

  “Yeah, like how I need a guy with a southern accent like that.” The receptionist shrugs. “I can’t help it. I’d be putty in his hands.”

  I lace our fingers together and pull Neely against me. The contact is something I need. We went without it for too long.

  “Frank,” Neely says, “thank you for understanding.”

  “I’m glad it all worked out.” Frank takes a step toward me. “I think the best man probably won this round.”

  He extends a hand, and I shake it with my free one, which happens to be my left and a little awkward. Still, I’m not letting her go.

  Looking down at Neely, I shrug. “Do you need to file something that shows you quit?”

  She exchanges a look with Frank and they laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” I ask.

  “She quit before she knew you were here,” he says. “You already had her before your speech, but it was nice to get to witness.”

  My jaw drops. “You quit? Before you came out here?”

  She nods. “I didn’t come here to quit. I just sat in his office and everything kind of made sense. Or it didn’t make sense, I mean.” She leans her head on my shoulder. “I kept thinking about you and Mia and Mom, and I realized . . .” She looks at Frank. “I can do what I want to do from other places. It doesn’t have to be here. And I don’t have to sacrifice my happiness to do it. There’s no need to be a martyr. I can have a life and friends . . .”

  “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.”

  C
HAPTER 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.”

  “I get that.”

  We stop outside Mia’s door. Dane takes my hands and turns me to face him. There’s a serenity in his eyes that I’ve never seen before, but it’s a look I never want him to lose.

  “I want us to go forward together,” he says. “As a family. The three of us—that is, until you let me knock you up.”

  I swat his shoulder. “Don’t say that out here,” I whisper. “I need to go in there, and my ovaries are now screaming, ‘Open for business,’ and that’s going to be distracting.”

  He growls, pressing a kiss to my neck. “Go talk to her. Say what you need to say . . . but hurry the hell up, okay? I need you.”

  I kiss him lightly, not giving him much of an opening to work with. He narrows his eyes.

  I open the door. Dane pokes his head inside, checking on Mia, and smiles. “She’s all yours,” he whispers to me, retreating across the hall.

  Taking a long, deep breath, I go inside.

  A night-light shines next to her pink-and-white desk. She’s lying on her side, her little lips puckered like an angel’s. She’s so precious, and my heart aches thinking I hurt her feelings.

  I kneel at the side of her bed and brush her hair off her forehead. “Hey, Mia. Can you wake up for a minute?”

  “No,” she mumbles, tucking her hands under her pillow.

  “Mia.” I shake her gently on the shoulder. “It’s Neely. Can you wake up and talk to me for a minute?”

  I barely get the words out before her eyes shoot open. “Neely!” she exclaims, sitting up. “Are you really here?”

  “I am.”

  She throws her arms around my neck. I hold her close, feeling her little back shake as she cries. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she says.

  “Oh, girl. I’m so glad to be here too.”

  She pulls away, knocking the hair that’s stuck to her tears out of her face. Her eyes shine with a mixture of happiness and more tears, as if she can’t figure out which way to go with it.

  “Dad found you,” she says.

  “He did. He ran into me just as I was leaving.”

  “Where were you going?”

  I smile at her. “I was coming back here. Hoping you would accept my apology for leaving.”

  She doesn’t answer me immediately. She just places her hands on her lap and looks at me.

  “Mia, I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I don’t know what else to say to you.”

  “Why did you have to go?”

  I try to think of a way to put it so she’ll understand. “Do you know how Aerial told you not to put your hands too far apart on your back handspring, but you did it anyway because you think it’s easier?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s kind of the same thing.” I rock back on my heels so I can see her better. And so she can see me. “When you become an adult, you don’t just have all the answers. Sometimes things are still confusing, and you don’t know what to do or you think you know things better than others. And you do what kids do—you do it your way until you fall on your face. Does that make sense?”

  “Kind of.” She yawns.

  “I needed to go to New York to end that part of my life. I needed to realize I’d done everything I needed to do there and that everything I wanted in life was right here. In this house.”

  A slow, sleepy grin stretches across her cheeks. She yawns again. “So you aren’t leaving again?”

  I help her back under her blankets and kiss her forehead. “I’m not leaving again until you guys make me.”

  “Good,” she says. “Because it really messed Dad up.”

  I can’t stop the laugh that slips by my lips. “Oh, did it?”

  “Yeah. He was being a baby. You should’ve seen it.” Her lashes flutter a few times before they land closed. “I knew you’d come back.”

  “You did?”

  “You told me you’d take me to Manicure Day. I knew you wouldn’t lie to me.” She yawns. “But I might need ice cream tomorrow to really make sure I’m okay. It cures everything, you know.”

  I tuck the blankets around her, trying to manage my emotions. “Thank you for having faith in me, Mia.”

  “You’re welcome,” she whispers as she falls back to sleep.

  I stand in her room a long time, listening to her breathe. I’ve done nothing in my life to deserve having these two love me, but I’ll fight like hell to earn it going forward.

  Leaving her room, shutting the door softly behind me, I head across the hall to Dane’s room. He’s shirtless, sitting on the bed in nothing but a pair of gym shorts.

  “That took long enough,” he grumbles.

  “I had to talk to her. I can’t help it.”

  “You could’ve not left.”

&n
bsp; “It’s a little late for that now, isn’t it?”

  He rolls his eyes.

  “I brought nothing with me besides my briefcase.” I smack my palm on my forehead. “I don’t even have a toothbrush in this state.”

  “There are extra toothbrushes under the sink in the bathroom. You can sleep in one of my shirts after I get you naked for a while.”

  Sauntering toward him, I toss a playful grin his way. “I like the way you plan, Mr. Madden.”

  “There will be no reason for you to leave. I guarantee that.”

  “I need to schedule a moving company to get my stuff from New York. I don’t know how to do that, being here.”

  “Maybe we’ll take a little family vacation to the city. That should terrify Mia enough to never leave home again.”

  I sit on the edge of the bed. “Come on. It wasn’t that bad, Dane.”

  “It smells like piss. There are no trees. Everyone is in such a hurry.”

  “I’ll take you around and you’ll at least like it. I promise.”

  He reaches up and jerks me down beside him. Nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck, he breathes in deep. “I like you.”

  “I like you too.”

  “I’d like you better if I was inside you.”

  “I’d like that too.”

  Much to my surprise, he doesn’t roll me over right away. He doesn’t order me to get naked or palm my breasts. He just lies behind me and breathes evenly.

  “I need to call my mom and let her know I’m back,” I say.

  “Tomorrow,” he mumbles. “Let me have you to myself tonight.”

  “You have me to yourself forever, dude.”

  He yawns, pulling me closer. “I like the sound of that.”

  I lie in his arms for a long time, listening to his breathing fall into a steady rhythm. It’s the most peaceful thing I’ve ever felt.

  Once I’m sure he’s asleep, I sneak out of his arms and get ready for bed. It feels different now that I live here. I don’t want to stick my stuff in places it doesn’t belong, but I don’t know where to put my clothes either.

  Dressed in one of Dane’s T-shirts, I fold my clothes and put them on a chair. I turn back around to see Dane watching me. His hair is mussed, his eyes sleepy. He’s a mixture of adorable and sexy, and I know I’ll never get tired of seeing this side of him.