“Wait! Before I get too excited, is there a guest room available tonight?”
Mom turned back from the stove with a blank look on her face and stared at me. After a second she pulled her brows in and tilted her head to the side suspiciously. “Did he not tell you?”
I was confused. “Tell me what?”
A slow grin grew on her face and she slowly shook her head. “Oh, that boy. You better hold on to him, Kacie.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When he told me about you being uncomfortable, um…” She glanced at the girls and back at me. I could tell she was trying to speak in code because of them. “…being roommates at night, I told him that he was welcome to a guest room anytime he wanted one. I said I’d save one for him.” She walked over to the island and put her hand on her hip while I continued shoveling eggs into my mouth. “He insisted I not be out any money because of all this, so he prepaid for one guest room for an entire year. Three hundred and sixty-five nights.”
My mouth fell open as my fork dropped to the plate, making a horrible clanging noise. “He paid for a whole year?”
She nodded. “A whole year. He’s crazy about you, girl, and clearly confident in your relationship—at least for a year.”
“Be right back!” I jumped off the stool and ran to my bedroom, grabbing my phone off the nightstand.
YOU PAID FOR A WHOLE YEAR?!?!?
My foot tapped impatiently for two minutes as I waited for his response. Finally, my phone beeped.
B: YOU TALKED TO YOUR MOM, HUH?
WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?
B: WHAT? AND MISS THIS MOMENT? ARE YOU KIDDING? SURPRISING YOU IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS IN THE WORLD, KACIE. WELL, THAT AND WATCHING THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE WHEN YOU COME.
My stomach flipped as I read his last text. That man was perfection.
B: YOU STILL THERE?
Oh, shit.
SORRY, I’M HERE. JUST THINKING ABOUT… YOU. EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE FOR ME, THE SURPRISES, THE GESTURES. I HAVE NO WORDS. HOW CAN I EVER REPAY YOU FOR ALL YOU DO FOR ME?
B: WELL, YOU COULD REPAY ME TONIGHT BY SHOWING ME THAT LOOK I WAS TALKING ABOUT.
UH, ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY. YOU MIGHT SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE. ;)
B: HOLY SHIT! THE WINKY FACE! I’VE BEEN WORKING FOR THAT ELUSIVE LITTLE BASTARD FOR MONTHS NOW!
What?
WHAT?
B: NEVER MIND, I’LL EXPLAIN LATER. GOTTA TAKE POOR DIESEL OUT. HE’S STANDING AT THE FRONT DOOR WITH HIS LEASH IN HIS MOUTH, GLARING AT ME.
OKAY, LOVE YOU! CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU TONIGHT!
B: LOVE YOU TOO, KACIE.
I went back out to the kitchen with a smile cemented on my face. Mom was bent over, loading the dishwasher as I sat back at the island in a daze, happily eating cold eggs.
“Give me these. At least let me warm them up,” my mom hissed playfully when she stood up. She put them in the microwave and turned back to me, trying not to laugh. “What has happened to my little Kacie? She’s all grown up and madly in love.”
I felt my face flush, but I didn’t care. “I totally am, Mom.”
“I can tell. You’re glowing. Happiness looks good on you.” She walked over and kissed my cheek as she set my plate down in front of me. “I’ve never seen you like this, not even with Zach.”
My stomach rolled as I tried to force the eggs to stay put. His name used to freeze me in my tracks and annoy me, now it terrified me. The first year after he left, I prayed every day that he would realize his mistake and come back for us. The last five years, I’ve prayed every day that he would stay far away, and that the girls would belong to just me forever. The room started to spin as my breathing increased.
“Uh oh, what’s with the face?”
“What?” I tried to sound as normal as possible.
“Don’t ‘what’ me, Kacie Jensen. I know you. You clam up when I mention him, but you don’t look ill.”
My brain started arguing with itself. I didn’t want anyone to know I’d seen him. If I said it out loud, it made it seem more real. I wanted to take that secret, lock it in a box, and bury it in the middle of nowhere. Maybe then it would stay hidden forever and my life would never change. On the other hand, I desperately wanted someone to talk about it with. I hadn’t seen Alexa yet, and I knew she was going to lose her mind and try to kill him. Telling Brody was out of the question right now. Lauren knew I’d seen him, but she lived on the other side of the world for the next year. I couldn’t just grab the phone and call her every time I needed to talk about it.
“Where are the girls?” I craned my neck, looking for them in the family room and down the hallway.