Page 77 of Falling Together
She took a step away from Blair and answered the phone. “Hey, April. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to let you know that we’re about five minutes away. Sorry to crash the party early. It took less time to get here than we expected.”
“No problem.”Except for the small detail of you interrupting the perfect moment.“That just means I can put you all to work once you get here.”
“Works for me. I’ll put Sydney and Tanner on Nolan duty and the rest of us can help with set up.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you soon.”
Blair smiled at Erin as she hung up the phone and put it back into her pocket. “I take it that was your family?”
“Yes.” Erin rolled her eyes. “They are unfortunately going to be here very soon.”
“That’s okay. My parents should be home soon too. They’re just out taking Moon for a walk since he’ll most likely hide in my room once all the kids start arriving.”
After coaxing Nolan out of the bounce house with the promise that he could get back in as soon as his cousins arrived, the front door opened and Erin heard the voices of not just Blair’s parents, but her own family’s as well.
When she, Nolan, and Blair walked into the hallway, Moon ran over to them, going directly for Nolan, who giggled as he gave him belly rubs.
“Wow, Nolan, Moon seems to really like you,” April said with a certain lilt to her voice that told Erin she was up to no good. “You must spend a lot of time with him.” She looked directly at Erin and gave her a shit-eating grin, which would have absolutely driven Erin insane if she wasn’t too happy to care about her sister’s antics.
“Yeah. Moon loves me,” Nolan said, completely unaware that April only said that to tease his mom.
Erin said hello to Blair’s parents and thanked them profusely for hosting the party. Brandy waved a hand at her. “It’s no worry at all. We’re happy to do it. We miss having little ones running around in here.”
Erin patted Nolan’s head. “Don’t worry. I’m surethis oneis happy to run around here whenever you’d like.”
“Well, we’re always happy to have him.” Brandy looked from Nolan to Erin and smiled in a way that could only be described as mischievous. “We’re always happy to haveboth of you.”
The way she said it almost made it sound like she knew there was something going on between Erin and Blair. Was that her way of telling Erin she was okay with it or was that just wishful thinking on Erin’s part? Either way, it was still nice to hear. It really felt like Blair’s whole family had made it their goal to get her to cry today.
Erin and Blair both greeted Erin’s family, then all of the kids and Erin’s mom headed out to the back so Nolan could show them the bounce house. Blair’s dad asked for help with something involving the pool and Blair, along with Erin’s brother-in-law, jumped at the opportunity to help him, leaving just Erin and her sister standing by the door.
“So, now she’s hosting your son’s birthday parties? Things must be getting pretty serious.”
Even though Erin knew her sister was just teasing her, she couldn’t help but smile when she thought about the past few weeks with Blair. Movie nights, time with Nolan, the amazing sex they had in Blair’s childhood bedroom, the way Blair had jumped at the opportunity to help with Nolan’s party. It was all so perfect. “Blair’s great.” The words slipped out of her mouth before she even realized what she was saying.
Her sister pulled away from her and gave her an incredulous look. “Wait. Did something change? Are you twofinallyofficial?”
Erin shook her head. “Not yet.”Yet.That little word held so much possibility. The possibility to make Erin the happiest woman in the world and the possibility of breaking her once and for all.
“Yet?” Her sister asked, also latching onto that one very important word. “So, that means you’re finally going to get your head out of your ass and let something good into your life?”
“I want to.”
April laughed and pointed down the hallway. “You’re saying that as if the woman who is currentlythrowing a goddamn birthday party for your sonwouldn’t date you at the drop of a hat.”
“Blair isn’t the problem. It’sme.”
April sighed, clearly sick of having this same conversation over and over again with Erin. “The problem is that attitude. It’s not your fault that Dad left. It’s not your fault that your ex-wife turned out to be a complete douche. I feel like you’ve done such a good job of convincing yourselfyoucaused those things to happen that you figure it’s just a matter of time before you scare someone else away, but you can’t live like that. You’re going to end up pushing away the people who actually matter; the ones who would never leave you if you just gave them a chance.”
Erin wanted to ask her sister how to stop blaming herself, but before she had the chance, Blair walked back into the hallway. She stopped when she saw Erin and April, most likely both looking like they had just been caught doing something wrong. “Sorry. I was just coming to make sure you two were okay.” Blair pointed her thumb behind her. “If you’re having some secret sister talk, I can go though.”
“No. You should stay.” April took a few steps away from Erin and closer to Blair. “My sister was just telling me how great you are. I think maybe she should tell you instead.”
April shot Erin a smile over her shoulder, then walked down the hallway, leaving Erin and Blair alone.
Blair closed the space between her and Erin, the cocky smile on her face getting more pronounced with each step. When she was practically toe-to-toe with Erin, she leaned forward and rested her hand on the door behind Erin, essentially pinning her there. “So, you think I’m pretty great, huh?”
