My breath catches.
I go completely still, waiting for the panic to wash over me.
But when my heart flips over, it’s not with anxiety.
It’s with joy.
“I love you too,” I say.
We lay like that, basking in warmth and contentment, until I get drowsy. Seth glances at his phone.
“They’ll probably be gone for another hour or so. Want to take a quick snooze before I drive you home?”
I nod, and he sets an alarm and gathers me up.
We drift off together, heartbeats in sync.
And when I awaken, it’s not to the beeping of an alarm.
It’s to a child’s voice shrieking, “There’s agirlin Uncle Seth’sbed!And she’snaked!!!”
CHAPTER 29Seth
“Max, close the door,” I say, bolting up. He can’t hear me, because he’s screaming with a level of horror that would make you think an asteroid just hit the house.
“Max,” I yell. “Closethedoor.”
His eyes go wide and he freezes, then slams it shut. I hear him running down the hall, still shouting about the woman in my bed.
Said woman has buried herself completely under my tiny blanket, where she is currently laughing so hysterically the bed is shaking.
I lean back against the mini headboard and burst out laughing too.
From the living room, I can hear my sister-in-law trying to quiet her son’s hysteria. It doesn’t seem to be working, because I catch the sound of Jack joining in.
“So much for a clean escape,” I say. “Sorry. I don’t know how they’re back already.”
She reaches for my phone and checks the time. “Probably because your alarm didn’t go off. It’s nine forty-five.”
“Shit. Let me see that?”
Turns out I set the alarm for 8:30 a.m., not p.m.
“Admit it,” Molly says. “You did this on purpose so I would have to do a walk of shame in front of your entire family.”
“Okay. I admit it.”
She flicks me on the shoulder.
“So, what’s the move?” she asks.
“Uh, first we get dressed. Then we go out and act like absolutely nothing in the world is weird about this.”
“Great. That should be easy.”
She slips her sundress over her shoulders and I shimmy on my pants. We gather up all her belongings.
“You ready for this?” I ask her.
